He is half right, I mean about "themselves" - the UFT do not defend the membership as they should.
I guess Mona Davids is upset she received only $10,000 from the UFT.
The Frivolous Case of NYC Parent Mona Davids v Tenure.
Once Again, The Teacher Tenure Debate: It's About Who Will Get the Billions In Public Money, not Teacher Effectiveness
Betsy Combier
CHALKBEAT
Updated 4:00 p.m. The United Federation of Teachers is officially jumping into a legal battle against advocates who are challenging New York’s teacher job protection laws.
The union announced on Tuesday that it would file a motion to intervene in a parent lawsuit that seeks to scale back tenure, which the advocates say makes it too hard to fire ineffective teachers. The lawsuit is only against the city and state education departments, but the union is arguing it should also be permitted to argue on behalf of its 100,000 members, since they would be affected by the judge’s decision.
The filing mostly covers the union’s reasoning for being involved in the case, which attempts to “undermine the quality of education in New York ,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew wrote in an affidavit . It holds back on arguing the legality of teacher tenure at this point, other than to outline its general merits.
The lawsuit also pits the union against a former ally, Mona Davids, who is among the parents suing to undo the tenure laws. Davids heads the New York City Parents Union, which consulted with the UFT on a union-sponsored parent advocacy group two years ago.
“The union’s interests are not necessarily in the best interests of the kids,” said Davids, who said she worked with the UFT because she wanted parents to be more involved in legislative affairs. “I don’t have to agree with them on everything.”
Sam Pirozzolo, another of the parent plaintiffs, said the UFT’s involvement has little effect.
“The UFT is not a part of this case,” Pirozzolo said. “By the UFT sticking their nose into parents’ business, it once again shows that the only thing they care about is themselves and their membership.”
Davids’ group is one of two that is arguing that more than three years of experience are needed for teachers to receive lifelong job protections, as state law dictates, and that it’s too hard to remove ineffective teachers once they’ve been granted tenure. Former CNN anchor Campbell Brown, who has lobbied for more flexible teacher firing rules for years, is planning to file a separate but similar lawsuit in the coming weeks.