UFT Solidarity: Francesco Portelos to Be In Anti-Bullying Film

Irony-the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

Bully- (Noun)  a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people. (Verb-Without Object) to act the bully toward; intimidate; domineer.

What a fun day today turned out to be! I'm not a Jets fan, so no point in me watching the game. I am a Giants fan and to sad to watch Coughlin's last game so I was praying for something to give me some high spirits and/or a laugh today. And I got it. In Facebook. On the Don't Tread on Educators page. Let's have a looksee (Click to enlarge).

The "movie" is called "When Bullies Become Bosses" produced by Brett Culp and  Richard Santiago (link to trailer here) that comes with a website and Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and blog pages as well as an email.

Hey, we here at SBSB fully support the work of Brett and Richard and wish them well and Godspeed in their endeavor! It's just that The Crack Team wishes that they were more informed of things and should be aware that there could be a sub-title to their film...something like, "When Bullies Think They Are Becoming Self-Professed Union Bosses" are something akin to that. 

Before we here at SBSB go on an share what reasonable people but construe as bullying, let's think of this. 

There are far, far, more vile and disgusting stories than Portelos' of bullied teachers in the City of New York. We here at SBSB are officially calling for Portelos to put the tiny violin away. It's time. Or as one SBSB groupie just shared with us here; 

Big ego talking..that Portelos ego. He thinks that if he screams the loudest, he is fierce. So many other teachers who would be better fit for an interview for a documentary. This just feeds his insatiable ego.

Speaking of egos, could a reasonable person safely assume that the persistent haranguing of members of MORE, through texts and emails, is not supposed to be seen as intimidating? Can this in turn be reasonably seen as bullying? Or as Norm Scott has written (not confidential, any and all conversations I share are either with permission or gleamed from comments of my blog); 

It is your leader - the guy you have chosen to run for president who constantly trolls around ICE and MORE - and sends email after email. Why? If you have such a dynamic and influential group go forth and organize people but leave us alone. But your chosen leader can't seem to do that. He is selling you on the idea that if we all don't jump on the bandwagon we can't beat Unity. he is selling you the bridge...He had to show up at the MORE meeting today - and for a group that does nothing the fact that almost 60 people showed on a hot summer afternoon - many of them new and current chapter leaders and delegates who came to get some training and info. That is the kind of work MORE does - and we emphasized chapter leader support for ATRS. Portelos just can't seem to stay away from MORE or ICE. (Was he there to try to poach people who came to MORE for himself?)

Can the administrator of a Facebook page when finally fed up with Portelos' ego and bogarting of said page, not see Portelos as a bully? When said administrator's personal, confidential conversations, with Portelos be made public by Portelos when he had he the administrator toy taken away been seen as bullying? Is this not a mode of intimidation? 

Or when I wrote this piece, "Why I Can't Support UFT Solidarity" in which it is exposed how Portelos bullies not just myself, but Principals as well? What he wrote, could it be safe for me, as well as my family, to assume that I am being bullied when Portelos wrote this fiction and having to use my family against me (Click to enlarge)? 

What about this post, "Is There Solidarity With God," in which the comments kept me laughing my ass off as my wife read them to me driving home from Corning NY (Click to enlarge)?

Is this bullying/intimidation? It is a Portelos fantasy (click to enlarge).

Can the last line of this be considered a threat or intimidation/bullying (click to enlarge)?

Or as Norm Scott wrote on this thread;

I have 75 pages of notes on the Portelos trial and 25 on Peter's. One day I'll write a book. All I'll say here is that at no point at Peter's hearing did I hear one word that would make me think he could be evil. He would never go after someone's family. At the other hearing I heard more than one instance of retaliation against families of people on the "enemies" list, stories that made many of the observers shake their heads. Observers and supporters by the way who mostly came from the ranks of MORE/ICE. How soon people forget. 

Or what shall we say about this blog post, the one in which Portelos feels he must mock James Eterno.? And Portelos subsequently harangued to no end the person who shared this information with me.

