Friday, July 08, 2016

CON ED WORKERS OBLITERATE UFT PATTERN BY GETTING 12% OVER 4 YEARS

The trend around this area in union contract settlements is that raises are heading upward, particularly after the Verizon strike victory. The latest settlement from Con Edison and their unions provides new confirmation. Con Ed unionized workers are receiving 3% a year for four years without givebacks.

More corroboration, as if anymore is necessary, that Michael Mulgrew made a huge mistake when he agreed to a nine year contract which provided for teachers to receive the last city pattern raises (4%+4%) that other city unions received from 2008-2010 piecemeal through 2018 while we loaned our retroactive pay for the work we did from 2009-2011 to the city interest free, not to be paid back in full until 2020.

The UFT also set a pattern for city workers of 10% raises over 7 years. 12% over 4 years for Con Ed or 10% over 7 years for teachers and other city workers while the city has billions of dollars in surplus revenue. You be the judge on what is better.

I am fully aware that Verizon and now Con Edison are private sector companies and we work for the government but union settlements in the New York area are clearly on the upswing and we are missing the trend by being locked in on a nine year contract through 2018.

Con Edison details are from their union, Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2. I really enjoyed the What is a Strike video on their home page.

UWUA LOCAL 1-2 CON ED CONTRACT HIGHLIGHTS
NO GIVEBACKS

  •  4 year contract
  •  Wages Increase 3% each year
  •  Total Wages is 12.55% Compounded
  •  Wage Acceleration Plan is now permanent – No Sunset
  •  Pension Plan remains intact
  •  Increase in 401K match
  •  Roth IRA now available
  • Auto enrollment and auto escalation now available for 401K plan
  • Medical Increase held to minimum – average less than $8/week over life of contract – some plans cost have ecreased. Telemed available
  • Healthcare survey credits continued – potential savings of $6/week on weekly premiums
  •  ½ day off with pay for physical continued
  •  8 hours off for colonoscopy with pay
  •  Improvements to grievance proceedures – Accelerated RWLB process – improved Info Request language
  •  Improved Maternity Leave
  •  New Parental Leave – up to 30 days for birth or adoption of child
  •  Personal Holiday after 1 year
  •  Multiple new job titles and wage increases

NO GIVEBACKS
They wanted to implement a layoff clause for CFRs
WE SAID NO

They wanted to increase job duties to multiple titles
WE SAID NO

They wanted to make drastic changes to sick pay policy
WE SAID NO

They wanted major increases in medical premiums – to make it the same as Management and other Locals
WE SAID NO

They wanted changes to pension for new hires
WE SAID NO

They wanted a surcharge for smokers
WE SAID NO

NO GIVEBACKS

91 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't worry, us "white people" will be getting shot at on September 6 in the dangerous neighborhoods we go to.

Bb said...

Lowlife trash are in charge now, along with criminals. They break laws, get arrested, then complain they are being picked on. Silly me, I thought it was because blacks commit more crime. Us whites are just there to babysit, get abused and pay for their iPhones and Jordan's with our taxes.

Anonymous said...

I'm really saddened by the hateful comments above. This kind of thinking reflects really poorly on all of us in the white community and conveys the message that many of us are not interested in true racial equality and continue refusing to acknowledge that being born white, even in NYC, guarantees us more advantages than we like to admit.

Anonymous said...

What are you expecting this blog to do? Going off topic is one thing but this is way off.

Anonymous said...

That goes for all 3 comments. The last one is just bating the first two. The topic is the con ed contract.

Anonymous said...

I can only assume it piggybacks off the bad contract, and saying what a lousy job we have, mistreated, abused, poorly paid.

Boris said...

With all due respect, do you hear what Obama, clinton and deblasio say all the time. Backing criminals, blaming cops and teachers. That guy who was shot by police had over 30 arrests, including sex offenses, robbery drugs...Freddie Gray was a repeat, repeat, repeat criminal. The list goes on and on. Sound familiar? Student who are 20 years old, 5 credits, 20 arrests, and we get fired. They curse, threaten us, we are whiners. They didnt do their homework, what did I do about t? Explain why I fail so many. Its the inmates running the asylum. Why are my students late? Huh? Ask them.Sad for our school system, which is already in the toilet, and our country.

