Betsy Combier: The UFT Calls the 3-member Panel "Historic" - I Call Them Hypocrites

After I posted on this blog the story of the UFT win and the efforts the UFT made to have a 3-member panel to decide grievances, I received many calls and emails from teachers who were very
 happy with this new procedure, and the fight that the UFT made. The UFT bigwigs said that this is an "Historic Rating Ruling" and that the UFT had fought "so hard " to get it:

"PS 90 Chapter Leader Vicky Giasemis Wins Her Grievance to Change Her "Ineffective" Rating Given by Bully Principal Greta Hawkins

PS 90 Chapter Leader Vicky Giasemis (right), whose Ineffective rating from her principal was overturned by an
arbitrator, and delegate Betty Matos outside the Brooklyn school.

Historic rating ruling

Brooklyn principal forced to change Ineffective thanks to appeals process UFT fought for"

Indeed, the article goes on to say:

"UFT General Counsel Adam Ross said the new protection against supervisory harassment was a major milestone.

“We never got ratings reversed on substance under Bloomberg, but now we have secured due-process rights for teachers in state education law,” he pointed out." 

Rubbish.

Balderdash.

The grievance process has been a scam for years. Everyone knows that.

When I worked for the UFT 2007- 2010, my office was on the 16th floor at 52 Broadway, sandwiched between Gene Rubin and Amy Arundell, both of whom gave me all the ins

Amy Arundell

and outs of UFT trials and tribulations. Randi Weingarten had hired me in August 2007, and told Adam Ross to write my agreement - to work for the UFT 14 hours/week (my choice - I did not want to work full-time). My duties were to help members, particularly those who were re-assigned (in the "rubber rooms").

UFT Attorney Adam Ross

I loved my job, and believed that I was in the right position, as I had been advocating for UFT members since 2003 in the rubber rooms of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Adam told me that I should know the UFT contract, so the staff Director at the time, Jeff Zahler gave me his copy. I memorized it.

Betsy Combier and Chris Callagy (photo by David Pakter)

How did this all start?  A former teacher at the High School of Art and Design, David Pakter, and I ended up speaking on a cable TV show moderated by a mutual friend, Dean Loren. David told me an unbelievable, but fascinating story of hundreds of teachers sitting in rooms called "rubber rooms" awaiting "trials" called 3020-a arbitration. David sneaked me into the rubber room at 25 Chapel Street, and I started talking with the teachers there. David asked me to attend as a member of the public his 3020-a, where he was represented by NYSUT Attorney Chris Callagy.

PICTURED: Back row, from left, are Greenburgh 11 stalwarts Milt Cobb, Richard Rowlands, Hedwig Broetz, Goetschius, Chris Sartory, Matt Magee and Kevin Burns. Missing from photo is Dennis Mosblech. In front row are NYSUT attorneys Chris Meagher, Chris Callagy and Conrad Lower. Photo by Deidre Drohan Forbes.

The arbitrator was Martin Scheinman (see the warm and fuzzy picture below). I like Martin, by the way.

UFT President Mike Mulgrew, Arbitrator Martin Scheinman, NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio 

David's hearing went on for months, and I missed only one hearing day. I sat against the wall and made notes on what the attorneys were saying and doing. I wanted to learn everything there was to learn about this process. Soon, more and more teachers charged with 3020-a asked me to sit in on their 3020-a, and I always said yes. Before this time, almost no one had an open and public hearing. After I started attending, I told everyone to make their hearings public so I and anyone else could attend. More about this later in another post.

One of the rules for 3020-a arbitration hearings if charged with incompetency, was that if you asked for a 3-member panel within 10 days of being charged, you could have a 3-member panel.

On July 4, 2008, a teacher who had just been charged with 3020-a came to my office at 52 Broadway and told me that he wanted a three-member panel. I said, "Great!!"
"You received your charges 9 days earlier, so let's ask Claude Hersh, Assistant General Counsel of NYSUT, for the 3 member panel!! I was very happy to help the member get a 3-member panel, as not many people actually asked for this, and it is a right to have. I looked at his chrges, and they were for incompetency (contrary to what Claude Hersh says in his emails below)

We composed a short letter request for Claude Hersh, got into the elevator, went to the 9th floor, and tried to reach Claude. The receptionis said that he was not in, so we left the envelope and went back upstairs to my office. The member went home soon after.

Approximately 1 hour later, all hell broke loose. Claude sent me a scathing email, telling me that I violated a thousand million unwritten laws (I exaggerate to see if you are still reading) telling the member that he could have a 3-member panel. He sent this email to Randi, Adam, UFT Attorney Carol Gerstl, Mike Mulgrew (being groomed to be President), and Chief of Staff Leroy Barr, for effect.

