UFT Election Results: Unity’s Grip Weakens—A Better Contract Rises as Only Growing Force- By Mike Schirtzer

 June 8, 2025

First let me state that neither Mike nor I speak for ABC but our words will be used as representative of ABC. ABC clearly arose - or arised - or arrived. ABC is criticized for being too aggressive - exactly the opposite of how UFT leadership behaves passively when dealing with the DOE and politicians -- but they sure are aggressive in attacking ABC. Frankly, I want more ABC in your face when dealing with the DOE and Mayor.

I don't agree with everything that Mike Schirtzer, the eternal optimist, says here. As a pessimist I can't even guarantee ABC is still around in 3 years. Or next month. (Cheers arise from ARISE - and Unity.) But getting about 18k votes, the highest of any opposition in history, is nothing to sneeze at and was not due to social media but to having people in the schools. Do they know you, do they trust you, as James Eterno used to say, is operative. 

Mike will come under attack for this post. How dare Mike celebrate the UFT election as a "win" for ABC? I'd say some people in ABC are not celebrating because they thought they would win, unlike ARISE which knew they would lose. They would be celebrating if they ran roughly even with ABC. But instead of analyzing their 18 point loss to ABC and their 40 point loss to Unity, they are blaming ABC's campaign. Talk about tone-deaf. My prediction is that ARISE will re-arise in 3 years and play the same losing game by making it impossible to have one slate - the Einstein definition of insanity. 

This is not to say that many ABCs would work with almost everyone in ARISE in the future (except for one or two) but not with the caucuses themselves. And in fact ABC took that position since November and will continue to take that position.

[Check out what I wrote 5 years apart: April 28, 2019: UFT Election Overall and Retiree Data... and June 25, 2024 - Can Unity Be Beaten in 2025 UFT Election?]

The major obstacles to defeating Unity after these results are the weakness of the caucuses after decades of getting the same results and their insistence that only they should be allowed to run UFT elections. (My next post will do a breakdown of the numbers). 

The attacks on ABC from both Unity and ARISE are similar (Leo Casey and Nick Bacon separated at birth) - and we saw in the campaign an informal alliance of sorts between Unity and ARISE -- like the ARISE candidate who ran against Mulgrew is doing workshops next weekend at the UFT (and Mulgrew called on her twice at the DA). And the enormous praise for a co-chair of one of the ARISE caucuses who is also on the ARISE steering committee for relentless attacks on ABC going back months -- a clear sign that elements of ARISE are already thinking that the goal is not uniting with ABC but exterminating ABC and leaving the field to the same old caucuses that failed so badly in this election. And Unity has the same goal. Build up ARISE as the legitimate and loyal opposition and try to bury ABC.... Oh, and Mike, who has been on the UFT Exec Board for 9 years, elected on the MORE and then the Unity slates, will now be off the board ------ Norm

UFT Election Results: Unity’s Grip Weakens—A Better Contract Rises as Only Growing Force- 

 By Mike Schirtzer

 

Unity didn’t win. They survived. And their time is running out.

The numbers are in—and while President Mulgrew and his Unity Caucus claims another win, the truth is undeniable: their mandate is collapsing.

Out of over 200,000 UFT members, 57,905 ballots were counted (an increase of 15% from the last election but still only 28% of eligible voters). Of those, Unity received just 30,219 votes. That means fewer than 1 in 10 members actively support this leadership. Most didn’t vote at all—because they either didn’t know there was an election, or they’ve lost faith that anyone is listening.

A Better Contract is an independent group of UFT members that came together for the first time because it’s time for a better union, a better contract, and better leadership. A Better Contract won 17,874 (32%) votes, the largest vote for an opposition caucus in history, on our first time out.

In 6 months we shattered expectations and built real power. We posed a threat to the leadership of our union who were forced to respond and we earned more than double the votes of the groups that have run and lost over the last 30 years.

No Victory—Just a Crisis of Confidence

• Unity, Mulgrew, and their failed social media team are trying to spin this as a win. But in reality, it’s a sign of a union in crisis. Turnout was dismal. Enthusiasm was lower than ever. And more members than ever are stepping forward to say: we’ve had enough.
• Tier 6 still robs newer educators of retirement security.
• Paraprofessionals remain dramatically underpaid.
• In-service members and retirees are still defending the healthcare they already earned.
• Prices go up, tariffs, rising healthcare costs, and they told us to be happy with 3% raises- shame on them!
  

Amid the apathy and dysfunction, our movement is growing: 

In our first full campaign, historic gains were made in elementary schools, with one of the highest vote totals in history. As A Better Contract cut into Unity’s long-held dominance. 

In functional chapters—which include paraprofessionals, clinicians, and other essential school support staff—A Better Contract won 3,889 votes, thanks to bold organizing like Fix Para Pay and the OT/PTs who are sick of being told “take your contract whether you vote for it or not”!. 

Among retirees, Unity clung to a majority, but A Better Contract still won nearly 9,000 votes—an unheard-of number for a first-time challenger.

The conclusion is clear: Unity is shrinking. A Better Contract is growing.

A Better Contract is the only movement with momentum, the only one expanding the electorate, and the only one offering a credible alternative to business as usual. Make no mistake—every concession Unity made in the last year was a reaction to growing pressure.

• Suddenly, dental and vision benefits improved.
• Unity flip-flopped on Medicare Advantage, opposing the very plan they helped create.
• $10,000 para pay legislation showed up in City Council—for the first time in years. We still haven’t seen the checks yet, will we ever?
• Delegate and para rep stipends—ignored for decades—were suddenly announced.
• On Tier 6, Unity started talking tough,  providing  lip service, but not much else

That’s not leadership. That’s fear. And it proves we are the ones moving this union forward.

