Saturday, May 10, 2014

STATE POLITICAL TIDE TURNING IN OUR FAVOR SO VOTE NO ON NYC CONTRACT THAT CONTINUES TEACHER BASHING

I keep hearing that some teachers are afraid to vote no on the contract because they think that in the context of the anti-union and anti-teacher times we are living in, we cannot do any better. This type of defeatism has to be stopped if we ever are to regain our professional dignity. 

Many of us have been beaten down so long by Bloomberg style teacher bashing that we are suffering from a fatalistic belief that conditions can only worsen.  Some believe that if we don't accept what most agree is a subpar contract offer, then the powers that be will only be angrier at us and beat us down more.  Accept Bloomberg friendly conditions or they will make them even worse.

I can't tell you how wrong these people are.  Perk up ladies and gentlemen: Things are changing in our favor.

For proof I submit as evidence a meeting that took place between Governor Andrew Cuomo and representatives of Stronger Together on Thursday.  Stronger Together is the group that is now the opposition caucus in our statewide union NYSUT but is the majority caucus outside of NYC.

Governor Cuomo is in trouble politically with parents and educators statewide in large part because of his horrible education policies so he agreed to meet with five Long Island teacher union leaders who oppose his radical anti-public school agenda.  Long Island teachers and parents led a 2,500 person protest outside a Cuomo fundraising party on Long Island on April 29.  They will be rallying again on May 22 at the NYS Democratic Convention in Melville.  Cuomo is not happy about how his popularity has fallen recently. 

Our friend Beth Dimino, the President of the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association, and the four other teacher union leaders told the governor on Thursday how awful his education policies are.  Here is the key paragraph from the PJSTA website:

At the meeting the team raised concerns about high stakes testing, APPR’s, the tax cap, charter schools, Pearson, and RttT, among other things.  Dimino told the governor that given his actions up to this point she could only assume that he didn’t know the truth about the harmful agenda he had been pushing.  After the group gave him the perspective of real classroom teachers they suggested potential solutions to the disastrous situation his policies have created.   Dimino then warned him that he now knew the truth and that there is no excuse for the continuation of such policies.  She stated that there would be a price to pay if swift action is not taken to undo much of what has been done up to this point.  Dimino explained to the Governor that there were two things he could do immediately to mitigate the devastating impact his agenda has had on NYS students, first decouple the testing from teacher evaluations and then decouple all of the unfunded mandates from the tax cap, either by funding those mandates or by making them exclusionary under the cap. (Bold added by me.)

Now is the time to kick the living daylights out of the teacher evaluation system.  Let's end rating teachers based on student test scores, not embed it into our contract as UFT President Michael Mulgrew is asking us to do.

The political winds are at our back. We can move ahead to a better place or we can keep trying to appease the people whose ultimate goal is to destroy us.  The Mulgrew contract's acceptance of Bloomberg style working conditions will likely take us another step closer to our demise.  The reconfigured time, merit pay, forced unit plan writing, much weaker tenure protections, horrible evaluation system placed permanently in the contract, charter school like contracts in up to 200 schools, the mystery on health care, wage deferrals without interest and wage increases that do not keep up with inflation are not gains.  There is a better way forward; our friends on Long Island and upstate are blazing the trail.  Let's join them.

65 comments:

  1. I am voting NO to this contract. The working conditions have been terrible for years. There has been so much work dumped on me that sometimes I think the union does not exist. The pressure put on teachers with quality reviews and state exams has gone too far. This union insults our intelligence with this contract. How can we work all of these for only a measly $1,000? We deserve better working condition and more money upfront. Shame on the union for disrespecting us. Send a message to the union and vote NO.

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  2. I am definitely voting no to this contract. We been under attack for years and will never be treated with respect by the media. We need to send a message that enough is enough. We need to pushback and assert ourselves. Actually this contract is quite dismissive towards teachers and I cannot in good conscience vote for it.

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  3. VOTE YES!
    -Or, wait around for the next "Bloomberg" to become mayor. Eva? Maybe you'll be happier with the contract offerings then?

