For those of you who don't want to close read it, our fight-back strategy seems to be a massive public relations campaign. Not a bad start but it looks to me to that this will not be enough to stop the well funded Cuomo anti-teacher express from harming us in a significant way.
iceuft@gmail.com is our email address. We look forward to receiving your emails and there were a couple of really good ones that came in the last couple of days. With permission, here is one which I admit is edited a bit.
Hi James,
Just to change the subject for a moment from Cuomo's pending attempts to destroy public education, don't you think it's strange that eight months after the UFT contract ratification, there is still no UFT contract available online or in print. All we have is the 2008-2009 contract, and the most recent MOA (with details still to be added).
In the meantime, administrators all over the city are walking all over our supposedly re-negotiated rights - regarding excessive paperwork, lesson planning, and observations, etc. - and we don't have a current, official document to protect ourselves with.
Any thoughts on that?
Cheers,
Bennett Fischer
Art Teacher
PS 231K
It is kind of strange that there is no printed or online version of the new contract yet. Usually what happens is the Board of Education and UFT would get together and agree where each of the terms of the new Memorandum of Agreement would fit into the contract. They then insert the new language and print new copies of the contract that they send to members. I guess they are too busy now to be bothered with this mundane task.
This next letter I did not get permission yet to print so I will do it anonymously.
What is the latest on retro pay for retired teachers? Amazing how long this is being kept under wraps.
I am going to surprise some readers here by predicting this will be resolved by the February deadline. As for the actual money, let's hope it comes as soon as possible. UFT needs a victory and the Mayor can easily throw them this bone.
Keep writing and we will keep responding.
i was/am still stunned that we were required to vote for a moa and had no opportunity to study the actual contract. see, i always thought the moa had language that would alter sections/protections in the old contract; it was never simply a mater of "adding" or "folding-in" "additions," since the moa has codicils that will amend/change the old version of the contract; the moa and old contract have incompatible provisions. which ones will prevail? 10-months after the ratification vote, there is still no actual contract? those who voted for the contract really didnt--they voted for the moa, but to this day have no idea what the new contract actually says, since, apparently, it doesnt exist.
ReplyDeleteis it my imagination or paranoia, or is this something that should have been clarified in june 2014? dont our dues pay for lawyers?
http://atradventures.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteWe just read another email from someone that spoke with DOE main payroll people. Word is March for retiree retroactive money. Let's hope this is resolved soon.
ReplyDelete