Unity didn’t inspire voters. They relied on mail-in ballots from retirees and decades of institutional control. They survived because of their reliance on members not voting or mail in ballots—but even then, they barely topped 50%

Their message as a members only club doesn't resonate with the membership. While they stalled or fractured, A Better Contract listened and responded to members, expanded turnout, and delivered a clear vision for a better union.

This was the most important UFT election in a generation—and it exposed a broken system and a growing rebellion.

A Better Contract is the only movement bringing in new members, re-engaging the disengaged, and giving a voice to the unheard. And we’re just getting started.

To the 17,874 members who voted for A Better Contract: we see you, we thank you, and we’re just getting started. To the 140,000+ members who didn’t vote: we’re coming to you. We’ll earn your trust. We’ll fight for your future.

We’re Not Done—We’re Just Getting Started We’re building a union that listens. A union that acts. A union that wins. And everyone is welcome to join us.

 

UFT Election Fallout - Retiree Advocate Loses Two Elections - Warning Signs for Future Control of RTC

This is updated from the original post.

Takeaway:

RA loses to Unity and ABC as ABC triples the retiree vote of ARISE, which has two 30 year old caucuses full of retirees. How can that happen? Will RA face the facts or look to place blame on the way ABC ran their campaign or the issues they ran on - or maybe they used voodoo.

Can the damaged RA brand, king of the hill a year ago, be restored? Not without restructuring. The total retiree non-Unity vote was still 47%. To stop the bleeding, a non-partisan retiree council should be formed that would be inclusive of retirees from ARISE, ABC and independents. 

Monday, June 4, 2025

Unity has its sights set on winning back the RTC from RA in the 2027 chapter election and the recent UFT election results indicate they have a good chance. 

The impact of Marianne has been major and I will prove it with the numbers over the past 4 years of retiree votes in both chapter and general UFT elections. No wonder Unity and some ARISE went after her. And with only 53% retirees for Unity in this election, look for the attacks on her to continue (ie. Leo Casey whose analysis is a total attack on her and ABC while not recognizing that the pro-Marianne faction tripled the vote of the non-Marianne group - clearly his favored opposition is the one that got 14%). 

An old lefty told me not long ago that he thinks Marianne is remarkable and has put the left so-called labor organizers to shame by building a multi-union machine reaching deep into the working class. Let me point out here that Unity only recovered 3k votes from last year while the combined ABC/ARISE lost about 6k - meaning a whole bunch of former supporters did not vote this time and attribute some of that to the split opposition. A united retiree group next time could bring these votes back. 

The only question is will RA wise up and face the reality of their poor showing with ARISE with only 12% of retiree votes or team up with ABC and its 35% and stop Unity from taking back the chapter in 2027? Knowing the politics I'm not so sure.

Let me point out this is not about ARISE and ABC but about retirees from both groups coming together. But the way RA does business has got to change for this to happen. 

A year ago RA and the oppo cheered Marianne's support for RA but soured once she supported ABC in this election. I even heard some RA people claiming it was their organizing that won 63% a year ago, with some assistance from Marianne, which astounded me. You don't go from 30% to 63% in such a short time just based on a caucus doing better organizing.

First the hard numbers, and then some background. 

Jon Halabi chart

As you can see, Unity took 53% of the retiree vote while ARISE had only 12%, with ABC getting 35%. Now look at 2022 when UFC, an expanded form of ARISE, garnered only 29% with Unity getting 70%. I have to say that the 2022 results really disappointed me since the Medicare issue had been out there for a year and I had hoped RA would get the vote over 40% which is why I had dim hopes of winning in last year's chapter elections. Even I didn't think Marianne would be such a factor.

In the last UFT election in 2022 RA was one of the 7 or 8 members of the United for Change coalition,  which this time split into 3 for ARISE and elements of the rest with ABC. (Thus my contention from almost a year ago that an ARISE like coalition would not be able to even match the UFC output, which proved true.

Retirees: 

68,970 ballots sent,  

Retirees: 27,451 - this was over the 23k limit so each vote counted as a fraction - RA got over 8k and Unity over 18k in terms of real votes but 

Adjusted  

UFC - 6837.15      29.20%

Unity - 16580.64  70.80%

Also note that in the 2021 RTC election, RA got just short of 7K real votes, also 29%.

Now the 2021 result, just as the Medicare story was emerging, was a big improvement for RA over previous elections when they used to get under 4K -- 20%. That ARISE only pulled half of RA got in 2021 is shocking. 

In past elections, we would have seen a 53% Unity retiree vote as giving us a real shot to break their control because historically they had been winning with high 70s to 80s %. But times have changed. This time RA hoped that the way they ran the RTC chapter compared to the Unity old guard would bring votes but that had no effect as the 3k total takes us back to 2018 days.

The Chapter elections are not quite the same but are also indicators. What a difference in last year's vote, which saw a massive turnaround when Retiree Advocate, the 30-year old oppo to Unity in the retiree chapter, blew things open with a 63% win with over 17k to Unity's 10k votes, a complete reversal of recent elections. 

How do we explain these flip flops? One word - MARIANNE. She has activated a whole range of people from many city unions, which is what scares the UFT leadership. And frankly, an uncontrolled newly active group also seems to scare the old-time oppo who are often more interested in control and getting the "right" people - meaning, of their political persuasion. God forbid a Trumpie should slip in. 

RA has got to change from a tiny self-chosen group that meets and makes decisions behind closed doors.

I've been part of the Retiree Advocate organizing committee for about ten years and it's been a very satisfactory relationship - until this election where I was the only one of the dozen members to go with ABC while the rest went with ARISE. I'm not going into the details as they get annoyed if I reveal what happens at their meetings, which by the way is a problem for a group that calls for transparency and represents retirees, most of whom are not aware or invited to these meetings or even see minutes of what is discussed.