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    Replies
    1. We did better financially in the three contracs we signed when Bloomberg was mayor. Irony.

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  4. Vote yes on the contract!
    If you vote against it, what do you think you can get that would be better than it stands now? If you vote against it, 150 other unions are going to line up right in front of us and they will bargain with the mayor. Do you think there will then be more money available to us, or less???
    Look around you. On Long Island many public school district teachers already pay for their health care. We are not! The contract is fair with no give backs! Stop such a ridiculous fight and all members should VOTE YES!

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  5. The proposed contract will throw our senior teachers under the bus. Vote NO, its the only hope we have.

    Get rid of Unity schills, end Mulgrews tirades.

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  6. The proposed contract targets ATRs by offering them expedited 3020A hearings.....from accusation to termination in just a few days. Mulgrew sounded like such a Nazi the other night, and tried tried to pass it off by saying it will help ATRs.

    I'm an ATR, and know it wont help me.

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  7. vote no!
    the best part of our contract was set by other unions.

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  8. Vote No. We deserve to have our raises frontloaded!!!

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  9. To all the Vote Yes comments...how dare you turn your backs on the ATR situation, and most notably due process rights.

    It can't always be about the money.

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  10. Unfortunately, I don't trust Cuomo so I do not believe the tide is turning. I do believe he will use the ATR's due process clause against non-city teachers and then us. This is just a trick to get endorsements. He already proved he is a charter school governor!

    And yes, other unions are paying into their health care, so why is Mulgrew not being straight with teachers who are thinking they are keeping their money?? Wait till that rock falls on their head.

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  11. They union is duplicitous in their treatment toward the rank and file. Vote No.

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  12. Vote No for better working conditions. Mulgrew needs to be recalled like Gov. Davis of CA in 2003.

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  13. Vote NO! I don't think teachers realize that they have to stay till 2020 to collect their back pay. Do the newbies really think they can last that long? I doubt it. They are the ones who lose big time. Mulgrew sold all of us out. Vote NO!

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  14. Hey 8:25am- Do you really want to compare Long Island working conditions to those we have in the city? Yes they pay for their healthcare but they don't have a group with 300,000 members like New York City has with so many employees having a giant pool. Oh yeah and they make more money. Even with the property tax cap, their top salaries today are where ours will be getting close to four year from now and the working conditions are superior out there. Look at their class sizes, building conditions and access to supplies. We should follow them. We should start to hold deBlasio and Farina accountable too. We helped put the mayor in office and now he is giving us this garbage that sells out our atrs for pennies. No way. We are one union! Vote no!

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  15. Vote No. Teachers have lost their classroom to micromanaging and tons of paperwork. Where is the union? The union is part of the part of the problem. We pay dues and they do not represent us in negotiations. This is absurd!!!

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  16. Vote no!!!! This is a disgusting horrific contract. It destroys whatever is left of teacher tenure, throws the ATRs under the bus, continues the ridiculous APPR system, gives us deferred payments without interest which do not keep up with the cost of inflation, and helps the causes of the charter school and ed deform movement.

    My father worked with Charlie Cogen, our first and greatest union president. Charlie was a fighter. Charlie would turn in his grave if he knew the trash contract that the current UFT leadership was trying to push on the membership.

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  17. This is a terrible contract. Our so called union is complicit with the ed reformers (Gates, Bloomberg, Moskowitz, Cuomo, big business). We need to take our union back. Get rid of Unity Caucus! I am voting for MORE (Movement of Rank and File Educators) again in 2016.

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  18. I will definitely be VOTING NO!!!!! But the same way we are reading about this we have to SPREAD THE WORD!!! Print the MORE Flyer, place it in mailboxes at school. Just remember today we may have a position, tomorrow any of us could become ATR’s. SPREAD THE WORD VOTE NO!!!!!

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  19. Do not for ONE SECOND believe that we won't be contributing towards our health insurance! The contract calls for $1.3 billion in heath care savings- DeBlasio stated the other day that if these savings DON'T happen (and don't fool yourselves for one second- they won't)then it is the city's right to get these savings from municipal employees without arbitration. Salary and working conditions are negotiated through the UFT- health care benefits are negotiated with the MLU.