To catch those who don't understand what is being said,  XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX has claimed that James Eterno is nothing more than a chef, probably a failed chef at that when what we need as a union is one who manages a 5 star restaurant. XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX believes that only such a manager can right the sinking ship of the UFT. But questions persist. 

And lest we forget the post, "The UFT Solidarity Circus Comes to Town" (I love that meme I created!) where I am threatened with a lawsuit. As wont a bully to do (Click to enlarge);

Cease and desist? Still, it is the wrong county! Please see my post, "Welcome to White Plains."

Or what about this post, "UFT Solidarity Threatens to Sue Me!",  in which a reasonable person can construe it as intimidation by a bully?

 
And of course, there is more (Click to enlarge)....

OH, I could go on and on but I shan't. I just wanted to share the hits. I can't share what has been confided to me either verbally or through email, due to my own ethics and morals, without gaining prior approval of those who shared with me. I need to look at myself in the mirror.

If these people want to use Portelos in their movie that is their right. I, and others, have every right to disagree with Portelos being used as a victim of bullying for several reasons; 1) In retrospect, what happened to Portelos is pretty benign. It was wrong, but there have been and continue to be, much worse instances of teachers being bullied and victimized; 2) He has, in many others opinions, gone from the bullied to the bullier, and 3) His fight is not about others but has always been about himself.

This is how I feel and many others feel. Portelos is not a leader. He should not, will not, be the leader of the UFT.


 

Why I Can't Support UFT Solidarity

I guess the first bad taste I got in my mouth was early this year at a DTOE meeting I had
attended in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx right over the Yonkers line. I had been at the time, on the DTOE steering committee and was truly gung-ho about the future of DTOE and what it could accomplish.

But something that night did not feel right and I don't mean the dude who came dressed as Jean-Luc Picard and smelled like a Klingon.

With what I saw it was more like a revival meeting and seemed to be centered around a "leader" and only that "leader's" agenda. Forgive me if I am wrong, but should not an agenda for such a meeting go through a steering committee? Is not the job of such a committee is to steer?

Too much of the agenda was how to be reactive to the crap we as teachers go through. How to FOIL, how to write a grievance, how to record a principal, stuff like that. There was nothing about how to be proactive. Nothing to do with how to get through being targeted emotionally.

Now mind you I am all for fighting the fight and holding feet to the fire but that is just me. I can't force my beliefs on someone else nor, and much more importantly, not everyone is like me. Not everyone else can or wants to fight back like me. Some just want someone to talk to. Some just want a shoulder to cry on. Some just want support.

Something clicked that night for me. It reminded me of the family that lived across the street from me when I was a kid. They seemed perfect from the outside--like from central casting for a 1950's family TV show--but they were truly dysfunctional. The screaming fights we heard from outside truly made sense when we all found out dad was a raging alcoholic. And things started to make sense that night in the Bronx.

Back in April, DTOE had decided to align itself with New Action in several protests across the city. I was bothered by that. Why, should DTOE be aligned with New Action when NA is not only sleeping with the enemy but making Unity's breakfast as well?

"Oh, it doesn't hurt to work with others. Besides, NA might leave it's alliance with Unity."

Yeah, right. And Donald Trump will become president.

I questioned this publicly in DTOE FB page and elsewhere. Not just the alignment but more important was the subjugation of democracy. The DTOE steering committee was not notified. One person made the decision.

I then inquired as to the by-laws of DTOE. I was told;

"We don't need by-laws."

Really? I was perplexed. What was to be done?

The same thing the leader of any country that is ruled despotically and for the purpose of enriching a leader when factions from it's puppet legislature or cabinet speak up. Call for new elections.

Yes, new elections for the DTOE steering committee were immediately called for without any input from the current steering committee or any by-laws. Care to guess who called for these elections?

I got the hint. But fittingly no one else ran so in a way I think I might be still be on the steering committee.