Now we were all very happy for the arrangement we had where we chose whom to invite to join us - and until we won the massive victory over Unity with 63% of the vote last June when people who ran (300 delegates) or voted for us started asking questions on how we operate. At first, back in July, I defended how we operate but it was clear RA would have to do something to expand the organizing committee which I thought would happen in 6 months. But then the division in the election came along and RA Org decided to join ARISE without any discussion with its supporters, especially the 300 who ran as delegates. 

Look at the numbers. Unity won back about 3k which I expected to happen and thought it might be worse. We won unity votes a year ago but while they might be ok in losing the chapter they were not willing to hand over the entire union yet. But together we still got 46%. Also thousands of retirees who voted last time didn’t vote. Those were our potential votes. 

Let’s get them back. 

 

Election Reaction - Statement from A Better Contract

Hey folks. I just want to thank all of you that chose to support this slate. Although we didn’t win, we knocked Unity down from 66% in 2022 to 54% this time around. We're chipping away at Unity's choke hold on UFT... Comment from an ABC candidate

Sunday June 1

For a brand new group of people getting a third of the vote is a decent showing. If not for some unforced errors we might have gotten close. 

But we will try to examine where we missed. But also examine the strengths. Building the plane while flying it is tough but also fun. What does this say about the caucuses and their outreach after decades of existence? But do watch the spin. I know there are demands to come together. Can you mix a caucus based group with the free-style ABC? I don't think easily but ABC always has a welcome mat out for anyone interested.

I left the count Friday night at 7:30 to catch the last ferry to Rockaway under the assumption they would count until 1-2AM to get it done, but when I got home there was a new plan- to stop and continue Saturday morning.  

So I shlepped back on the 8AM ferry, stayed until 1PM - and still no results until our intrepid reporters sent out the results around 2PM. Our crew to the right. 

UFT Election Results - 46% say NO to Unity (Slate only): Unity 54%, ABC 32%, ARISE 14%

We Are Down But Not Out: Unity wins again, but by the lowest margin in their history ---- Arthur reported on his experience on Saturday. 

Now, there's a lot to mull over but I admit to being somewhat surprised to see the positive reactions from so many ABCers who expected to win this election. I thought they might be crushed and disappear but holy cow, they seem rearing to go back to the fray - well, maybe take a week or so off. In the past, the usual suspects from the oppo - usually an alliance of caucuses, went their separate ways and let two years go by before realigning for the next election. Since ABC is an alliance of individuals, this separation may not happen and there's a lot of excited back room chatter on next steps. Hard to say, given the loose structure of ABC.

I loved the comment from one of our retirees who said on Friday that she loved running with ABC and felt so welcome and heard, unlike being associated with RA where she felt left out. 

There is a lot of hand wringing from the same people who wanted one slate and felt we could have beaten Mulgrew. They refuse to understand that the only way there could have been one slate would have been under the ARISE caucus driven formula -- how did that work out? Don't forget --- ABC always offered everyone the opportunity to run with ABC and will do so in the future. Those who want one slate go talk to the 14%ers.

Sorry, after all the scurrilous attacks by some ARISE leading lights, some just a few days ago, I'm not in the mood to be magnanimous.  

I can only say how happy I was to be involved with the people from ABC. We were serious about trying to win rather than running to try to make a point about where we stand politically but also had a lot of fun with each other. We were attacked for not talking about Trump enough -- like talking about para pay or how teachers were under attack or retiree healthcare were attempts to appeal to Trump supporters. Give me a break. I call bullshit in advance at what will be some of the bitter people in ARISE who will try to blame ABC as a way to cover for their failures.

Now let me point out, the bitter people in ARISE are the few. More than a few may seek to work with ABC but their caucus structures will be an obstacle. I will get more into those structures and delve into why two 30 and one 13 year old caucuses with all their supposed outreach could only muster 14% after spending a lot of money and energy on this campaign, while an ad hoc group of individuals that spent maybe 2 grand managed to get a third of the vote. What do these outcomes auger for the future? I will delve into these issues very soon. 

 

Statement from A Better Contract: This Campaign Changed the UFT

A Better Contract

May 31, 2025

The results are in. While our slate did not win this election, what we built together will outlast any ballot count.

From the beginning, we knew what we were up against: a well-funded machine with decades of institutional control. But we had something they couldn’t manufacture—member energy. Across chapters and titles, UFT members showed they were ready for change.

A Better Contract was never just a slate. It is a movement. And that movement has reshaped this union’s political landscape. Secretaries, paraprofessionals, school nurses, teachers, clinicians, retirees—thousands of members organized their schools, reignited chapters, and took ownership of our union’s future. For many, this was their first time participating. It won’t be their last.

We ran on the belief that this union belongs to its members. That leadership should be earned, not handed down. That our contracts should reflect the real value of our work—not serve as placeholders while our conditions erode. And that power grows through connection—not control. Our union isn’t a ladder with a few at the top—it’s a living network, strengthened by every relationship, every act of solidarity, every member who refuses to stand alone.

That belief is now shared by more members than ever before.

We are proud of what we’ve done. Proud to have shifted the narrative. Proud that demands for transparency, democratic reform, and member-led bargaining—once silenced or dismissed—were brought into the open, debated, and embraced by members hungry for a different kind of union.

So we’ll say this plainly: we’re watching. We all heard the promises Unity made during this campaign—for paras, for retirees, and for those working in Tier 6, to name just a few. Those promises were born of pressure from facing a viable challenge for the first time in UFT history, and they will be met with accountability. The membership demands that Unity now deliver.

This campaign has changed the UFT. It awakened members who had long been disengaged. It connected voices across boroughs, titles, and schools. It reminded all of us that organizing works and that no amount of money or messaging can stop a union whose members are ready to lead.

None of this would have been possible without our supporters, who have from the start been the heart of our efforts. “Member-driven” isn’t just a slogan for us, it’s an ethos. To everyone who voted for the change we offered, we offer you the sincerest and most heartfelt of thank yous.