    So if this crap of a contract passes, our whopping 2% increase will probably go towards payment of our benefits very quickly. #VOTENO

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  20. Has anyone crunched the retro numbers from a different perspective than the UFT's "top salary teachers who were working in 2009 will get 50grand retro."--- I want to do that for the teachers in my school and figured I'd ask if someone already did it to save me the time. Roseanne McCosh, PS 8x

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  21. First of all, I'm a little disappointed at people stating we should vote no. We have already decided people should vote yes, and frankly, that ought to be good enough for anyone.

    Yes, it's true you will not be getting the raises other city workers got, but rest assured your dues will go up, and we will continue to cater gala luncheons at 52 Broadway for the duration.

    I can tell you those of you spreading myths, and by myths I mean any contradiction whatsoever of what we instruct you to believe, will not be receiving luncheon invites. There are plenty of good gigs at 52 Broadway, and those of you who vote no will not be getting any of them.

    Kindly move the conversation back where it ought to be. We are one union, and when we tell you what to think, we don't want questions.

    That will be all.

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  22. If you vote no what then do you want to do? Our last contract expired October, 2009. The bargaining table has just closed. It will not re-open (if it does) until after the other 150 unions negotiate their raises and packages. Guess when that might be... 2016, 7, 8? What will we ask for then? How will the ATR situation be resolved at that time? If we do not sign a contract the ATR pool may grow and grow. Danielson will not change. Had fun this year? Paperwork will increase. No oversight. Will we (the union) demand retro from 2009-2018 to be payable in 2030? Would we even have one leg to stand on to be "entitled" to that? And, why might you think De Blasio will even come back to bargain a new contract? We've worked without a contract for five years, let's make it eight years, ten years...? We can not legally strike. Do you want a strike? If yes, what are you willing to call a strike for? More money? More rights? Better healthcare? Less paperwork? A career path? ATR's are currently being hired in schools across the five boroughs, and their salaries are coming out of central, not the individual schools budget. If you think that by turning down this proposed contract is a great idea, think seriously about what the next steps might be-- like a chess game. If you vote no as your move now, then what might the cities next move be? Oh right, they are committed to playing 150 other games first.

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    1. Maybe one of those other unions will set a better pattern that we can follow. I aon't go broke without the $1,000 bonus in Sept. Spare me the Unity talking points and Vote No!

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    2. Spare us the More talking points. You MORE slug/shill. Vote YES don't believe the MORE lies. The more MORE posts the more MORE misleads our brothers and sisters down the wrong path. VOTE YES

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  23. Let's embarrass DeBlasio (the first true Democrat in office in 21 years!) That'll make him give us everything we want under the sun. The perfect contract.
    Or, better yet, let's wait for Mayor Moskowitz. We can strike a neat bargain with her in four years. Vote yes.

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    1. This contract treats us almost as badly as a Bloomberg contract. Kill it. We can and will do better.

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    2. Misleading... Bloomberg contract was 5 years of 0% increases no retro and pay 3% toward our health insurance. The two couldn't be further apart. Excellent use of misleading rhetoric to screw our brothers and sisters. VOTE YES.

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  24. Sure! We can do better and we will! Let's kill this contract! And hey, if we don't like the next one let's kill that one too! Wait!! I got a great idea! Let's see how long we can go without a contract! Five years was no sweat... Let's try eight!, ten!, WHO KNOWS!!! THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT!!
    Who needs food anyway.

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  25. Vote NO on the contract, it's just a royal skrewing that doesn't keep up with inflation.

    As well, the single biggest issue is the ATR situation....no principal wants to hire a senior teacher with knowledge of the system, tenure, and the desire to stand up and be heard. Forget about principals being forgiven ATR salaries.....it's a moot point. The new model is get them (TFAs) young and un-tenured, keep them fearful, piss all over them, and dump them before they get appointed. An appointed ATR might last another 15 years!

    Protect yourself, VOTE NO. Tell Mulgrew and his defunct spin machine to kiss off.

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  26. I am voting NO!