I was stunned, but I basically am not afraid of anyone, so I wrote Claude back, challenging him to a duel. (not really). My point is, the UFT fought to remove the 3-member panel from 3020-a hearings in order to expedite teacher trials and get the guilty removed from the DOE.

I was told by the UFT VIPs that my advocacy was creating a liability for them, as everyone charged is always guilty.

This is why I don't work for the UFT anymore. I refuse to agree and not fight for rights.

Betsy Combier

Here are the emails:

Why Do Grievants Lose Their Grievance Hearings? Hearing Officer Marcel Kshensky Explains

Most people who have been through the grievance process at either 49-51 Chambers Street, 6th floor, or at 65 Court Street in the offices of Appeals and Reviews , leave thinking one or the other of the statements below are true:

1. Gosh, my UFT/DC37/CSA Rep. did a great job!! I'm sure that I won!!

2. There is something wrong with this process, the principal/AP/Respondent didn't show up and just spoke by telephone, and I was not allowed to speak/enter documents/have witnesses.

And then, after several weeks or months, you find out you lost.

The grievance procedure is a scam, charade, theatrical performance, etc., played out by all parties excluding you, the grievant, who may be thinking that all due process rights are being honored. Nope, not at all, sorry. The reps and hearing officers know this. But no one challenges the status quo. I want to add that this is in no way an attack on the individuals who hear/represent/testify at these hearings. They do their job. I expose the process they use, and the rules or policies they use to justify their actions.

See Marcel Kshensky, Susan Holtzman, and "Sham Closings"

Here is what the public knows about Hearing Officer Pedro Crespo: 
An Investigation Into Misconduct in Community School District 7

Susan Vairo

In 2013 I was hired as the paralegal at a 3020-a of a UFT Chapter Leader at C.S. 133 who was charged with 3020-a after the principal, Susan Vairo, took all employees off of the ATS and allowed access only after classes were over for the day. A teacher with a full program was given the duty of getting on the ATS for any employee who needed to view the information. This was a severe hardship for everyone. My client, the Respondent, spoke to the Principal as the Chapter Leader, and he questioned this policy. He was retaliated against and charged with 3020-a.

The arbitrator, Roy Watanabe, asked us - the attorney (Fred A.) and paralegal (me) to provide him with a brief on the Chapter Leader's First Amendment rights to speak within the school as the elected Chapter Leader, and we did this. Watanabe did not agree that the CL had any right to question Ms. Vairo, who was removed from the school by Superintendent Gale Reeves


Superintendent Gale Reeves

 and given a desk job at Tweed. The CL was given a fine and made an ATR.

Before the CL was charged with 3020-a, he grieved what the Principal was doing to him as the CL, and was shocked to find that he lost the grievance. He testified that he was not allowed to have any witnesses.







Marcel Kshensky

The DOE Attorney at the 3020-a, Lisa McFadden, (49-51 Chambers Street, Room 604, 212-374-4204)

brought in the Hearing Officer as a rebuttal witness. The Hearing Officer was Marcel Kshensky, a person who, in my opinion, should not be a hearing officer.  Ms. McFadden asked Mr. Kshensky to testify about how the grievance procedure worked.

I uploaded Kshensky's testimony at the CL's 3020-a on January 7, 2013 (I re-formatted the testimony so that it would not be in columns).

His testimony was that he is a consultant for the Office of Labor Relations but he does not work for the Department of Education.

Huh? I really don't get that. So who pays him?

And there are several shocking bits of information in the pages below which Grievants probably don't know.

1. Karen Solimando, Deputy Director of the Office of Labor Relations under David Brodsky, signs the Chancellor's name on all decisions after she writes them. The paperwork for every part of the grievance is done at OLR, and never leaves the building or goes to anyone outside of the Department of Education .In my opinion, this is not fair to the grievant, because Ms. Solimando does not attend the hearings, cannot determine credibility, and has only the scribbled notes of the hearing officer to work with. It seems to me that the decision is made in an arbitrary and capricious manner, without basis in the facts, only the paperwork submitted by the DOE Principal.

And then there is Hearing Officer Pedro Crespo.

Labor Relations

The Office of Labor Relations (OLR) provides daily support and guidance to both school-based and non school-based supervisors citywide concerning all labor relations matters including contract interpretation and employee performance/discipline. OLR advocates on behalf of principals and other DOE supervisors at contract arbitration hearings, as well as administers the Expedited Time and Attendance Process, which is an effective tool for principals to address tenured pedagogues in their schools with problematic time and attendance records.