We may not have won this round. But we’ve already won something bigger: a shift in what’s possible.

In Solidarity,
The A Better Contract Slate

Here is one other point of view:

I’m proud to have run with ABC. We stood for member driven democracy, transparency, honesty. We did change the narrative and hopefully more will be listening and waking up. Than you for all the hard work everyone put in! Let’s keep the message out there.

Win or lose,, you are the best. The fight persists.

This is not the result I wanted. Just know I promise to be here with you for the fight. I believe in ABC!

An abolitionist minister, Theodore Parker, stated that "[t]he arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice." Congratulations on taking the longer view, the unselfish road, the path toward justice for all members.

I'm very sad. Thank you for organizing. Thank you for running. When is the next election? In three years? There is time. There is hope. Always. Always. ABC!!!

We gave it our all. There’s always tomorrow. Never give up. Thank you

Live to fight another day. I find it hard to understand why we lost since Mulgrew clearly did not act in the best interest of the retirees and longterm he did not act in the best interest of the active members. This might have been the first but it will not be the last time Mulgrew makes a malevolent decision.

Well that means arise only got 14 percent. I don’t understand why Mulgrew got 54% of the votes. I wish people would come to their senses.

I hope the next election ABC and ARISE can unite against unity caucus.

I am very sad and thank you for your support.

 

UFT Election Results - 46% say NO to Unity (Slate only): Unity 54%, ABC 32%, ARISE 14%

 Lots to analyze and break down. We could have swamped the HS if we had run some joint candidates. ARISE might actually win a seat of two if individual votes come through. But overall, the ARISE coalition did very poorly. ABC which as a new group matched and in some areas exceeded what UFC did 3 years ago, had decisions to make as to whether to continue working together. Overall, I'd say people really had a good experience.

I'm planning an ICE forensic analysis in person on Juneteenth. We will also do a zoom. 

More later.  

 

Unity won the election. Here are the unofficial results. Certified results will be available later.

Overall ballots sent - 201,791

58,318 registered

413 voided/empty envelopes
57,905 valid ballots

1,946 booklets of individual votes still being counted

55,959 slate votes


ABC - 17,874 32%
Unity - 30,219 54%
Arise - 7,866 14%

Elementary:
ABC - 2,897
Arise - 1,241
Unity - 5,967

MS:
ABC - 619
Arise - 520
Unity - 1,536

HS:
ABC - 1,472
Arise - 1,769
Unity - 1,985

Functional:
ABC - 3,889
Arise - 1,305
Unity - 7,158

Retirees:
ABC - 8,997
Arise - 3,031
Unity - 13,573

 

UFT Election 2025: ARISE - A Forensic Analysis - Will ARISE Demise? And What About ABC?

Prediction from John Q. Teacher: ARISE will get about 20% of the vote. Unity will get 40% and ABC will get 30% of the vote. Thus, Unity still wins. I have been saying this for a while. Having two groups such as ARISE and ABC will cause a Unity victory and I am not happy to see that happening. Hope I am wrong..... 

Unity will break 60% closer 65%. .... Anon

Comments on "Proposal from MORE to ABC Coalition (Oct. 2024) - Why This Agreement Favors MORE Caucus and Hurts Broader Union Democracy ":

Friday, May 30, 2025

Yesterday, as predicted, was a dud in terms of election results - even worse than I predicted due to the expected complications of in-person, mail, dealing with the large number of booklets vs single slate voting. They did count the in-person with estimates that around 1200 voted, and from what I could see from the screens, Unity won that vote overwhelmingly - looked like 65-70% to me. But that was expected. I was in and out all day with a noon doc appt and then at 5 to the rally on immigration at Tweed where there was a big crowd.

 

But today they are ready to start the serious scanning of the mail ballots -- we have no number on returns - we were told north of 50K. But how far north is a key as 50K is still on a quarter of the 200k ballots.

 

I'm heading down soon for the day which may stretch into Saturday. We won't know official results until sometime next week. We can only detect trends.

 

Here are the scenarios and at this point I can't do much speculation other than to say ABC has a shot and ARISE will not win.

Unity wins with 60-65% along the lines of the 2022 UFC election.

Unity wins but with lower totals ever: low 50s%

Unity wins small: Under 49%

ABC wins - if so it will be small

ARISE wins - I see no path

 

If Unity hits over 60%, that is a tribute to the campaign they ran that was aimed at getting out their base. They were desperate, because, you know, going back to the classroom was possible of they lose. But if the win with under 50%, that is a major warning sign that the end is near - if the opposition can get their stuff together -- always problematical.

But before we know results, as ballots start flying through the scanners, we can't help but look to the future, which has many different possibilities depending on the outcome. I will address the future of ABC which could go from bye-bye to vibrancy after the results. One thing was proven - that an ad hoc group of individuals with a wide range of political views - with a "leave your personal politics at the door" attitude, showed they could put together a slate of 550 candidates and run a campaign, a campaign that annoyed the hell out of both Unity and the usual loyal opposition.

What about the future of ARISE? Let's look at the components of the ARISE coalition, which has some similarities to United for Change from 3 years ago, but also some differences. My premise is that each caucus has different interests and after the election will focus on pursuing those interests. And as long as there are multiple caucuses pursuing their interests, and only coming together every 3 years for elections, Unity will prevail. 

ARISE is smaller in size down from 7 voices to 3 and they have learned a few lessons from the mistakes of UFC. Three caucuses made for easier decision making than 7. Let's not forget - before ARISE arose, there was the bigger ABC in formation which I wrote about the other day: Proposal from MORE to ABC Coalition (Oct. 2024) - Why This Agreement Favors MORE Caucus and Hurts Broader Union Democracy

Before the split, the group that became ARISE pushed the idea of structure as a necessary precursor which to the ABC component, which was like a wild horse trying to break out of the barn, meant control. And limits on what type of campaign could be run. Even a modest proposal to allow committees to funtion somewhat autonomously led to a hysterical reaction with screams of "you are trying to gut the power of steering." That was the final straw when ABC found out that the major 4 page proposal from MORE was being given careful consideration by the very same people who attacked ABC for its modest offer.