    This contract targets ATRs specifically with expedited 3020A hearings...yes, from accusation, to trial, to a principals footprint in your ass in less than 30 days! Of course Unity leaders (Mulgrew and Arundle) say "that's a good thing!" Hmmmm.......sounds like 1938 Munich.

    Why does our union allow the most vulnerable to be singled out and treated like this?

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  27. The truth is maybe we could've done better, but got to a certain point and said the hell with it. We never negotiated a contract before and we were pretty tired of sitting around and talking.

    We don't really feel like going in again, since the dues are going up anyway. We have no idea whether we'll have to wait for 150 other unions, but we're willing to do so because who wants to start from scratch?

    We might as well wait for 150 unions since we're waiting for all the money for so many years anyway, but that's not the talking point. So I will ask posters here to stick to the talking point.

    We need to pass this contract so we can get back to whatever it is we do at 52 Broadway.

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  28. Colleagues,

    In the spirit of providing our members with as much information as possible about this contract we have to live with for the next four years and beyond, go to M.O.R.E.'s flier. Mulgrew at the last Delegate Assembly called every criticism of the terms of the contract "myths". The vote to send the contract to the membership was based on Mulgrew's interpretations of what transpired in the contract to the delegates and not really a thorough democratic debate on the terms of the contract. The UFT leadership did not consult us as to our priorities to negotiate our terms. And now, they want to push this poison down our throats.



    Members have to be wise and be careful how they vote this time around. In 2005, most members were looking strictly at the 16% raise and paid no attention to other provisions in the contract that sold us out such as loss of citywide seniority rights producing the ATR pool and loss of the right to grieve letters in the file. Learning our lessons from then, teachers should really ask the question of why the union leadership puts so much emphasis on the salary increase? Do they want to blindfold us as to the givebacks in the contract?



    Most of the provisions in the contract are not in our best interests as teachers. For example, the way the contract deals with the ATR issue is completely wrong and unfair. The idea of the creation of Master, Model, and Ambassador teachers is ridiculous and is a backdoor way of introducing the market-oriented policies of merit pay, no less. Who are they fooling? The creation of the 200 schools in the Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence is pathetic, as those schools would mimic the charter schools model, a clever way of introducing market-oriented/private sector policies in the public school arena.



    The UFT collaborates closely with the Democratic Party, which together with the Republican Party, are pushing the market-oriented policies of the Wall St tycoons as Bill Gates, the Walton Family, the Broad Foundation, the hedge-fund managers of Wall Street, and the corporations who want to put their hands on the trillions of dollars of education money. Market-oriented policies are very bad for public education because they would create competition, conflicts and stress among teachers instead of collaboration, cut-throat and backstabbing mentality instead of solidarity and greed instead of the spirit of sharing and equity among us.



    We have to suffer to look beyond money in a contract so we don’t sell our soul to the devil. As a soon-to-retire member, I stand to win big if this contract is ratified on schedule. Yet, I am speaking against it because I want to look beyond the money and think about what I am leaving behind. I do not want to leave you with this poison. Vote it down because we can do better.

    The negotiators of this contract should be able to replace the problematic provisions with fairer ones on an expedited way.






    In Solidarity,

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  29. Sure! We can do better and we will! Let's kill this contract! And hey, if we don't like the next one let's kill that one too! Wait!! I got a great idea! Let's see how long we can go without a contract! Five years was no sweat... Let's try eight!, ten!, WHO KNOWS!!! THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT!!
    Who needs food anyway.

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  30. If you vote no what then do you want to do? Our last contract expired October, 2009. The bargaining table has just closed. It will not re-open (if it does) until after the other 150 unions negotiate their raises and packages. Guess when that might be... 2016, 7, 8? What will we ask for then? How will the ATR situation be resolved at that time? If we do not sign a contract the ATR pool may grow and grow. Danielson will not change. Had fun this year? Paperwork will increase. No oversight. Will we (the union) demand retro from 2009-2018 to be payable in 2030? Would we even have one leg to stand on to be "entitled" to that? And, why might you think De Blasio will even come back to bargain a new contract? We've worked without a contract for five years, let's make it eight years, ten years...? We can not legally strike. Do you want a strike? If yes, what are you willing to call a strike for? More money? More rights? Better healthcare? Less paperwork? A career path? ATR's are currently being hired in schools across the five boroughs, and their salaries are coming out of central, not the individual schools budget. If you think that by turning down this proposed contract is a great idea, think seriously about what the next steps might be-- like a chess game. If you vote no as your move now, then what might the cities next move be? Oh right, they are committed to playing 150 other games first.

