A Letter to NYSUT Leaders from Educators for Howie Hawkins

Below is a letter from Educators for Howie Hawkins offering guidance to NYSUT locals who support Hawkins but may be reluctant to endorse him officially.

As the letter notes, educators cannot afford to sit out this election. NYSUT leaders have the ability to galvanize their members against a governor whose policies are eroding the foundation of public education.

Howie Hawkins will bring solvency and sanity back to our schools.

Please read and share widely.   


Dear Local President,

For educators and teacher union members, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT GOVERNOR’S RACE IN THE HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE.   

Luckily, there is one candidate who is running for governor this year who is truly pro-education and pro-labor and that candidate is Howie Hawkins.

Ideally, we are asking that you and your NYSUT local take the bold step of endorsing the Hawkins/Jones ticket.  Already many locals have done this and more are on the way. 

We do understand, however, that not every local will be able to endorse Howie.  With such a short time remaining between now and Election Day, we realize that some of you are hesitant to move in that direction.

This letter then, offers you an alternative.   Attached you will find a clear, concise, and comprehensive contrast between all three candidates on the most important issues to educators, parents, students, and schools.  As a local president you have the right and responsibility to educate your membership. Certainly, a local president can preface such an email to their membership in one of two ways.

 Approach 1:  “Dear Member,  As you know, public education and issues that impact each of you will be on the ballot this November in a governor’s race that will determine the next four years of education policy and funding in New York State.  I think we all could agree that the last four years have not been good for our schools.  To help you make an informed decision in the governor’s race, I am attaching a comparison of records for you to consider.  I encourage you to read these, share them with friends and family, and most importantly VOTE on November 4.  Thank you.”

-OR-

Approach 2:  “Dear Member, As you know, public education and issues that impact each of you will be on the ballot this November in a governor’s race that will determine the next four years of education policy and funding in New York State.  I think we all could agree that the last four years have not been good for our schools.  While the (name of your teachers association) is not making a formal endorsement at this time, I can tell you that after studying the records of each candidate, I will be voting for Howie Hawkins, whose platform is exactly what we need now in public education. Attached please find a comparison of records for you to consider. You may or may not come to the same decision as I have, but however you decide, I encourage you to read these, share them with friends and family, and most importantly VOTE on November 4.  Thank you.”

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Lee Cutler, Education Outreach Coordinator for the Howie Hawkins campaign, at cutlerlee4@gmail.com or at 518-229-5111.

Thank you,

Educators for Howie Hawkins

                                  Contrasting Candidates for NY Governor

	Astorino	Cuomo	Hawkins
Teacher Tenure	Opposes  Sees it as a way to allow ineffective teachers to stay in the classroom	Wishy-Washy “Any change to the current law would have to be carefully reviewed"	Supports "Tenure establishes and preserves a highly qualified teacher workforce in our schools.”
Triborough Amendment	Opposes “I support changing the Triborough Amendment, which now keeps public-employee-union contracts in effect even after they expire. “	Wishy-Washy Silent right now but has used buzz phrases like support of “mandate relief”, which is seen as code for elimination of Triborough	Supports Supports the right of public workers to strike and he would maintain the Triborough Amendment, which extends existing contracts when they end if there is not an agreement.
Common Core	Opposes Would replace CC with “In-State Standards,” although unclear who would design these.	Supports	Opposes   He believes we need standards, but educators should design them, not private contractors with lucrative contracts
Property Tax Cap and Freeze	Supports Concept Would take it a step further: “My plan will give New York one of the lowest tax rates in the Northeast, making New York much more competitive than it has been in over a generation.”	Supports A legislative accomplishment he is proud of	Opposes “We need to end the property tax cap and the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which have balanced the state budget on the backs of our children by cutting state aid to schools for the last five years.”
End of the Gap Elimination Adjustment	Has not addressed This	Opposes Any Change	Supports Immediate End
Charter Schools	Supports	Supports “You are not alone.  We will save Charter Schools!” - April 3, 2014 at Charter School Rally, Albany, N.Y.	Opposes
Reduction of State Tests	Supports, but little offered in what kind of reduction would occur under his leadership	Supports, but has done little or nothing to reduce tests	Supports:   “We should let the local teachers and parents and school boards make the decisions about standards, curriculum and assessment.”