Anonymous said...

Blacks are not alone in abusing the largesse of the state when it comes to handing out taxpayer money in the form of food stamps, Medicaid, housing and other benefits. Forking it over to our own citizens is preferable to supporting recently arrived immigrants and illegals with their hands out. Check out those who run cash businesses, pay no taxes, and are able to buy nice big brick homes that teachers cannot afford. They pull their kids out of school for extended trips to "their" country and mosey back whenever they feel like it, no consequence.
Great society we've got going here. That was the goal, destroy the middle class.

boris said...

Understood, but I know what I see every day, in what is supposed to be a school. Free grades all over the place, free ride to graduation, allowed to disrespect and abuse everybody, free food, free housing, the very best of material good that they cant afford, pregnant over and over, the talking about getting the huge tax refund on taxes they never paid in the first place, talking about credit card scams, talking about what banks they scam, and if they can see my bank card. Its sickening. Why did I go to school, get a job, to get pad pennies? And look at these shootings by cops. The guy had dozens of arrests, from sex offenses to robbery to assault. And he was carrying a gun. But he was a choir boy. How about staying out of trouble? How about obeying a police command? Isnt that the insubordination we face every day? I am waiting for somebody, anybody to say that you get arrested when you commit crimes. Not just, well, blacks get arrested more, its not fair. That's why certain schools fail and close. Its always the students makeup. And aren't Asians minority? How come they are doing so well? There is something very wrong here, but we cant say it. The school system is nothing more than a babysitting service, in most schools. And by the way, when our students bring their babies to these schools to be watched, whose problem is that? Why is that our responsibility. And while that's happening we are getting cursed. Wow. But I guess I'm wrong.

Anonymous said...

Look at Freddie Gray. Cops killed him. Yeah, sure. Repeat, repeat, repeat criminal and drug dealer, selling drugs to black kids by the way. Who gets blamed? 6 cops brought to trial. Gray family gets 6 million dollars, before they even asked for it, and the black, female, democrat DA says how this is the day the citizens, who just burned down the city, to get revenge by putting the innocent cops, making $50K a year, in jail. Those cases have fallen apart by the way. They hold Gray up like he was some wonderful person, they should be happy he is gone. So when you go back to work, just remember, you are always wrong. That's the innocent criminal student, always being right.

joe said...

And Dallas. Mad because that criminal was killed by a cop. So you blame others, and ambush innocent people, killing many last night. Typical entitlement society, blame somebody else after taking, talking, taking from other people's work.

Anonymous said...



David A. Clarke, Jr. Verified account 
‏@SheriffClarke
I am calling on this nation to rise up and speak with one voice in condemning this vile, vitriolic, hateful movement called BlackLivesMatter

Anonymous said...

The original response, I think, was in reference to the guy from Dallas saying he was targeting white people, and compared that to our abuse at work, done by non whites..

Anonymous said...

And agreed, our job, our students and our contract all suck.

Anonymous said...

We are finished for sure if this is how the majority of teachers think. Stop immigration and about a third of the teachers in NYC are out of a job. You guys have some valid points on conditions in the schools but blaming everything on the students is surely cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't this posting on the Con Ed workers getting a decent raise?

Anonymous said...

We are finished for sure? Sorry, we are already finished. If this is how teachers think.. I think this way because of what goes on...let's not flip it to my fault.

Anonymous said...

Yes, the Con Ed raise. We got 1% per year raises, are waiting 11 years to get our money with no interest, job rules were made worse, and we are treated like trash, and they got 12 and a half percent immediately over 4 years with no givebacks.

Anonymous said...

Mulgrew negotiated this deal.. We had the right to vote it down. We didn't. Stop brining up the past and start to work on 2018. Thats my concern!

Anonymous said...

I really wish the racist posters would knock it off. We are not impressed by you and your hate. You do NOT represent NYC teachers (and, you probably aren't one).

Anonymous said...

Really? We have now made it known, and set a new precedent, its now 1%-1.5% per year. The old days, we lost that. New contract begins 12/1/18, lets see.

Anonymous said...

Is it racist if its true? Can you outline 1 thing above that isn't true?

Anonymous said...

Vote Trump and when he throws out those 11 million people and there are teacher layoffs when the economy goes into recession, you can keep complaining about the unwashed black and brown masses. If you represent the majority of teachers, then heaven help us.

