NYC TEACHERS UNION PRESIDENT SIDES WITH AL SHARPTON AGAINST POLICE

The President of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City has started a firestorm between two of the city’s most powerful unions by co-sponsoring Al Sharpton’s anti-police rally in Staten Island, NY on August 23rd.

According to the New York Post, President of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association Pat Lynch “fired both barrels” at UFT President Michael Mulgrew in a letter to the Post after the teachers' union sent an “action alert” email to members promising free transportation to Sharpton’s demonstration – one that has been billed as a march for justice for “victims of police brutality.”

UFT is joining Sharpton’s National Action Network, the NAACP, and local 1199 SEIU at a rally that will feature the family of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black man who died of a heart attack last month while police were reportedly holding him around the neck after he resisted an arrest for the sale of untaxed cigarettes on the street. Police said Garner had more than 30 arrests.

“Mr. Garner’s death was a tragedy for the city,” Mulgrew said when asked about UFT’s involvement in Sharpton’s demonstration. “Teachers want to help ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

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