Remember this? The teacher Carmen Fariña harangued at PS 123 in Harlem during a visit? The "leader" sent this email to the Principal of this school (Just to allay any concerns this was publicly displayed in one of the "leaders" many Facebook pages");

Good evening Principal Hernandez,

     I was reading the below article and couldn't help but wonder who the teacher you had concerns about was. Chancellor Fariña recommended you "observe them many, more times a day."

    I'm curious in not only their identity, but if they are probationary/non tenured or veteran? Even more important to me is what support have they been given in the last year, two years, three years etc.

     I will be making a Freedom of Information Law request today to obtain documentation on the support this teacher was given. Please expect communication from the Records Office soon.  I don't agree with the chancellor's "counseling" methods and intend to follow up on the number of observations this teacher has from now until the end of school in June.

Women, children, and those with weak constitutions please avert your eyes for a second while some choice words are used to express opinion of this email.

WHAT THE F**K?????

What right does the leader have to do this. Yes, we know, you have the right to FOIL anyone, anytime, but do you have the moral and ethical right to file a FOIL request on a teacher who you do not even know, who did not ask you, who does not know you?

How do we know if this teacher is nontenured, on probation and because of this FOIL (Which was also CC'd to Farina and Aimee Horowitz) led to this teacher's discontinuance? Or if this teacher is tenured led to the teacher facing a 3020-a hearing? Or even more harassment?

What right does the "leader" have to play God? Or has the "leader" started thinking of itself as a deity? 

That was it for me. But there is more that one can question the judgement of the "leader."

Why is a clown, borderline disbarred (In my opinion and almost all of Earth's) attorney like Joy Hochstadt given a voice in DTOE? What is her role now with Solidarity?

Why when after all your love-ins with New Action did they repay the love when an UFT Executive Committee voted down the rights of ATR to have their own chapter with only one New Action member voting on the proposal (A retiree) with 2 abstentions and the rest voting no?

Why does the "leader" label himself as a "Union Boss" when the "leader" as yet to achieve such a lofty position? One also can ask where are the photos of the "leader" with the words so big saying, "UNION BOSS" imprinted prominently?

Why at the ICE meeting last week in which the "leader" asked for a joint slate was the "leader" either unable or unwilling to answer this simple question from myself?

"If there were to be a joint slate would you be willing to step down as nominee for UFT president and let a joint committee decide and will let where the chips fall where they may?"

The leader as been unable or unwilling to answer the question.

Why did the "leader" take credit for creating the Facebook group ATR Alliance and why did the "leader" turn a FB group originally used for support into a political tool of the "leader's"? What accomplishments as the ATR Alliance endeavored to?

What truly happened at the lunch meeting with Randi Weingarten? Has she asked the "leader" to form another caucus to split the anti-Mulgrew vote?

As UFT President one should wonder what the "leader" will do to those who dare to those that dare to question or contradict the "leader" president.

And lastly, one can reasonably ask, whether or not the "leader" is in this for the "leader" or for THE CAUSE as the "leader" likes to say. If this is for THE CAUSE than the "leader" should remove the rose colored glasses and look around and do what is right for THE CAUSE.

Why all of the sudden come to ICE for a joint slate? Because Solidarity does not have the numbers to run nor to sign the petitions is what The Crack Team as ascertained. 

 What is one to make of comments such as this from this James Eterno posting?

 "When I'm up at the podium one day, don't worry, no hard feelings, I'll still call on you at the DA"

"You will see me up at podium one day and despite the fact that you've discarded our work together, know that you had a part in that success, whether you like it or not. MORE running a separate campaign would be a extremely irresponsible."

"Because I'm going to be leading something called the "United" Federation of Teachers."

Humility goes a long way. Try it. 

Your Guide To Fun With Google Mail

Francesco Portelos has been MIA since December 23 and I figured I might pick up the slack (Yes, it is unsolicited, but what the heck?) of a little primer of my own (Not taking anything away from DTOE's own resource's page) which I hope can be added over there. And when Francesco is found he can add anything to this if he so wishes.

The NYCDOE uses Outlook for all it's email purposes. However, all Outlook email is subject to FOIL and any and all discovery requests in a court of law. The NYCDOE is a public entity and all those working for the NYCDOE are in the realm of public employees.

