NY's teacher union election: Challenging the entrenched. Democracy and healthcare.

Olivia Swisher is a Sunset Park middle school Art teacher and is the candidate of the Alliance of Retired and In-service Educators (ARISE) to lead the New York City United Federation of Teachers.

I may be biased, but I think Art teachers make great union leaders.

You can check out ARISE here.

New York’s United Federation of Teachers has nearly 200,000 members and nearly 80,000 are public school teachers.

UFT retirees account for another roughly 70,000 members.

Currently in control of the local is the Unity Caucus and the its entrenched president, Michael Mulgrew.

The Unity Caucus has had an iron grip on the local for 65 years.

Mulgrew is the poster child for what is wrong with many of today’s union leadership.

He is heavy-handed, undemocratic and unresponsive to the needs of the membership.

The good news is that Mulgrew and the Unity Caucus were handed an impressive defeat in recent elections for control of the union’s retired chapter.

In sharp contrast to Unity, ARISE represents a kind of leadership that focuses on service to members as well as social justice issues.

Healthcare is a central concern for retirees and what many see as the reason for the victory over Unity in the retired chapter election.

From the ARISE platform:

Fight to restore and improve healthcare benefits, reversing cuts from past agreements to ensure high-quality, affordable healthcare for all members. Ensure all members, including new members, are free to choose their healthcare plan. We will fight for comprehensive coverage with no premiums, co-pays, deductibles, coinsurance, or any other add-on charges.

Ballots go out May First.

They are counted on May 29th.