Anyway, let's look at those components.

New Action was founded in 1995 in a merger of two long-time caucuses, Teachers Action Caucus (TAC) - late 60's and New Directions (1975) and through 2001 won the high school exec bd seats. C. 2002, NAC began to cooperate with Unity Caucus and worked in tandem for UFT elections through the 2013 elections before breaking with Unity in 2016. During that 12 year period, NAC lost the bulk of its support, especially from active members and became more and more of a retiree-laden group. They recouped some in-service support from the 2022 election but are still very retiree dependent.

New Action has the most to lose if ARISE finishes last as they have claimed that only the caucuses and with their history and experience, could run a campaign. Thus some of them have been the most vicious in attacking ABC, which presents an existential threat to them.

MORE: Due to the NAC deal with Unity, two new groups, ICE and TJC ran against them both from 2004-10 before coming together with other groups to form MORE in 2012. A faction in MORE pushed out the ICE people in 2018 and MORE slanted traditional left. MORE is the biggest opposition group and is very school based and can withstand any outcome in this election and still hold its own. A significant portion of MORE did not even want to run and if ARISE finishes a poor last, will become more ascendant in MORE. That will make MORE less likely to want to continue to work within the ARISE group after the election.

Retiree Advocate: A 30- year old group that was a spin-off of NAC but separated in order to attract new people -- I and some others from the ICE wing of MORE plus people picked up during the rallies against MedAdv. Currently around 12 people, of which I am one. We call ourselves the RA Organizing Committee. Last year's major victory over Unity in the RTC election gave people hope we could beat Unity this time, but for me has made some serious errors in how they decided to join the ARISE group without going outside the dozen. I was the lone dissenter, urging them to remain neutral and try to play the role of mediator to try to bring ABC and NAC/MORE together before ARISE even AROSE. 

RA is not really a caucus because it has no formal membership and we are talking about how to change that but bad feelings about this election will not go away very quickly. RTC CL Bennett Fischer, who I support, even when I disagree with him, has the potential to keep things together.

In the meantime, RA is very tied in with running the RTC --- 8 of the ten officers are RA and I am on the RTC Exec Bd.  

Well, time to go off to get the results and look for a follow-up to this post once we know more.

 

UFT Election 2025: The Final Countdown - Come on Down - Plenty of Seating

Thursday, May 29, 2025

 

So it's the middle of the night and I have to be at UFT at 9 AM but I wanted to get this out  in advance. I want to get upstairs to the gym before I leave so this is a rush job. 

 

Expect all the groups running to have reps there along with any others who are interested in the process. Food will be served by GES, the vendor, which is catering from the UFT 3rd floor restaurant. For some a lot is at stake so expect some anxious looks. Let's hope there will be no food fights. Generally, I've found in the past that even people who have fought hard in an election don't bring animosity when observing. We all try to be nice. I will do my best, though I know a lot of people from some caucuses who seem pretty mad at me. (I will address the other caucuses in a follow-up post - maybe tonight.)

 

The ABC crew, on the other hand, seem to be happy campers, having had fun along the way. One of the officer candidates was given release from school today so I will have good company - I expect her to shield me from some of the very angry people who tend to blame me for the existence of ABC. (I have not played a major role other than in running the petition campaign through late March.)

 

I dropped by Shanker Hall yesterday to get the lay of the land for the count. I reported on my conversation with Kathryn Weisbeck, president of Global Election Services, the company running the election, when I voted in person last week. She was very helpful and yesterday she was at Shanker Hall along with the Chairman of GES, John S. Matthews, who gave me a guided tour of the entire process. Though I was initially skeptical, my hopes were raised that the process would run smoothly - but talk is cheap. Today we will see if the proof is in the pudding. John said they hired and trained 75 people in 3 shifts. Two security guards, moonlighting NYC police I believe, will be guarding the ballots from 8PM last night until 8 AM this morning.

 

Unlike AAA, GES did not touch the ballots until Wednesday morning when they picked ten boxes (about 3-4 feet high) up from the post office and delivered them to Shanker Hall. In addition, there are 34 locked in-person ballot boxes. Thus, unlike AAA which used to scan the envelopes as they came in - something none of us were able to see, GES is more open to us observing that process which will begin at 9 AM and last 8 hours. Thus no counting until that is done. But even before the count can begin, the envelops have to be slit open which will also take hours. So I imagine we might see some counting tonight.

Yasmin Colon, who handles elections for the UFT was there with me and I always rely on Yasmin and promised I would try to be nice - this time. There is plenty of seating for observers and there will be 3 TV screens for the scanners. Up to ten observers at a time will be allowed to watch up close if they like.

 

Yasmin has arranged plenty of seating for observers so no need to call in advance but you will need your UFT id to check in with her assistants. 

Security guards will also be on duty tonight from 8 PM to Friday morning at 7 when count sill resume. If necessary, the count will continue into Saturday. Expect full results to be tabulated by Monday or Tuesday. 

One other major change is that the ballots will not be separated by colors and counted division by division but all mixed in together -- there is a code on each color ballot that the software can pick up - but we won't be able to easily monitor the divisional vote until it's over. What we will do is take sample batches throughout the process over a period of hours and average those results. Bennet Fischer reported he did that in the RTC election last year and when he averaged about 15 samples he hit the exact number - 63% - that we won by. So if you come down join me in doing sampling. Expect the bulk of counting to be Friday.

 

As a member of the UFT Election Committee, I should be able to get some updates along the way. 