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  31. How about better teaching and learning conditions? You know things like lower class sizes. An end to abusive administrators. An anti administrator bullying provision like they got in Chicago.

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  32. The bargaining table isn't closed. If we vote no, we will send shock waves throughout labor and the teaching world. A yes vote just basically continues what we have which is pretty bad.

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  33. Maybe the PBA goes first and sets a better pattern. I'll wait.

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  34. The PBA is not going first. The Union of Professional Teachers went first. If we turn this contract down we will have to wait for the 150 other unions to "bargain" and settle. How long do you think that might be? Two years, four years, longer..? Do you think at that time De Blasio will feel any pressure at all to give us more money then is on the table today? Or, anything sweeter?
    Don't think so. Vote yes, now.

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  35. corrected typo--United Federation of Teachers went first.

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  36. Voting yes to this will ensure you work in an environment of fear and high anxiety. Later in your years, when you climb the pay scale, you will feel like a financial burden.If you dare be vocal and speak out against certain policies of your school principal, you may just find your self in the ATR cesspool on your way to a 3020a hearing. This contract further erodes tenure to the point that we don't even need a union anymore. Lets throw this unqualified degenerate Mulgrew out on the street to work for a living.

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  37. It makes sense that de Blasio will make us wait for 150 other unions. First he needs to find one to take the pattern, the lowest pattern in history. Then he needs to find one that, for that price, will accept givebacks equivalent to the two-tier due process we're offering ATR teachers.

    Maybe he can find union leaders with even lower standards than ours, but he'll have to look pretty hard. After all, everyone but us already got an 8% raise, a real one that they didn't need to wait eight years for.

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  38. It was Bloomberg that didn't give us the 8% raise over two years, not De Blasio. De Blasio is giving all the money to us, including compounded money. With the raise, it's an effective 19.5% raise! Do you really want to risk that?
    We are not giving back anything in this contract. The ATR pool (created under Bloomberg) is disappearing. Under De Blasio, the remanning folks in the pool are now actively finding jobs. And, there is a severance package for some who are now of age and wish to retire. Also, unlike Bloomberg, De Blaiso does not have a sick wish to close schools. Closing schools fed the ATR pool. Without closing schools, there will be fewer teachers having to look for a school. De Blasio (the first democrat mayor in 21 years) has offered us a good contract. VOTE YES TO THE CONTRACT!

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  39. Are you kidding? We are making an interest free loan to the city. We are not getting money back for up to 11 years. Meanwhile, conditions in schools get worse. VOTE NO! Fix this mess. We have waited this long. We can wait a little longer.

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  40. Sure, let's wait longer. Money BTW starts to come in by this June 2% plus effectively another 1%=3% (some math..).
    But, let's wait a little longer. Oh, one more thing, more money will come in every year for the next six years with this contract. totaling 19.5% (plus retro). A loan to the city, perhaps. But, that's what bargaining is. Retro,, will average around 25k for most, double for some.
    But, sure let's wait a little longer to do better. How about a wait of four more years to see who is in office then. "Oh,, De Blasio it's you again! So nice to see you. Remember us, we turned you down b4." Action take (DOOR SLAM)
    OR-- Option 'B', "Oh, it's you, Eva!! So, nice to meet you!" Action take (DOOR SLAM).

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  41. The proposed salary schedule is unsatisfactory, both in amount and timing, in view of the fact that the inflation rate has been approximately 2.2% yearly.

    A more appropriate salary increase would be 4% yearly for the life of the contract.

    The first increase should cover the period from 11/1/09 to 10/31/10, the second from 11/1/10 to 10/31/11, etc.