Even if the emails are deleted they are stored indefinitely in servers at, I believe, MetroTech.

But some people, and not just at the NYCDOE, have figured out a way around using "official" email. As someone in government said to me, "Here is my personal email. Use this to communicate with me it is not FOILable."

But back to the NYCDOE. Yes, some schools have set up email domains and accounts through third parties. GoDaddy, Yahoo, Hotmail, and yes, even Google Mail or as we call it, Gmail with their own domains.

But let's focus on Google mail.

Through Google mail one can have their on domain (instead of @gmail.com one can have something like, @failingschool.com) which might make one think they are impervious to any FOIL requests or discovery requests.

This is false.

Once a private email provider (In this case Gmail) is used to discuss business, especially one like a government agency that email account is than considered to be a government account subject to all laws of FOIL and discovery.


But Kevin Smith of Fort Lee NJ asks a question;

"What if the emails in question have been deleted by the account? Then what?"

Good question Kevin!

The Crack Team checked with several people in the industry and with people at Google. The answers we got back were pretty much the same;

"With over a million servers world wide the deleted emails remain on the Google servers forever"

See, problem solved Kevin. We guess Kevin won't be deleting any emails anytime soon, right Kev?

But how does one get those emails? This was the question put forth to us by Kevin Jones of Fort Lee NJ.

Thank you Kevin, The Crack Team has researched your questions and please click here and for those who can't wait some of the highlights are below.

We here at SBSB hope that this post and the information below can and will be helpful.

What kinds of data do you disclose for different products?

To answer that, let's look at four services from which government agencies in the U.S. commonly request information: Gmail, YouTube, Google Voice and Blogger. Here are examples of the types of data we may be compelled to disclose, depending on the ECPA legal process, the scope of the request, and what is requested and available. If we believe a request is overly broad, we will seek to narrow it.

Gmail

Subpoena:

• Subscriber registration information (e.g., name, account creation information, associated email addresses, phone number)
• Sign-in IP addresses and associated time stamps

Court Order:

• Non-content information (such as non-content email header information)
• Information obtainable with a subpoena

What's the difference between a subpoena, a search warrant and a court order under ECPA? And what information can a government agency get from Google with each?

It's complex, but here's a summary of the different forms of legal process covered by ECPA:

Subpoena

Of the three types of ECPA legal process for stored information, the subpoena has the lowest threshold for a government agency to obtain. In many jurisdictions, including the federal system, there is no requirement that a judge or magistrate review a subpoena before the government can issue it. A government agency can use a subpoena to compel Google to disclose only specific types of information listed in the statute. For example, a valid subpoena for your Gmail address could compel us to disclose the name that you listed when creating the account, and the IP addresses from which you created the account and signed in and signed out (with dates and times). Subpoenas can be used by the government in both criminal and civil cases.

On its face, ECPA seems to allow a government agency to compel a communications provider to disclose the content of certain types of emails and other content with a subpoena or an ECPA court order (described below). But Google requires an ECPA search warrant for contents of Gmail and other services based on the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure.

ECPA Court Order

Unlike an ECPA subpoena, obtaining an ECPA court order requires judicial review. To receive an ECPA court order, a government agency must present specific facts to a judge or magistrate demonstrating that the requested information is relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation.

With such a court order, a government agency can obtain the same information as a subpoena, plus more detailed information about the use of the account. This could include the IP address associated with a particular email sent from that account or used to change the account password (with dates and times), and the non-content portion of email headers such as the "from," "to" and "date" fields. An ECPA court order is available only for criminal investigations.

Does a law enforcement agency in the U.S. have to use legal process to compel Google to provide user data or will a phone call be enough?

The government needs legal process—such as a subpoena, court order or search warrant—to force Google to disclose user information. Exceptions can be made in certain emergency cases, though even then the government can't force Google to disclose.

 

DTOE General Meeting October 1, 2014

 

Come one, come all, to the next..................


DTOE GENERAL MEETING!!!!