Below is the bulletin to the election committee from GES:

Proposal from MORE to ABC Coalition (Oct. 2024) - Why This Agreement Favors MORE Caucus and Hurts Broader Union Democracy

This is not coalition-building; it’s institutional dominance under the guise of “consensus.” -- response to MORE plan

If ARISE were to win, which of the 3 caucuses would have the major influence in running the UFT?

 

Tuesday, May 27, 2025 - 

 

Today is the last day to vote in person. There are lots of complaints from people who did not receive ballots and it it discriminatory to offer in person voting when there are so many out of town retirees or some who can't travel. But it sure gives an advantage to Unity Caucus members who work in or near borough offices. The other day only 21 people voted in the Bronx office. I could support in-person voting if there was an electronic voting alternative, which Unity views as not to its advantage. But apparently they do view in- person to their advantage. It will take a month after the election to find out how many late ballots came in, a number that may be in the thousands.

It is UFT election history time here at Ed Notes and with the end of the election and people looking ahead to what has become a somewhat toxic relationship between ABC and ARISE. In order to move forward we cannot bury the past. So I will post a series based on my view of the history since I've been there from day 1. I'm sure people will disagree and they are welcome to do so - no comments will be suppressed. 

Both sides have been accused of not coming together due to egos, past slights, and personalities. I push back on that. There were real differences on ideology, organizing principles, and the kind of audience a campaign was aiming to reach - irreconcilable differences at the time - and possibly going forward. Of course the election outcomes will determine the future. As I began pointing out almost a year ago, a key to defeating Unity would be, not retirees, but rousing enough of a segment of former non-voting in-service to go beyond 25%.

 

Assume all 3 components of ARISE will continue on their individual paths no matter the election outcome, though RA is under the major influence of NAC and not totally independent. For ABC, since it is not a caucus, the votes will determine its future. The attacks on ABC from both Unity and ARISE are aimed at diminishing the ABC votes to a point where ABC will just go away.

To set the groundwork, here is a  response to a proposal from MORE when ABC was one group to modify an original proposal from NAC to divide a future steering committee into four parts -- NAC, MORE, RA and everyone else (which became ABC). Behind the scenes the NAC group that designed their proposal to include MORE but limit their ability to take control of the UFT, which was a real concern, if we were to win the election. 

 

We began to meet in March 2024 - with independents and people from almost all caucuses and continued in August through early November. We were at first held up in moving ahead by MORE's internal system of deciding whether to join the coalition which lasted from August through mid-September. At all meetings until the vote was complete, MORE announced they were there only as observers, which led some to question whether they should be in the room given there was a chance they might not join and even run their own campaign. But most people, including many of the ex-Unity future leaders of ABC seemed to be catering to MORE. 

MORE had an internal split, with 35 out of about 170 voters who were opposed to joining the coalition - a position I can respect as fitting to MORE ideologists who claimed they shouldn't run with groups that didn't share their values, especially when it came to Palestine. (MORE's largest demo at a UFT DA had been a pro-Palestinian event where their CL and Delegates walked out to join). This group was very vocal with a lot of influence and there were internal concerns about them leaving the caucus unless some of their demands were met -- which created complications.

 

So there was push back from everyone when MORE came back with modifications of the NAC proposal and asked for more representation based on claims they were bigger, did more work and were harmed in the past in coalitions and wanted redress for these harms, even hinting that past criticisms on blogs like Ed Notes should be removed or censored. (They had made similar demands back in the 2022 UFC election with James Eterno being the fiercest opponent).

 

A vote was taken - 16-3 against MORE, with the 3 MORE reps voting yes and all the NAC, Unity defectors and independents voting NO. That led to all 9 MORE reps withdrawing from the coalition. 

 

Then NAC got cold feet over not being able to rely on MORE to do the bulk of the in-service election vote and secretly met with them and reversed themselves, agreeing to accept many of the MORE demands but not informing the others in ABC. At that point NAC members stopped attending the ABC meetings. A week later, what was left of ABC had clearly given up on working with the caucuses and declared they were going to run a slate in the UFT elections, inviting any individual, in a caucus or not, to run.

 

Before the final break occurred, there was an attempt to hold all the non-MORE elements together in ABC and approach them with a united front. One sidelight were hints from some leading MOREs behind the scenes that there were people in MORE willing to run as individuals with the ABC slate. This broke down with the NAC reversal and also the inordinate influence they had with Retiree Advocate. The secret meeting they held on Nov. 5 with MORE to renegotiate their demands was a final straw. Really, if you are looking for root caucus, check the actions of NAC then and through some of the insane attacks on ABC. NAC has the most to lose if ARISE does poorly since they were selling their decades of organizing experience. Assuming ARISE doesn't win - a good bet to make - can that coalition continue to function post-election? Another good bet to make.  As for ABC -- a collection of individuals, expect some relationships forged in the election to continue. Of course if ABC wins, that is another story.

 

But let me say --- things in the past will not always be that way in the future, but relationships between people on both sides will continue to be forged and out of that some sense of working together can come. 

Here is an analysis of the flaws in the MORE demands from October, 2024, followed by the MORE document.

Why This Agreement Favors MORE Caucus and Hurts Broader Union Democracy:  While framed as a compromise, this agreement disproportionately benefits MORE and imposes structural disadvantages on the rest of the coalition and membership:

⸻

1. “Chapter Leaders First” Locks In MORE’s Influence
    •    MORE has more active chapter leaders than many smaller caucuses.
    •    Prioritizing current chapter leaders ensures MORE dominates e-board seats before any proportional division, undermining equal representation.
    •    This rewards current power structures instead of reflecting membership-wide support or building broader coalition capacity.

