Is She Correct?
We Don't Think So!
By James Eterno, Chapter Leader, Jamaica H.S.; H.S. Rep, U.F.T. Exec. Board
In her "city schools" column in the February 16, 2006 NY Teacher, UFT President Randi Weingarten stated, "At this point - after decades of trailing behind - we are roughly comparable to the suburbs in both time and salaries." Randi says we've caught up to the suburbs thanks to the last two contracts she negotiated where we traded working extra time for money. Is Randi accurate in saying, "So we have caught up in salaries"? We don't believe she is but we could use your help to confirm.New York City teachers will have a starting salary as of October of 2006 that will be $42,512 and the top salary after 22 years of teaching will be $93,416. Is that comparable to the suburbs? A quick look at the Contract from Copiague on Long Island shows that for the 2006-07 school year the starting salary will be $46,206 and maximum after fifteen years will be $100,598, $103,848 after 22 years and $109,848 after 26 years.
How many days does a teacher in Copiague have to work in a school year?
183!!
With the longer year in our new contract, NYC teachers will more than likely work over 190 days in 2006-07 when the calendar is finalized.
More than 190!!
In Copiague's neighbor Farmingdale where they are working under an expired contract, top salary last year was $104,148 and they also work 183 days. When they obtain a new contract, I'm confident that their salaries will go up and by next year Farmingdale should again be miles ahead of us. Granted, teachers in many surrounding districts need to obtain more credits to get to maximum than we do but they still make more than we do at virtually every level, particularly in the middle years (Copiague-MA+30, 15 years experience salary for 2006-07: $93,101; NYC-MA+30, 15 years experience salary for 2006-07: $79,763)
While we're comparing, Farmingdale teachers are entitled to 14 sick /personal business days per year and in Copiague they get 12.
Thanks to our Unity/UFT leadership's negotiating "skills", we still have a grand total 10 sick/personal days each year and we will almost certainly be working over 190 days next year compared to 183 in many suburbs. So we will be working almost two weeks longer for less money and fewer sick days but we have caught up to the suburbs. Only in Randi's world.
We compared ourselves with Copiague and Farmingdale because these are not wealthy areas. Copiague in particular is a town on Long Island that does not have a huge tax base.
What about other surrounding school districts? If anyone wants to show us the salaries, days of work and sick time for other suburban districts to show that Randi is right or wrong in claiming that we have caught up to the suburbs, please post the information in the comment section or email us at ICE.
Finally, we toil under the most abominable teaching and learning conditions in New York City (highest class sizes, most overcrowded schools, most unsafe and in many cases dilapidated buildings with the worst access to books and other materials) when placed side by side with the suburbs. Randi has done nothing to improve these conditions in the last two contracts. In what surrounding district do they have 34 students in a class like we do in NYC high schools?
None that we know.
34 comments:
Bellmore Merrick teachers work 185 days according to the school calendar. That's a week less than 190 that city teachers will be required to do next year.
Freeport: 183 school days this year for teachers. Not bad.
James,
Thanks for information. Do the lemon laws apply to union presidents? I'd love to trade ours in for one that works.
Don't forget that most school districts have 3 snow days and if there not used, the days are given as an extended memorial day weekend (Friday & Tuesday)
We narrowed the gap but are still behind. It will take a few more years of tax revolts in LI and Westchester before we catch up. Yonkers is out 3 years.
Basically, our last deal was similar to what the suburbs are receiving, except for the 5.5%, so we narrowed because of that.
Also, Farmingdale has 7 hour day, minimal payment for accrued sick leave, premium and much stricter rules for retiree health coverage,, 16 PD hours at no pay, and six times a month a principal can assign specific duties to preps, including tutoring.
Copaigue has a 7hr 10 minute day for grade 6-12. Six teaching periods can be assigned "in case of unusual scheduling problems"
James:
Very interesting. How do we get copies of these contracts? Are they online? Can we also compare to New Jersey?
Randi lies!
Some districts, like Port Washington, have 20 sick days. East Meadow teachers work from 8:30 until 3:15, a 2hr 45 min day, but the students don't arrive until 9:15. They have the first 45 minutes to set up for the day's lessons, grade papers, etc., what we would consider to be an extra prep. Also, with about 20 kids per class, it is easier to plan and teach. Their teachers are without a contract, and the superintendent wants them to do small-group tutoring during that 45 minute period. Their union has not sold out, like ours did.
Do you have any idea of the salaries in Pt. Washington Richard?
Here's a link that gives all the salaries in Nassau, according to NYSUT:
http://nyceducator.blogspot.com/2006/02/randi-says.html
Here's an easier link to the list of Nassau salaries.
Randi to UFT rank-and-file: "Mission Accomplished!!!"
I wonder what concessions she plans to give Mayor Moneybags in the next negotiations?
Randi to UFT rank-and-file: "Mission Accomplished!!!"
I wonder what concessions she plans to give Mayor Moneybags in the next negotiations?