Anonymous said...

I think most teachers would quit if they could but they are stuck...Yes, I will vote Republican.

Anonymous said...

Didn't Bloomberg threaten layoffs, that's why we waited and are waiting 11 years for the money.

Anonymous said...

Bloomberg's bought and paid for mostly white state Senate passed a bill to allow NYC to layoff teachers outside of reverse seniority order. The Assembly with its huge black and Hispanic caucus killed the bill. The bigots here don't even know who their friends who saved their jobs are.

Anonymous said...

I don't know where you work, but come see what i see...The UFT will throw us under the bus, this has been happening for years, which I think was the purpose if this article, ho0wbad our contract is. -salary, benefits, medical, all getting worse

Anonymous said...

If James and Camille ran the UFT and called a strike to stop the abuse of teachers, the racists here would probably be finding excuses to scab.

Anonymous said...

Playing the race card on all sides is allowing the powers that be to use a divide and conquer strategy to destroy us.

Anonymous said...

I don't think its bigotry, I think we have to look at who causes the bulk of the problems.

Anonymous said...

And the refusal to deal with those problems. And, I for one, don't see how this job can get much worse.

Anonymous said...

10:57- if you are blaming the immigrants, the African Americans and the Latinos, you are allowing the divide and conquer strategy of the people above to work.Kids for the most part are not the problem. I agree with you on discipline. The kids who want to learn are not given a chance because of the troublemakers who are allowed to do as they please in schools and then are rewarded because schools fear for their statistics. We agree on that.Can we work from there instead of painting everyone of certain races with one brush?

Anonymous said...

Nice contract for the Con Edison workers. They are the first responders in the event of a blackout. Their motto- "All electrical lines matter."

Anonymous said...

Hey why don't you guys who blame the students form a caucus and run against MORE and Unity next time? I even have an idea how to keep you anonymous. Find a sale on white sheets and hoods.

Anonymous said...

I am a Black Atr teacher I'm the Bronx. It kind of hurts me to read the racist statements such as what appears on this site. I want all of you to know that as a black teacher I get the same abuse from the kids, not just Black kids. But the Hispanic kids, the few white kifd, the Asian kids, etc. The difference between me and you white teachers above is that I don't condemn ethnicity as the problem. You do because you are a racist and I am not. It saddens me because so many of you White people are racists who have pent up and hidden hatred and superiority issues that you have been hesitant to express openly for years. It saddens me because with such hatred at your core I dint think we will ever have common ground in this country. Your hatred for anyone non white is too deep. There will never be peace between us on any large scale. Do if it makes you feel better to spew your hate against us, go ahead. Hope you feel better afterwards. It's good to get it out and it let's us know that our enemy is still alive and well and living in your souls. Black people survived 400 years of you hate and we are still herr. We will always be here like it or not. So spill your frustration, hope you fell better, but know that we are not going anywhere and frankly we don't give a crap about your hate. It's your burden you carry. Not mine. Also you need to qui teaching in minority schools. I would not want my kids anywhere near you. No one should.

Anonymous said...

From what I can gather talking to fellow union members and chapter leaders from other schools is that some teachers think there will be a lump sum payment is fall. In my school a colleague asked me about this and I said we have to wait until October 2017. When I spoke to a chapter leader from other school in my district he said members in his school think there will be a lump sum payment is fall. What we do can as members is capitalize on this and remind the leadership that they work for us and not the city.

Anonymous said...

Have you heard Castile scanner audio from car stop? They stopped him for being armed robbery suspect Well, I guess the racist, white cop theory is gone. Just like every other hing Obama pushes on us.

Anonymous said...

I get tired of hearing, they are good kids but, but, but...no, they aren't good kids, the the criminal records prove it. That is fact.

Anonymous said...

Even if the stop was because of that, he still didn't need to be killed.
If you are too scared to be a cop, don't be a cop.

And, if you are too scared (and/or racist, stupid...) to be a teacher, don't be a teacher.

Anonymous said...

Or students should learn to be non criminal and civil, or be thrown out. maybe if they all weren't getting pregnant at 16 and coming from families with no father this wouldn't be so bad. But not something Obama or de Blasio or Farina or Mulgrew will say.