2. Platform Pre-Vetting by MORE Imposes an Ideological Gate
    •    MORE demands the coalition agree to MORE’s platform priorities upfront, including controversial or highly specific planks (like strike-readiness and New York Health Act).
    •    This creates an ideological litmus test that other groups must pass before decisions are even shared—undermining a true consensus approach.

3. Maintains MORE’s Autonomy but Limits Others’ Influence
    •    MORE retains the right to speak independently on any issue—even contentious ones like Palestine—but other groups must accept that without reciprocal control or shared standards.
    •    This opens the door to confusion, factionalism, and public messaging conflicts, which can harm the coalition’s credibility and unity during the campaign.

4. MORE Locks In Officer Representation
    •    By demanding 3 of the top 12 officer spots, including a top position, MORE secures disproportionate visibility and power relative to other caucuses, even if the electoral base is not equally strong.

5. Imposes MORE’s Governance Style on the Whole Coalition
    •    Requiring the use of MORE’s meeting norms and a community care-based accountability model forces other caucuses to adopt their internal culture.
    •    This is not coalition-building; it’s institutional dominance under the guise of “consensus.”

6. Undermines Long-Term Coalition Stability
    •    The proposal makes the temporary leadership body explicitly short-term, requiring a total renegotiation after the election—this benefits the strongest player now (MORE) and leaves others insecure in the long run.

⸻

Conclusion:

This proposal allows MORE to:
    •    Consolidate more seats through chapter leader preference.
    •    Dictate platform content.
    •    Retain full ideological independence.
    •    Secure a top leadership position.
    •    Control internal processes.

Other caucuses get equal officer seats only after concessions, limited say on platform, and no autonomy protections of their own. Rather than a power-sharing agreement, this is a strategic entrenchment of MORE’s influence at the expense of true democratic coalition-building—and by extension, a less representative, less inclusive vision for the broader UFT membership.

 

And here is the MORE proposal coming in mid-late October - 4 pages - after months of meeting and itching to get a campaign started. While I don't know for sure, I'm betting NAC caved to many if not all the demands. Note only 72 out of 500 members voted. I and most of ABC can actually agree with many of the platform ideas and in fact has a similar platform other than a few points.

 

MORE/Coalition Proposal: Goal and Summary
The goal here is to present what MORE wants out of this coalition all at once in order to avoid endless back-and-forth horse-trading. To this end, MORE undertook a weeklong survey of its dues-paying members over the course of a week. 

 

72 members responded. 

 

Based on those responses MORE has crafted the following proposal. We believe this is a significant compromise from MORE and should be broadly acceptable to all our potential coalition partners and we hope this can end the back-and-forth negotiation and allow us to
begin campaigning in earnest.
 

As a topline summary: 

 

MORE is willing to trade away proportional representation among the officer seats and the election coalition leadership body in favor of a “Chapter Leaders First” system for allocating the e-board seats. We believe this will improve the coalition’s chance of winning (because Chapter Leaders have natural and proven constituencies within schools) and prioritize expertise and experience as workplace organizers and union activists. Once every chapter leader represented by all of the groups has an opportunity to say yes to being a part of an e-board slate, the remaining spots will go to the four groups/constituencies as proposed by NAC according to equal representation and the groups can choose members to fill the remaining spots allocated to them as they see fit.
 

MORE would also like to see a small number of things added to the platform before seating the coalition leadership body to avoid any individual or caucus vetoing some of MORE’s priorities. We believe these additions are in keeping with the general spirit of the coalition and are not major asks, though we recognize some of these are areas where there may be disagreement among coalition members. We hope that other groups will accept these proposals in the spirit of compromise. 

 

Those are detailed below.

In exchange, MORE will agree to equal representation on the coalition leadership body and only 3 seats among the officer slate, including one of the top spots. We feel that this is a significant concession given our caucus’s size and the resources we will be bringing to the coalition. The coalition leadership body will run by consensus and will not make decisions likely to be deeply controversial without first going back to the caucuses that make up the coalition. The groups will decide by consensus for the top 12 officer spots.

Structure proposals:

The coalition will adopt a 12-person steering committee that will be run by consensus involving 3 Unity breakers/independents, 3 members of RA, 3 members of NAC, and 3 members of MORE. The primary task of the group will be to prepare and propose an officer slate and facilitate subcommittees of the coalition. MORE agrees not to seek more than 3 seats (including one top spot) on the officer slate. All parties agree that there
needs to be a consensus on the 12 officer spots. This body is intended as temporary and will cease to exist after the election and any further collaboration between the parties will need to be renegotiated (this is not to say that MORE wouldn’t want to continue collaborating after the elections but we are wary about signing onto a decision-making body under a time crunch that winds up becoming permanent).

The coalition will adopt a "chapter leader first" policy for the remaining 90 e-board seats. This will increase our chances of winning since chapter leaders have proven constituencies. It will also prioritize giving leadership of the union to rank-and-file organizers. We will open up a period of time where each group solicits chapter leaders from their groups to run on the e-board slate. After that period closes and all current CLs are seated
the remaining seats will go 25-25-25-25 as proposed in Nick Bacon's proposal.

The coalition agrees to use MORE's meeting norms, including a cedar to assess and intervene when those norms aren't followed. The coalition also agrees to create an accountability committee to address past harms between people involved in the coalition and any harms that may come up in the campaign. Individuals with a community care background will assist in developing this accountability committee so it can be as effective as possible in resolving harm between the parties involved.

The coalition will agree that MORE and all other groups will be able to continue their work around areas that are not covered in the coalition platform, including Palestinian liberation, as long as our messaging around non-covered issues does not imply coalition support for those issues. No censorship will be applied to MORE’s social media accounts, literature shared with other union members, or events that MORE holds such as rallies, town halls, etc.

Platform proposals:

The coalition will agree to leave geopolitical issues off of the table in exchange for including language about defending members' right to free speech and protecting teachers who are targeted by media attacks and right-wing harassment campaigns.