Once again the Unity spin machine has gone into overdrive trying to convince us of what a great job they've done. They pat themselves on the back constantly. I think they feel that if they tell us over and over again what great things they have accomplished eventually we will believe them. Guess what -- we don't.
The sad thing is there are teachers who believe everything Unity says.
Great Article!
Not only do we have a lower salary schedule, the average NYC teacher is at a much lower step in the schedule due to higher turnover. An average NYC teacher has 4-5 years on the job, our suburban counterparts have 8-10. The gap in terms of the real salaries being paid to teachers is much greater than is shown by comparison of the salary schedules alone.
Compare further the salary gap between NYC and suburban teachers which is in inverse proportion to the salaries and perks enjoyed by UFT officials! is it accurate to say that the more bloated the union bureacracy, the lower the salary schedule is?
Does it strike anyone else as coincidental that students of color should have teachers paid at substantially lower rates? Common sense would seem to suggest that both students and teachers here in NYC share a common interest in overthrowing this white supremacist disparity.
BloomKlein's whitening of the teaching staff over the past four years is reinforcing the teaching profession as a white racial privilege. It is not benefiting teachers or students, its about control over both. It is privilege as preemptive strike. The response on our part should be to call for more teachers of color and thereby affirm our solidarity as unionists and as educators responsible to the communities we serve. Privileges are fine for the Unity machine, but they are the antithesis to parity in salary, working conditions and learning conditions with the suburbs.
Peace and Solidarity
Sean
Check out this site which has info on Long Island salaries and benefits:
http://www.lischooltax.com/Liferpg10.html
Hey James, aren't you on the Exec. Bd? I heard the staff raises were brought up the other night. What happened?
Yeah and there was also a new resolution to expand the negotiang committee for the next contract. But brilliant Jeff made a motion to table it and then didn't even vote for his own motion.
PS - It passed unanimously. But I guess that is just "unity-hack" talk. I'm sorry Jeff a committee of 300 is not enough?
You guys do notice that Bloomberg, the Billionaire union-basher is not out there in the suburbs. those guys play by similar rules we had before Bloomy and to some degree even Guliani.
At some point the staff increase will be 15%. Right now it isn't. That was what was voted on Dec. 19th and if they did "falsefy" anything than why didn't you say a word about it at the Ex. Bd. on 2/27?
By the way, isn't a "300 member negotiating committee" a great sign of democracy?
A 300 member negotiating committee would be cosmetic only. Randi and her few hand-picked cronies will be the only ones with power, and will sell us out time and time again.
Nothing will satisfy you until you get a negotiating committee of 1: King Jeff!
"A few hand-picked cronies"? 300? So opening the negotiating comittee to the membership is not democratic enough? Perhaps you are just afraid to sit on the committee and do the hard work of trying to negotiate with some like Klein?
OT: The first order of business is to convince our union to have an independent firm set up a system to tabulate our votes via phone or internet. This has to be in place before 2007.
I apologize for being off-topic.
"Perhaps you are just afraid to sit on the committee and do the hard work of trying to negotiate with some like Klein?"
Sit down? Bend over is more like it.
What talent does it take to let PERB dicate the terms and accept virtually every odious backward-thinking aspect or their awful proposal?
What talent does it take to draw two pensions for going to a gala luncheon now and then?
What talent does it take to sell the UF down the river, and then whine endlessly about how Klein actually enforces the miserable document you negotiated?
What talent does it take to write about John Stossel in the hope that teachers will forget it was not him but you who enabled this, the very worst contract I've seen in 22 years?
Please UFT members get us new leadership so we don't have to listen to these people who will do anything and say anything to keep their six figure salaries and double pensions. We don't need cosmetic changes like a 300 person negotiating committee; we need real change that will only come with new UFT leadership.
I'll kick Klein's ass at the table, if Randi will teach 5 classes of freshman in an inner city high school for 21 years (as I've done).
Sorry. She can't do that either.
No contest.
Besides the name calling you can't think of anything better about a comittee of 300 rank and file members? Obviously you can predict evryone's actions and you know exactly how evrything will pan out therefore we must vote in someone like Nick of Jeff? Thanks but no thanks. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism welcome, name calling and politics you can keep to yourself.
The Great Santini!
I am glad you admit that evrything you have always done has been about political oppotunism and not about what is best for the members. All you care about is that you have a chance to complain without doing anything about it. Why don't you sit on the negotiating committee? Because you will then have to take RESPONSIBILITY for real leadership and decision making. Now you can say whatever you want and not be held to any standards of truth.
Jeff has mastered the skills of obstruction, insinuation, and blame. His sole contribution to Delegate Assembly has been to shout "point of order" every chance he gets. He has failed to present a proactive resolution or make any meaningful contribution to the DA or executive board that goes beyond the level of blaming Randi or Unity.
Now we should consider him and his complaining compatriots as serious candidates to lead the union? Give me a break.
I don't like Randi is NOT a viable platform for Union President.
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