Smears

When I ran for president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association I ran headlong into attacks about my character, my competency, and the intentions of our reform caucus. We were accused of being divisive, of being controlled by outside forces, and of cheating. As we campaigned, we tapped into a deep vein of anger and disappointment with the former leadership. We put forward a vision of well-funded schools, autonomy in the classroom, and dignity at work. We invited each other into building a fighting union that would organize to achieve these goals. Instead of proposing their own vision, our opponents pulled out all the stops to discredit me as an individual. Each week, when the campaign committee met, there were new reports of things said about me and us, and new revelations of bad deals they had made.