AMY ARUNDELL: Why I Am Running for UFT President
Amy shares her story. Together we will build our collective power to deliver A BETTER CONTRACT with the City of New York and A BETTER social contract with union leadership.
For 34 years, I have been a part of the New York City public school system. I was a middle school teacher, delegate, and chapter leader in one Bronx school. I became a Teacher Center specialist in another.
For 21 years, I have been a proud representative working for the United Federation of Teachers. I was mentored by the strongest and most principled UFT representatives and surrounded by brilliance and dedication. I was honored to be a UFT representative. I was dedicated to the cause of public education and the cause of labor.
Never, during all this time, did I imagine that I would be in this position: running for UFT President. The culture of the UFT has long been one where leadership handpicks their successors, deciding who they believe should be the next to carry the mantle, and for years, I played by those rules, trusting that this process served the best interests of our members and that the best, brightest, and most committed to our work as a union would rise to positions of leadership.
Times have changed, our school system has evolved, and our union must evolve as well. More and more members are expressing deep dissatisfaction with the direction of our union. Decisions are being made that I can no longer stand behind. It has become increasingly difficult to look my fellow members in the eye and tell them that what’s happening is good for them because it isn’t. These decisions are not the result of listening to members and then gathering our experts and specialists and making decisions consistent with union values, and the interests of the members and their students. More often than not, the most important decisions are made by only a few, behind closed doors.
The recent election losses in the retiree and paraprofessional chapter elections were not a result of flashy slate names or strategic maneuvering, they were a direct response to the growing frustration among our members. The message is clear, the status quo is failing us.
Our union should be the beacon of fairness, inclusion, and strength. Instead, we have reached a point where sexism, harassment, and bullying have tainted our internal culture. Morale is at an all-time low. I’ve been around long enough to remember when we could come together, debate and discuss issues openly, and leave the room knowing we had made the best decision for our members and the union as a whole. Those spaces and that culture no longer exist under the current leadership. I’ve tried, others have tried but today, questioning decisions can end careers, and there are far too many examples of this reality. I refuse to silence my own principles and beliefs to campaign for anyone who perpetuates this type of leadership and these union values.
My candidacy is not about serving any particular caucus or ideology, it is about serving our members in the way they deserve and that furthers the cause of public education. Now that I have been ‘expelled’ from my former caucus, I stand as the only candidate who is beholden to no faction. My allegiance is to the educators, teachers, paraprofessionals, school-related professionals and retirees who make our union strong and to the students who we are all responsible for educating.
These values are not the only thing that make me the right person to serve as UFT president in this critical moment; I am qualified, experienced, and connected. I have served in a variety of roles, both as an educator in schools and as a union representative.
In my first year of teaching, I remember celebrating when the union negotiated that our lesson plans were no longer required to be collected. It changed my professional life. I was a chapter leader when the SBO process became a source of leverage for my chapter to have a voice in how our school was organized. I was a teacher center specialist in a school when the first 100 minutes were added to the school day and I was tasked with making those minutes as relevant and helpful to our school community as possible, despite our membership’s obvious unease with the additional time.
As a UFT staffer, I implemented the 2005 contract. I supported pedagogues in the ATR pool and advocated for them. I provided support to members in using the new transfer system. I educated people about the power of the SBO process and how to interpret school budgets. I helped hundreds of people with leaves and staffing issues. I am very proud of that work. I was part of the negotiating team on evaluation, and learned a lot about what members want and what others think is best for them. I tried to help members see the power in what we negotiated, and also acknowledged that what we negotiated did not achieve our goals. I was the union point person for the creation of teacher leader roles, and visited the many schools that implemented these roles. I was inspired to see what teachers can do when given the opportunity. I know many schools that have benefited from those roles.
Then, I became the Queens Borough Representative and learned how out of touch our central UFT representatives could be. Hundreds of people invited me into their lives and their schools, and we made amazing things happen. It was by far the role I loved the most and it allowed me to connect to members and students in deep, new, and meaningful ways.
I have a vision for our union. A union that is strategic about building power, that prioritizes members and their students above DOE management or city government desires. We build power by organizing and being connected to members above all else. That is why the leadership of ABC will fight tirelessly with our members for better working conditions, fair salary increases, and an end to the reckless practice of surrendering our healthcare benefits in exchange for inadequate compensation increases.
It’s time to reclaim our union. It’s time to have leadership that listens, respects, and truly advocates for its members, not one that demands blind loyalty and is deaf to their core needs. Together, we can restore integrity, transparency, and strength to the UFT. I ask for your support, not just for me, but for the future of our union and the dignity of its members and the future of the students we serve.