    Here's what it would look like for a teacher at the intersection of row 8B+L22 and column C6+PD, who is currently earning $100,049.

    11/1/09 ... $104,051

    11/1/10 ... $108,213

    11/1/11 ... $112,542

    11/1/12 ... $117,044

    11/1/13 ... $121,726

    11/1/14 ... $126,595

    11/1/15 ... $131,659

    11/1/16 ... $136,925

    11/1/17 ... $142,402

    11/1/18 ... $148,098

    If anyone thinks that the above is out of line, look at viewer page 109 of the following to see how the teachers in Great Neck are doing:

    www.bbp-action.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Great-Neck-Teachers-Contract.pdf

    In addition, to a vastly improved salary schedule, it would be good to put the following matters on the bargaining table:

    No additional evening conferences.

    No forced placements for ATRs.

    No separate disciplinary procedures for ATRs.

    No merit pay or disguised merit pay.

    Restoration of grievances for observation reports and disciplinary letters based on unfair or inaccurate content.

    Lower the class sizes and strictly adhere to the contractual limits.

    Reestablish the large high schools.

    End co-locations.

    Discourage the formation of new charter schools.

    And what else?

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  42. Sure! We can do better and we will! Let's kill this contract! And hey, if we don't like the next one let's kill that one too! Wait!! I got a great idea! Let's see how long we can go without a contract! Five years was no sweat... Let's try eight!, ten!, WHO KNOWS!!! THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT!!
    Who needs food anyway.

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  43. f you vote no what then do you want to do? Our last contract expired October, 2009. The bargaining table has just closed. It will not re-open (if it does) until after the other 150 unions negotiate their raises and packages. Guess when that might be... 2016, 7, 8? What will we ask for then? How will the ATR situation be resolved at that time? If we do not sign a contract the ATR pool may grow and grow. Danielson will not change. Had fun this year? Paperwork will increase. No oversight. Will we (the union) demand retro from 2009-2018 to be payable in 2030? Would we even have one leg to stand on to be "entitled" to that? And, why might you think De Blasio will even come back to bargain a new contract? We've worked without a contract for five years, let's make it eight years, ten years...? We can not legally strike. Do you want a strike? If yes, what are you willing to call a strike for? More money? More rights? Better healthcare? Less paperwork? A career path? ATR's are currently being hired in schools across the five boroughs, and their salaries are coming out of central, not the individual schools budget. If you think that by turning down this proposed contract is a great idea, think seriously about what the next steps might be-- like a chess game. If you vote no as your move now, then what might the cities next move be? Oh right, they are committed to playing 150 other games first.

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  44. No contract is better then a bad contract. Why should we settle for less then cops firemen sanitation?

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  45. I truly do not feel that we are settling for less then they are, or will be. I believe that over all, this is a fair deal. I do not think we could have done that much better. We weren't in the negotiating room.
    Every union has a different set of wants and needs. We do and they all do too. It's hard to know what they will or will not accept, or what the City will eventually accept. What we do know is that our team negotiated and agreed upon a contract. That contract was approved by the Executive Board, the Delegates of the union, and also a sign off from the municipal unions as a whole (which will affect them too). Would I want 8% now. Sure! But, you know what-- the school year remains unchanged, the school day remains the same, in time. We are getting full retro, and 19.5% compounded money between now through 2018. Top salary going to nearly $120,000. I consider this to be a good contract and will vote for it and will recommend others to vote for it too.

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  46. Since there are a smaller number of senior teachers as UFT members, guess who Mulgrew decided to shaft? That's right, those at the twilight of their careers. Well, this may be could strategy to get this dog of a contract passed, but what does that say about his integrity?
    And btw- speaking of integrity, I wonder how many UFT members are aware of the sex scandal involving Mulgrew at William Grady HS back in 2005.There are many who believe that he accepted being made into a eunuch by Bloomberg in order to keep this quiet. This guy is a lowlife and unqualified to lead the teachers of NYC.