The coalition will include on their platform to redirect UFT resources towards organizing at the chapter and district levels. Provide all chapter leaders, delegates, and chapter activists with organizer training, not just instruction on contractual minutia. Organize and empower strong chapters to take action at the school level and to educate and activate members to build up to being strike-ready by the next contract negotiations so we don't preemptively take our strongest weapon off the table during negotiations with the city.

The coalition will include on their platform to advocate for legislation like the New York Health Act, already approved by the UFT delegate assembly, that will permanently solve our union's healthcare crisis and allow contract negotiations to focus on wages and working conditions. Ensure that all members, including members who move out of state after retirement, have guaranteed access to high-quality healthcare and not a cut-rate Medicare Advantage plan.

The coalition will advocate for an end to the mayoral control system that has led to chaos and uncertainty at the individual school level. We will work with community and parent allies to establish a replacement system that will not resemble Unity’s short-sighted and incomplete plan to add one additional PEP member. The coalition will promise to defend curricular autonomy that has come under attack during the current mayor and
current chancellor's administration.

The coalition will advocate for a financial investment and commitment from the Department of Education to implement comprehensive restorative justice and conflict resolution programs in all schools. This will address disparities in discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline.

The coalition will advocate for wage increases that represent a real and significant raise over inflation and focus on sharply raising paraprofessional pay to ensure a living wage for all UFT members. The coalition will advocate for across-the-board increases to the FSF formula or other school funding mechanisms to ensure that schools are fully funded and to avoid any excessing associated with wage increases. The coalition will include in their literature and messaging a particular focus on fighting for significant increases for
paraprofessional wages and equivalent benefits such as LODI.

The coalition will commit to significantly reforming UFT leadership structures.
● Replace winner-take-all elections with proportional representation.
● Adopt level-based elections for level-based VPs.
● Adopt election by chapter leaders and delegates for district and borough reps.
● Adopt an open bargaining system for future contract campaigns.
The coalition will commit to adopting permanent reforms to the DA. This will need to be fleshed out but should
include things like:
● Creating a process where any DA proposal that meets a certain threshold of co-sponsors will be agendized in the order it was received.
● Limiting officer's reports to a total of 30 minutes and Q&A to a total of 15 minutes to ensure at least an hour for discussion and voting on all proposals and resolutions.
● Adopt a "consent agenda" for all non-controversial proposals to avoid wasting time.
● Adopting and strictly adhering to an alternating 1-for, 1-against system for all internal debate and restricting calling the question until after at least 4 members have gotten the chance to speak.
● Preventing the e-board or ad-com from unilaterally blocking the consideration of political issues and allowing the delegate assembly to have meaningful debate and take binding votes on controversial political issues.

 

 

UFT Election Update: Where the ballots are - My Conversation with GES President When I voted In person

I mailed in a ballot last week but before the RTC meeting on Tuesday,  as a member of the UFT election committee, I decided to vote in person to get an understanding of the process. I was thinking of doing the same again to test if their system is working until I heard Unity got hysterical when someone in ABC tried to do the same. The in-person vote will invalidate the mailed ballot and I thought if you try it again that would invalidate the last time you voted but when I saw how things works it made sense why we can't vote twice in person. I wanted to know... Exactly how this process works.

The voting took place in an empty space on the corner of Exchange Pl. and New St. Three ladies were behind a desk and all I had to do was show them my UFT ID. No picture ID to show it was really me. 

I asked the woman in charge a number of questions which she answered very openly. She is the President of Global Election Services. Ahhh, I wanted to know  --- the chain of custody of the ballots and she filled me in.

I asked if she could tell me if my ballot had been received and she had a lengthy explanation why she couldn't. In other words, GES does not scan the ballots as they come in like AAA did daily. She claims this is a more secure system. So how does this work?

Ballots currently reside in a post office locker until the morning of May 28 - the day before the count - when GES has a truck pick them up and deliver them to Shanker Hall at 52 Broadway. What? The ballot will be sitting at 52 overnight until the count begins at 9 AM on May 29? (They hire security - Look for Mulgrew and Ellie Engler in security uniforms.)

At 9 AM on the morning of Thursday May 29, the outside envelopes will be scanned, which should take hours. Then run through machines that slit the envelopes open - more hours. The fact they used an open sleeve inside saves some time - in the past the second envelope had to be run through slitters to open it. But in reality, the actual count won't begin until afternoon - maybe late afternoon.

I asked about how many scanners and she said 3. I said AAA had 4 and they jammed often. She said they were brand new. And also said we would be free to roam as observers and see the machines work unlike in recent elections.

I asked about the chain of custody for in person ballots. She said they were all in locked boxes and stored on Long Island. She said these ballots -- all in booklets even if only a slate vote -- would be counted first.

She said the entire process was open for observers - Can I ride on the pickup truck? No. she said. I did intend to go to the post office to see the loading process and then onto 52 but now have a dental emergency for next Wednesday but will go in right after.

Booklets will slow up the count

They handed me the ballot book and there were voting booths behind a curtain. A word of warning was to not tear off the front page even if voting for a slate -- which you can do if voting by mail. I asked why and she said they had to maintain the integrity of the entire ballot and not have the rest of the booklets floating around. I don't quite get that point -- they could just shred the rest of the booklet. I warned her that all these booklets will delay the count because even if no marks on them, they still had to be scanned. She responded that in the last election only 10% of the voters sent in the booklet. I told her this time there will be a lot more booklets and by having the in-person booklets even if voting slate, we may be at the count over the weekend of May 31.

Some ABC people may be voting for their friends on the other slates. For instance, both ARISE and ABC are only running 550-560 AFT/NYSUT candidates and Unity is running 750, so they are voting ABC slate on the first page and then going into the booklet to vote for about 150 in ARISE and some in Unity they know.