City teachers union President Mike Mulgrew has launched a “purge’’ at UFT headquarters — firing open rivals and also staffers even suspected of being critical of him, sources said.
Amy Arundell, a longtime United Federation of Teachers staffer and former Mulgrew ally who recently challenged him for the presidency and lost, was one of five union activists who recently got the boot.
Arundell told The Post she was informed late last week that she was off the payroll effective Aug. 31, while the UFT immediately disabled her union email and phone.
“I consider it a purge,” said Arundell, 56, a city Department of Education teacher for 34 years and a paid union staffer for 21 years.
“Mulgrew is a very spiteful man.”
While Arundell anticipated she might get the ax for challenging Mulgrew in the recent union election, she was shocked that others were removed from the union payroll as well.
“He should manage the union with union values,” said Arundell — who filed a police report earlier this month after her image and the message, “Piss on My Face” were put on laminated cards that were then placed in urinals at the UFT’s Broadway headquarters during a delegate assembly meeting.
Meanwhile, Migda Rodriguez, vice chairwoman of the union’s chapter representing paraprofessionals, also lost her salaried position.
She had run for an executive position on Arundell’s A Better Contract slate but lost.
Rodriguez still represents the paraprofessionals and slammed Mulgrew and his “Unity Caucus” for her ouster.
“It’s retaliation to the fullest. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said.
She said her combined Department of Education and union salary is $80,000 and that it will likely now be halved.
Under the union contract, teachers and other educators get “leave time” from their school jobs to work for the union.
Arundell, Rodriguez and others will get reassigned to a school after losing their paid union staff job.
The union group Fix Para Pay issued a statement condemning Rodriguez’s termination.
“Migda wasn’t fired for doing anything wrong. She was fired for doing everything right, for advocating fiercely for paras, for demanding a living wage, and for refusing to play politics with our livelihoods,” the group said.
“She is now part of the `UFT 5′, a group of educators and unionists terminated for choosing principle over party. … This move is not only disrespectful to Migda, it may be a direct violation of the UFT constitution and a slap in the face to every member who believes in a democratic union.”
Ashley Rzonca, the union’s District 30 representative in Queens, also confirmed she got the boot.
She had sent a letter to her supervisor complaining about “bullying and harassing behavior” from a fellow employee in the UFT ‘s Queens Borough Office, where she worked.
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Rzonca said she did not oppose Mulgrew’s re-election, but there was concern that some of the 42 school union chapter leaders she oversaw did.
She claimed no major issues were raised about her job performance.
Mulgrew, responding to The Post through a union rep, declined to discuss the reasons for the dismissals.
“We do not comment on individual personnel decisions. As part of its annual organizational assessment, the UFT reviews the status of individuals who are on leave from their schools to work at the union,” the representative said.
“Those whose leaves [leave time to work for the union] are not renewed are thanked for their service and can return to their regular school assignment.”