Anonymous said...

2:41
perfect example. The cop, who did nothing wrong, and the teacher, who did nothing wrong, are wrong? No. The student and/or criminal, they are wrong. That's the problem. We are lowering standards and blaming people who do the right thing, go to college, go to work, and saying the people who don't work, disrespect everybody, and feed of the govt, are never to blame.

Anonymous said...

That ship sailed. They should have voted no on the contract

Anonymous said...

Well, if we followed the discipline code, they would all be suspended. Another cop out. Don't we have a problem if no students follow the discipline code? We cant have rules because nobody would follow them? That's pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Hours before the murders of five police officers in Dallas, Texas, President Obama was again spouting false claims about racism by the police. He sees racism whenever there is any disparity in outcomes, no matter what the cause.

Obama and others inflame passions, but take no responsibility, and instead use events to push for more gun control. Yet, shouting racism can endanger the lives of police officers. The Dallas police chief tells us one of the shooters “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.”

After the Trayvon Martin case, there were numerous cases around the country of blacks attacking whites and invoking Martin’s name.

Let’s not forget that NYPD cops Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were executed by a black man who was angry about the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

Obama and his administration spoke out repeatedly on the Martin and Brown cases. They repeatedly claimed racism was involved, but in fact there’s no evidence of that in either case.

Obama is also wrong, as he was on Thursday, to infer racism from higher arrest rates or prison-sentence lengths. “African Americans are arrested at twice the rate of whites,” he said. What he failed to note is that blacks commit murder at almost six times the rate whites do.

“African-American and Hispanic population, who make up only 30 percent of the general population, make up more than half of the incarcerated population,” he added. But Obama ignores the facts put out by his own Department of Justice. The FBI claims that gangs commit 80 percent of crimes in the US, and the National Gang Center estimates that 82 percent of gang members are black or Hispanic.

Obama claimed: “[Blacks] receive sentences that are almost 10 percent longer than comparable whites arrested for the same crime.” Putting aside questions as to how comparable the crimes are or the criminals’ past histories, Obama again leaves out crucial details. Whites are more likely to face other penalties — fines and restitution, loss of professional licenses, and a greater drop in legitimate earnings upon returning to the labor force after prison.

Will Obama be complaining about the “racist” aspects of these other penalties?

Of course, Obama isn’t alone in pushing these misleading claims. For example, the left-leaning ProPublica attracted massive news attention for its false allegation that 15-to-19-year-old black males die at the hands of the police 21 times as often as do white males of the same age.

Blacks, being the most likely victims of violent crime, are also the most likely beneficiaries of police protection. This makes it especially sad that recent polls show a sharp turn for the worse in relations between blacks and police.

If black victims really believe police are so racist, why would they even bother reporting crimes? If blacks think that police are by and large incompetent, dishonest or apathetic, there would be little reason to turn to them for help.

But blacks don’t shy away from reporting crimes to the police. Data compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics from 2008 to 2012 show blacks are actually more likely than whites to report violent crimes to the police (54 percent to 45 percent).

Blacks consistently report violent crime at a higher rate than whites do. This is true of all income groups and of both suburban and urban areas. This higher rate of reporting is true in areas where blacks face higher violent-crime rates than whites and also when the reverse is true.

If black victims do become more reticent to report crime, criminals will find crime less risky and we will see more of it.

Inflammatory, false claims about police racism not only endanger the lives of police officers, they can also lead to higher crime rates — especially in heavily black areas. If Obama really cares about poor blacks, he should be more careful getting his facts right

Anonymous said...

You can take your"facts" and "statistics" and shove them up your racist you know where. You don't know anything about how Black people feel about anything. You are only know what racist a-holes like yourself think and feel. So here is a Black person's feeling: KMBA! Use your facts and statistics to figure out what that means. Sick and tired of you racist bastards.

James Eterno said...

The ICEUFT blog is a free speech zone as Jeff and I are strong proponents of a fairly wide interpretation of the First Amendment. However, people are going way, way, way off topic here.

This is a dissident teacher union caucus blog so it would be wise if we seek some common ground. I am having a hard time seeing how the harsh rhetoric here is helping the cause of public education or our union which is the purpose of this blog.