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  47. the last post is a horrible example of rumor-- a sex scandal post!-- give us a break. Focus on the facts, but B-S

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  48. Linda:
    149,000 and you want to jerk the city around about a couple of hours a year to meet with parents. You do realize that the Union does not bargain with itself. There people siting on the other side of the table. We always want more. We need to reach agreement at the end of the day. We need the money, we get more respect and despite all the talk ATRs will need to get cited by two Principals. About 99.5% of us never get cited by even one. Getting writes up by two will be rare and even then they will still be an Arbitrator.

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  49. VOTE NO. Randy created the ATR mess and now Mulgrew is selling us out. Think of your union brothers and sisters and not your wallet.
    You could become an ATR and be in a school with a principal who could write you up as problematic and then you will wish you voted NO.
    Most of the people who write to vote yes are working for the UFT and monitor these blogs and write statements that are pro unity.
    Mulgrew is probably the most inarticulate union president in recent years and trying to further his career either in politics or becoming the president of the AFT.

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  50. Anonymous 10:14 --

    I hope you realize that the salary chart that I posted is a hypothetical "wish list" reflecting a 4% annual salary increase.

    It is not what the City is offering.

    The City is offering a pittance considering inflation and the likelihood of an increase in the cost of health insurance.

    But just compare the City's offer with what top-paid teachers are earning in Great Neck.

    The requirement for unpaid evening conferences should have been eliminated long ago, and they should be paid at the per session rate.

    I didn't notice any respect being shown in the Memorandum of Agreement.

    So, .5% of UFT members are cited for misconduct or incompetence by at least one CSA member?

    Where does that figure come from?

    You ought to check out the figures being reported by members working in the "administrator from hell" schools.

    I say, "VOTE NO!!!"

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  51. "We won't do better." is a coward's line. Voting yes is the surest way to "not do better". I am voting NO!Roseanne McCosh, PS 8X

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  52. We will all regret any yes vote when we return to school and find nothing has changed and everyone sees how little money they have. The bonus payments are one shots that will not be pensionable in the year we are given them and should have been earning interest for us since 2009. This is quite possibly the worst contract ever. Vote no and send Mulgrew back.

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  53. VOTE YES!
    -Or, wait around for the next "Bloomberg" to become mayor. Eva? Maybe you'll be happier with the contract offerings then?

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  54. To 6:00am, it's not a coward that takes a good deal, it's a wise person. If you want to instruct others that it's okay to gamble money and their families welfare, then that's not being brave it's being irresponsible.
    BTW- I wonder what kind of a deal you would have struck if you were behind the negotiating desk? I bet we wouldn't see any retro, much less money and fewer protections. That is of course if the city didn't just walk away and move on to the next union up.

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  55. I'm tired of subpar deals. Just vote no.

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  56. I went to the delegate assembly last week. What a @#%^& sham job that was.....It reminded me of the Nazi rallies during the 1930s.....the only person missing was Joeseph Goebels. The delegates dutifully clapped and praised Mulgrew when he had the chutzpa to say that he is "improving the ATR process by removing ATRs for behavior inconsistent with expectation established for professionals"...when asked what that meant, he said the UFT is "working on it", but "ATRs will get better 3020A hearings under the proposed contract" because instead of waiting around, they would get accused, tried, and fired within a couple of weeks. No waiting around! This special treatment is not being offered to the appointed rank and file.....just the 3,000 ATRs.

    As well, a couple of years ago, Amy Arundle told a group of hundreds of ATRs that we were "lucky to have jobs"....after 20 yrs of teaching "effectively", I'm lucky to have a job? Thanks a bunch..

    Get rid of this guy, get rid of Unity, they , like Randi, are on the take from the education reformers.

    VOTE NO for the contract that doesn't keep up with inflation.

    VOTE NO for the contract that will destroy the ATR.

    ReplyDelete
  57. during past ratifications, i recall being mailed my ballot by the aaa and mailing it back to them.
    now, ballots are being sent to cls, who distribute them and retrieve them.
    why is this?

    ReplyDelete
  58. UFT elections for president are done by mail. Contract ratifications have been done in schools for decades.

    ReplyDelete

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