Yes, back by popular demand it is the grassroots Don't Tread on Educators general meeting!

When? This Wednesday, October 1st, 2014.


Where? 87-22 52nd Ave in Elmhurst, Queens

Time: 5-8 PM EDT

Directions: Take the R, M, or E train to Grand Ave

Tell Francesco Frank Sinatra Jr sent you and get a glass of Ouzo on the house!


View Larger Map

MORE Needs to Change

First let me share, for those who don't know, that I am a Jew. It seems important in this conversation, but from what I have been reading it is. I am not a Lower Eastside Jew, wait I am. My paternal grandfather and his family first lived on Ave C and 9th St when they first came over in 1903. Eventually they moved to the Bronx and my grandfather was quite active in Tammany Hall. Oh, and during prohibition ran booze down from Canada and after that sold Slivovitz out of the trunk of his Buick that my great grandfather had produced using my 6 year old father and his 8 year old cousin to smash the plums in the bathtub in his apartment on Walton Ave in the Bronx.


I also have some tried and blue Communists in my family. A cousin, the actor Howard Da Silva (He played Louis B Mayer in "Mommie Dearest" and Ben Franklin in "1776") was a Communist and blacklisted by Joe McCarthy.

When my dad's uncle went off to Berkeley in the mid 1920's, it was Howard Da Silva who turned him onto Communism. My great uncle was soon ushered out of the State Department just before WW II, moved to China after the war, fell out of favor with Mao in 1949, and moved to Rome where he lived until his death in 1977.

My great-aunt (My grandfathers sister) said to me about 20 years ago (This coming from a 91 year old short Jewish woman) "I'll kill anyone in the family that doesn't vote for a Democrat."

Oh, before I forget, I lost family in the Holocaust. My maternal grandmother's uncle (As well as her brother in law. He married her sister!) died in the Lødz Ghetto in 1941 along with his wife and his children. His name, Maurcy Trébacz, one of the most famous Jewish-Polish artists of his time.

So, enough of the bromides, M'kay?

But I am not writing to share my life or make my life the center of this blog post, rather I wish to share why I am disappointed with MORE and fear for it's future.

First, there are some very good people with MORE. These people are able to see both sides of the issue and able to listen to others. These people want to see MORE (As do I) be able to overtake Unity and take control of the union. But the perspective is that MORE will much rather deal with this "Social Justice" mantra than deal with the fact that TEACHERS ACROSS THE CITY ARE HURTING AND IN PAIN AND HAVE NOWHERE TO TURN.

Francesco Portelos was arrested and spent 33 hours locked up (And let's not forget this). My story. Christine Rubino. Jeff Storobinsky. ATR's? And let's not forget the countless stories that come into my email and DTOE's each and every day from teachers being harassed, belittled and discontinued.

Where is MORE on this? Not to be seen of nor heard from. Nothing. Nada. Bupkus.

When it was suggested that MORE picket and/or have a presser in front of Sam Pirozzolo's optical store, it was met with an extremely tepid response.  

When I suggested to someone at MORE  that they should have had someone or people picket the 84th precinct when Portelos was arrested (It was known several days in advance of Portelos' pending arrest) the answer I received was. "It will look stupid."

But how did I get to have this audience with such a person? This MORE person called me up, on a SUNDAY, and without even saying, "Hey Pete, this is *******," went into such a tirade, that the senior citizens at the CVS I was at were not only able to hear this tirade and imagine the frothing at the mouth from this person, but were blushing.

Yet, teachers do not get support, yet Con Ed workers do from MORE? Why do ConEd workers on strike get attention and teachers don't? Oh yeah, "Well if we show them support, they will show is the same." A lot of people are still awaiting our blue helmeted brethren.

But MORE has no problem supporting the march of a race baiting, anti-Semite while not supporting the cops and the NYCPBA? Edited for the crazies (IN RED) who forgot what I had written  a week ago: Firstly, what happened in Staten Island was wrong. Do I think that people of color are treated differently by than others my some NYPD officers? Yes. Does this effect the way the community interacts with NYPD? Yes. Should the UFT have supported this march? No way.