I am hearing offline that people are offended by the tone of the racial comments and one recommended that I step in.

Therefore, I am asking politely if people would please tone down the inflammatory rhetoric here as it is not adding to the discourse.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes the truth hurts. We all know which students cause the greatest problems in our class. Not being racists James but being a realist. Its not about the coloro of someone's skin but the conduct of a persons behavior. Hard to swallow for some of your followers but we all know which students constantly tell us to suck a body part, curse and call us white mother f ers. I try to conduct myself in a professional, caring and respectful way but certain students dishonor the culture and heritage of certain ethnicities. Anon 12:02 must know who is causing the problems and getting awarded fake grades and diplomas. It's doesn't serve them or society to act they way they do. I don't iwn a white sheet or would I treat anyone in an unequal wsy but when I ask you please sit down and complete the assignment and am constantly called a white mother fuc er who are we to blame. I would never blame someone based on skin color my anon 12:02 friend but you must know in your heart something is wrong with the behavior of certain groups. Yes you can blame it on 400 yrs of oppression but that can't be all of it. Stop playing the victims and instruct the youngsters to wise up. I can go on and but we wil never agree. Only 58 more days until I'm called a white mother f er for wanting a black student to simply behave and learn something. How evil I must be. What a horrible profession we have chosen.

James Eterno said...

You made your point already multiple times. Can we move on?

James Eterno said...

You made your point already multiple times. Can we move on?

Anonymous said...

Move on to what our work environment is just as important as salary. Atr status and pensions.

ETelford said...

I am 12:02. One last statement and I am done. Teenagers are rebellious by nature. One constant is that they are rebellious of teachers. They Don't like being told what to do by adults, all teenagers, not just Black ones. I get called a "black MF bitch" by students who do not like me telling them what to do like put away their phones, or stop talking in class. As I said in my original post, they abuse me the same way they abuse you. If they abuse me and I am black, why would you be treated any better because you are white? All races of teenagers have been disrespectful to me as a black teacher in nyc. You work in a predominately ethnic school system full of rebellious teenagers yet you think they are bad because they are black and I assume you include Hispanics too. I read an article in Education weekly about how violence against teachers in the classroom is increasing at an alarming rate. The article was about schools in England. The article had a picture of all white students in a classroom throwing paper balls at their white teacher. IN ENGLAND, not nyc! My point is you need to expand you horizons and get over using racism colored glasses when dealing with teenagers. Bad behavior is not endemic to race. The "truth" that hurts is that racism is alive and well and living in the US in the hearts of many citizens.

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for anon 12:02. Like I said its not a bout skin color it's about behavior. Liberalism is a mental disorder. Calling someone a racist is the first defense of the liberal. Talking aboupaper balls at a teacher is funny my anon 12:02 friend. Good luck and don't forget the sun screen. I hope you don't think I'm a racist because I'm reminding you to use sun screen. But these days saying hello can be offensive and racist, God help our country. Oh wait the liberal govt killed God. Thanks James for honoring the 1st Amendment. Will see how long that last on this site and our country.

Anonymous said...

I'm a white teacher in a multi-ethic school and my experiences much more closely align to those of ETelford than Anon 8:59; bad kids come from all backgrounds (but lucky for us, there are far far more good kids than bad). Saying "it's not about skin color it's about behavior" is ludicrous when you spend most of your comment space implying that bad behavior, laziness, and criminal activity are intrinsic characteristics of non-whites. Besides, NYC is great place because of all the different kinds of people we have with different opinions and different cultures and different experiences (and different delicious foods!); let's appreciate that.

And getting back to topic...
Good for Con Ed workers. The more who break our pattern then better -- maybe we'll see something better than 1% per year in 2018.

Anonymous said...

I agree 9:33.

Anonymous said...

Of course you agree. Thank God for the 1st and 2nd Amendments. Martial law is a possibility please be prepared. Thanks again

Anonymous said...

You are on the wrong site. If you are a teacher, heaven help your students.

Anonymous said...

The answer lies in self respect, accountability, responsibility, all things that you can't make people do. The students have none of these...

Anonymous said...

Chicago is 33 percent, white, Asian and black. black on black crime is 70 percent.

Anonymous said...