David Brodsky

•  David Brodsky, Director
     (212) 374-7954
  DBrodsky@schools.nyc.gov

Karen Solimando, Deputy Director
(212) 374-7990
KSolimando@schools.nyc.gov

• Dimitrios (Jim) Gounelas,Deputy Director, Arbitration
  (212) 374-7926
  DGounelas@schools.nyc.gov
  
  

2. The Department of Education, Office of Labor Relations, and the UFT all know that the UFT Collective Bargaining Agreement does not allow anyone to grieve a letter to file, yet all of the above parties allow the grievant to go to Step 3(2?) at 49-51 Chambers Street, anyway. What a waste of time and money.

I have spoken to several UFT Reps who are not happy with this grievance procedure, but tell me, "that's the way it is".

Also, there is a limited number of grievances allowed to be heard each school year. I heard that the number is 200. If you are 201, forgetaboutit.

Francesco Portelos has also written about this process, see:

UFT and DOE agree: If it’s not in the contract, you could be made an ATR at anytime. Francesco writes about Marcel Kshensky:

Listen carefully as Marcel Kshensky asks “Where is that written?” in reference to the statement that a teacher cannot be made an ATR based on a 3020-a hearing.  When my rep states it’s “not in the contract,” Marcel responds “Right, but it doesn’t prohibit it.” <——-?

Again, the chancellor’s representative is basically saying if the contract doesn’t say the DOE can’t do something, then therefore it can.

Make sure you catch the so-called "signature" of Carmen Farina on his grievance. That is not her signature, it's Karen Solimando, writing Carmen Farina's signature. Betsy Combier

Carmen Farina Arbitration Advocacy - Excerpts

James Calantjis, Proponent of School Leadership Teams and Participatory Democracy, Welcomes Supreme Court Decision That SLTs are Open Meetings

From Jim Calantjis:

This is a great victory and strong decision in keeping SLTs open to the public rather than hid in secrecy. However, just as important, was the statements made by the judge on page 9 of the decision. The judge affirmed that:

     "If it is filling its statutory role, a school's SLT is not  a mere advisor to the principal."

     " The role of an SLT in formulating its school's CEP is one of decision maker."

      "In fulfilling this role, the SLT acts in conjunction with and not subordinate to, the school's principal."

We should be communicating these facts to our SLTs, to embolden them to take back control of the process from the principals.

 

Dear Ms. Jackson-Chase,

Chief Legal Advisor for DOE)

 

Courtenaye Jackson-Chase

 

 It was a great pleasure to see the DOE's efforts to further marginalize School Leadership Teams defeated in today's court decision, Thomas v. DOE. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/262875757/Thomas-v-DOE-Decision-and-Judgment). 

  It is shameful that parents and teachers had to take the DOE to court to make the NYS Open Meetings Law applicable to SLTs. The legal department of the DOE has consistently tried to limit the powers and responsibilities of SLT's throughout the years, by deliberately misinterpreting State law or not enforcing it. This benign neglect even applied to its Chancellor Regulations (A-655,B-801) concerning the Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP) and budget responsibilities of SLTs. 

 Under the mission of "principal empowerment", lip service has been given to parental and teacher involvement in school governance, that is required through School Leadership Teams.

  It is important to note the following statements in the court decision, all on page 9:

"The role of an SLT in formulating its school's CEP is one of decision maker"

"In fulfilling this role, the SLT acts in conjunction with and not subordinate to, the school's principal"

"If it is fulfilling its statutory role, a school's SLT is not a mere advisor to the principal"

 

 School Leadership Teams are barely functioning with little or no training in CEP and budget matters, even though it is required by law. Principals have turned SLT's into  "informational Sessions" rather than shared decision making bodies concerning the development of CEPs as required.The DOE consistently refers to SLTs as advisory bodies.

Public Advocate Letitia James, who assisted Michael Thomas

 While the DOE was successful in taking away shared decision making in the development of the budget, SLTs still have budget responsibilities that are ignored. SLTs are to align the budget with the CEP in an active way as the law intends, not passively approve an alignment by the principal. They are also to advise the principal on all budget spending. This requires budget transparency and not secrecy,so that  SLTs can do their job.

 

 I realize that the legal department is working on behalf of the Chancellor and DOE leadership,who must accept primary responsibility for these many legal abuses that are intended to disempower SLT's. 

Sincerely,

James Calantjis

 

From Editor/Reporter Betsy Combier:

Carmen Farina made up her own rules for the SLT at PS 6: the group was made of 4 people. Carmen did not like the thought that anyone could challenge her authority as Principal, certainly not when it came to money - use of, secrecy in giving, paying out, etc.

 

I, a new parent to public schools for my children, reported her in 2001 for this violation of SLT rules, and the DOE reprimanded her:

 

Carmen Farina: Politics Wins With Her Appointment as Deputy Chancellor in New York City

Then she came after me, but was removed as principal.

Betsy Combier

Joe Baranello Says Pay or You Dont Get To Play (F11,129)

NYC DOE Joe Baranello

TO: Courtenaye Jackson-Chase, Esq.

