Teachers union chief accepted over $8K in US Open tickets
NYC teachers-union chief Michael Mulgrew accepted $8,250 in US Open tennis tickets from a law firm the union uses, records show.
Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, received the pricey “benefit” five years in a row between 2012 and 2016 from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, a firm that collected $15.5 million in fees from the UFT in that time.
According to filings with the US Labor Department, the union chief took two tickets worth a total of $1,250 in 2012, and two tickets worth $1,300 in 2013. In 2014, he received $2,700 in tickets. In 2015 and 2016, he got tickets worth $1,500 each year.
The Labor Department requires union officials to “disclose any benefits that you have received (or your spouse or minor child has received).”
UFT spokeswoman Alison Gendar refused to answer questions about the gifts, saying only they were “publicly reported” in forms posted on the Labor Department website.
But some rank-and-file members objected.
“It doesn’t pass the smell test,” said retired social-studies teacher James Eterno. “Your average teacher isn’t getting these kinds of perks — and nor should our union leaders.”
Another retiree, Norm Scott, suggested Mulgrew hold a fund-raising raffle for the tickets. “The UFT runs an annual winter-coat drive. Here’s a way to add some money to that pot,” he said.
Mulgrew, who is not on the city payroll, got $334,737 in UFT salary and benefits in 2016, filings show.
His wife Emma Camacho-Mendez, a Department of Education guidance counselor, also has a paid union post.
The city forbids employees to accept gifts worth more than over $50 — including tickets to sporting events — from any person or firm doing business with the city.
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan formerly included Randi Weingarten, president of the national union American Federation of Teachers, and Mulgrew’s predecessor at the UFT. The firm represents the UFT and other city unions in litigation. In 2017, it collected $2.9 million in legal fees from the UFT.
Charles Moerdler, a partner who handles UFT lawsuits, said Friday he was unaware that Mulgrew took the tickets, but added, “We have season tickets to a whole variety of sporting events, and we give them to clients who ask for them.”
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