The UFT is pulling out the long knives in NYC to defend the indefensible:

In a growing rift between the city and the teachers union, the president of the United Federation of Teachers yanked his participation in a national conference set for next week in Denver featuring the country's education chief, Arne Duncan.

In order to attend the conference, both a district's superintendent or chancellor and the head of the local teachers union had to sign a pledge to work "collaboratively" and to, among other things, hold "each other accountable for results" and find ways to advance the "hiring, retention, compensation, development and evaluation of a highly effective workforce."

Cathleen Black, the schools chancellor signed the agreement, as did Michael Mulgrew, the president of the UFT.

But then Ms. Black and her boss, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, began talking about the current system of seniority-based teacher layoffs.

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