       General Counsel

        FOIL Appeals Officer

 

       Robert Freeman

       Committee on Open Government

Dear Ms. Jackson-Chase,

Today, I received, once again, an email from your Records Access Officer Joseph Baranello which delays the release of records, digitally stored data, and documents pertinent to your meeting held at your office on February 24, 2015, at 4 PM with NYSUT/DOE attorneys and arbitrators currently working on §3020-a cases in New York City:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law, I am appealing this constructive denial of access by Records Access Officer Joseph A. Baranello, Esq. 

 

The advisory opinion by Robert J. Freeman which was cited by Mr. Baranello, FOIL-AO-19021, is here:

FOIL-AO-19021

From:   Freeman, Robert (DOS)
Sent:    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 3:00 PM
To:
Cc:       'Maureen.Murphy@suny.edu'
Subject:           RE: FOIL Request Control No. 1315

Dear :

            I have received your note - - the response to your request by SUNY regarding fees is not, in my view, entirely clear. 

            Section 87(1)(c) of FOIL authorizes an agency to establish a fee based on the actual cost of reproducing records that are maintained electronically.  If it takes 2 hours or more to prepare the records sought, an agency may charge a fee based on the hourly salary of the lowest paid employee able to do so, plus the cost of the storage media.  If it takes less than two hours, the actual cost would involve only the storage media.

            The issue with respect to the response involves the term “prepare.”   We agree that the effort needed to extract records or data involves the preparation of records.  If redaction is accomplished electronically, that, too would likely be found by a court to reflect the preparation of a record.  However, if, for example, records are extracted and exist in paper form, and if redactions are made manually, the process of redacting would not, in our opinion, constitute the preparation of records; the records would already have been prepared, and the agency would redact or delete portions of those records already prepared in order to disclose the remainder.  No fee may be charged in that latter circumstance.

I hope that I have been of assistance.

FOIL-AO-f19021
19021
 

For comparison purposes, I am in possession of similar FOIL requests made by me that the New York State Education Department, when responding to a request for records which may require a fee, writes:

 

"SED charges the statutorily permitted fee of $.25 per page for duplication of records requested under FOIL (Public Officers Law §87[1][b][iii]). There is no provision in law or regulation requiring the waiver of this fee. Payment must be made to the NYS Education Department by check or money order. Do not send any payment until you are notified that your request is granted and informed of the charge for your request. If your request is for electronic records and your requested is granted, the records will be provided to you in that format.

 

If your request is granted one of the following will happen:

 

1. If your request can be filled immediately, and the total duplication fee is under $25.00, staff will forward the requested records to you with a statement of what you owe for the duplication fee. Or:

 

2. If the total duplication fee for your request is $25.00 or more (100 pages), you will be advised of the page count and duplication fee owed in advance of duplicating the records. Upon receipt of payment, staff will duplicate and mail the requested records. Or:

 

3. If it will take time to locate and/or duplicate the records you have requested, you will be given a date by which you will be told the page count and duplication fee for your request."

This seems very reasonable to me, and I am seeking an analogous response from you when you determine this appeal of  the delay and constructive denial of access of the records requested in F11,129.

I obviously know that you called this meeting.  It was held in your offices at Tweed.  I know when it occurred and how the people invited were told about the meeting.

I have sent emails to the FOIL Unit and posted my requests on my blog for a specific and detailed invoice for the records relating to F11,129 be given to me before I commit to paying an amount which may or may not cover all the records from this plenary meeting.

Mr. Baranello is stonewalling me.

I am appealing to you, as the organizer of the plenary meeting on February 24, 2015, and as the Records Appeals Officer, to please detail how much I will be charged, and the number of (1) electronic records and (2) documents this fee includes, so that I may choose to pay all or part of the amount you demand.  My advocacy for teachers who are undergoing, or about to undergo, §3020-a hearings is harmed by this delay. 

Please reply within the ten (10) days required by the Freedom of Information Law. Thank you for your

attention and consideration!

 

Betsy Combier

 Joe Baranello and His New Facebook Comment on the City, as Well as His Refusal to Answer Betsy Combier's FOIL Request #11,129

 

Another Request Sent By Betsy Combier Concerning F11,129 For Records of the Mandatory 3020-a Meeting Held on February 24, 2015

 

 Betsy Combier Asks FOIL Officer Joe BaranelloTo Clarify the Fees of $29.95/hr For F11,129

http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2015/04/betsy-combier-asks-foil-officer-joe.html

 

Betsy Combier Files a Freedom of Information Request to Obtain the Information Given Out At The NYC DOE February 24, 2015 Secret Meeting on 3020-a Hearings

http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2015/03/betsy-combier-files-freedom-of.html

betsy.combier@gmail.com

ADVOCATZ

parentadvocates.org

NYC Rubber Room Reporter