Teaching Profession

Union Rep Causes Clamor Over Quail

By Caroline Cournoyer — February 18, 2011 1 min read
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According to the New York Daily News, the Union Federation of Teachers’ lobbyist, Paul Egan, was upset by more than just flawed evaluation systems this past week: His dinner bill exceeded what he thought his meal was worth.

After racking up a more than $1,800 bill at a swanky bistro in Albany, N.Y., with a couple dozen other UFT members, Egan refused to pay, arguing that the quail he ordered wasn’t large enough, reports the Daily News. He shouted and demanded to see the manager, who was unable to calm him down—at which point restaurant staffers called the cops, according to the paper.

The police arrived to an angry Egan who refused to not only pay but also to leave. The managers reduced the bill, writes the Daily News, and the officers ordered Egan to pay it.

“The argument wasn’t about small portions,” Egan told the Daily News. “This has all been blown out of proportion.”

On the NYCEducator blog, a member of the UFT wrote, in response to the incident: “This is not the sort of thing that makes me want to pay what the UFT asks; rather, it makes me want to withhold support altogether. ... What I’d like to see from Mr. Egan is the kind of self-control demanded of working teachers every day.”

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Teaching Now blog.