The UFT showed it's hypocrisy in supporting the march for the act of one police officer. We as teachers are broad brushed day in and day out by the acts of a very few. We are railed against, beaten down and left on an island without any support. By making this march about the UFT's involvement we have put the 99% of officers of the NYPD who do the right thing in the shoes we don't like being forced to wear by outsiders. And.... The UFT could have showed it's support for the community in other ways than endorsing this march.

We as teachers could have been asked or encouraged to go out into that Staten Island community and found common cause with the citizens. We as teachers have been subject to heavy handed tactics by Tweed and worse, SCI. We, both teachers and the Staten Island community have been affected by the last 20 years in this city of a top down, heavy handed, oligarchy, near police state by our elected officials and those at 1 Police Plaza. Oh yeah, the old, "What have cops done for teachers?" But then what have ConEd workers done for teachers?

When I bring this up on the MORE listserv what happens? I get a phone call, while I'm in Chicago going to a Cubs game, telling me to cool it. This smacks of if not censorship, but rather being told to toe the party line.

I want nothing more (Pardon the pun) to see MORE succeed. But it is trying to be too many things to too many constituencies. MORE must concentrate on the teachers, the schools, the students, and education and only then will the social justice aspect fall into place.

MORE needs to show the same fervor for teachers that are mistreated and shat upon that it shows for others. It needs to be GEOGRAPHICALLY more (Again, pardon the pun) inclusive.

MORE, has a perception issue. It is real and there are a lot of people that feel this way. And this are not pro-unity, pro status quo people. These are people that truly are searching for an alternative and feel that MORE can be that great alternative but these people just have far too many qualms and concerns about MORE.

It's too bad that they don't truly see that.

Germany Supports DTOE and Calls for NYCDOE Spring Cleaning

For those that remember, DTOE sponsored it's first rally today in front of Tweed calling for the

abolition of the dependence of lawyers at the DOE. A good time was had by all and The Crack Team will like to thank master of ceremonies Francesco Portelos for putting this all together.

I was tasked with handing out leaflets to the growing crowd of people curious in what the group had to say. At first the passers by refused to accept any leaflets. They seemed to be busy going elsewhere but their body language showed that they really did care but didn't have the time to chat.

That was until we came across a family from Germany.

This family, a mom, dad, sister and brother, were walking in front of Tweed when I, and others, struck up a conversation with them about the the state of education in Germany. The language barrier was difficult seeming that their English, except the mom's, was so-so and the only German I knew was gleamed off of "Hogan's Heroes."

After some banter and sharing with the family how the Untied States will wipe the flow with Germany in next Monday's Group match in the World Cup, their 21 year old son agreed to answer some questions about German education and be videoed for posterity.



Notice anything? Our German friend shared with us that Germany does not rely on standardized tests for it's students and even though he did not understand what the word respect (respektieren in German) he shared with us that teachers are treated well in Germany.

More shocking, when asked what makes a good teacher, the young man alluded to that teachers have autonomy in the classroom and was shocked and dismayed that teacher's get punished for not being perfect.

They promised to go back to Germany and share the plight of NYC teachers and teachers throughout the United States.

Oh one more thing. Off camera they agreed that the NYCDOE does need a spring cleaning and that there are way too many lawyers employed at Tweed.

Spring Cleaning at the NYCDOE

Come one, come all to the;

 NYCDOE SPRING CLEANING RALLY!

This Tuesday, June 10, 2014 from 4:30-5 PM EDT in front of the Tweed Courthouse on Chambers St. (Take 4, 5, or 6 to City Hall or A train to Chambers St.)

Endorsed by DTOE, MORE, Change the Stakes, and the Badass Teacher's Association.

The hundreds of lawyers hired by the Bloomberg administration are still ensconced at the DOE. Isn't it time the look for jobs in the private sector?

Show up, meet The Crack Team and tell them Frank Sinatra Jr sent you and get a glass of wine on the house!

   dtoe