PULLED OVER 52 TIMES: Philando Castile stopped for slew of driving violations in 14 years before he was shot by Minn. cop. Eric Garner, 30 plus arrests. Freddie Gray, dozens of arrests. Yeah, normal.

Anonymous said...

Why because I believe in the bill of rights and have common sense of what's going on. Enough of calling good hard working educators they are racists when we all know they are looking out for the welfare of the victims of a govt welfare policy that has created outbid wedlock births and dependency not on individualism but on the govt. I care just as much for all my students but we can't ignore the liberal policies that were well intentioned have caused them. As a caring human being I am very concerned that many of our students aren't going to be the productive members of society they deserve to be. If that's racists bring it!!!! Love my 1st amendment and thank you James for letting all of exercise that wonderful hard fought right. Have a peaceful and relaxing summer and only about 57 days until we are again abused by the doe, our union and some of our misguided and poorly advised students. Man am I getting tired of exercising my first amendment rights. Lol

Anonymous said...

Because Erasmus, Jefferson, prospect heights, Fred Douglas are the same as new Utrecht, midwood, and bk tech. I agree, no perfection, but will see a difference in learning environment and student responsibility.

Anonymous said...

Nor do you. Small wonder they curse you out. I have listened to you for two days here and I want to curse you out.

Anonymous said...

I see who you are. I understand why the students abuse you. You ask for it.

Anonymous said...

57 days until you show your true colors to another group of students who will tell you the truth about yourself. I have worked with mostly black and brown students for many years and not one has called me an anti white slur. Yes I am white.

Anonymous said...

Go work in a charter school where the discipline is harsh. See how you like it. You are a hypocrite of the first order. You make a living off of kids and policies you hate.

Anonymous said...

Typical. Take criminal side over cops. Take students side, who have negative records a mile long, over a teacher, who educationally, legally, historically, has done nothing wrong.

Anonymous said...

That's a good one, blame the teacher for causing the students to curse them and tell them to suck a body part. Liberalism is a mental disorder and please utilize our wonderful health care my friend. Enjoy your summer and may God bless you.

Anonymous said...

Not sure an intelligent person like yourself can say I hate students after reading my posts. My heart breaks for the many students who are stuck in the cycle of govt dependency and victimization. Open your eyes my friend and please utilize our wonderful health care system. I think it pays for eye exams

Anonymous said...

I don't get cursed out by students and you do. You obviously have no answer for that one. You reap what you sow.You won't get banned here but it is time to stop responding to your rantings. My guess is you're banned on other blogs and are trying to be so obnoxious so you are banned here.

Anonymous said...

Why would I be banned for exercising my 1st amendment right. You should be thankful your not cursed out and not blame me. The mind of a liberal us very scary. Is is the only blog I every look at and respect James and the hard work he does for the rank and file teachers. Spend some time in campus magnet, far rock, Erasmus, Jefferson, Van Buren and we will see if your self proclaimed streak of not getting cursed out continues. Good luck my friend and may God Bless you. Also I'm not the one posting all of them.

ed notes online said...

In my 30 years of teaching I had maybe 3 white kids and the rest were black and hispanic. In all those years there were at most a few incidents with kids calling me names or other derogatory comments. And I taught in one of the poorest areas of the city. So the comments maligning entire races of kids are outrageous. James Eterno is white and taught in a school mostly of kids of color. A tough high school. I would bet he had few incidents too. You know why? Because he knows how to teach and to relate to the kids. The reason you are called names is because you can't hide your disdain and racist attitudes towards the kids.

Anonymous said...

Wow Ed that's a good one. I'm sure you were a wonderful teacher and I wouldn't questions your teaching ability, please don't question mine. It must be the teachers fault mentality so it must be mine. Thank you for pointing that out Ed I couldn't have realized it without you. Blame the teacher, sounds like it comes straight from the doe playbook and Bloomberg. Lol!!! You guys are funny but please enjoy your summer my friends.

James Eterno said...

Norm (Ed Notes)is 100% right. I worked at Jamaica High School for 28 years and I was never ever, not even once, called a derogatory racial name by any kid. I taught very few white kids in those years. A student said F*** you to me one time in that long span of time and was dealt with by the deans in one of my rare calls to the deans. I had a few confrontations with angry students for sure but that goes with the job. I don't fault the teacher when things go wrong usually however there are ways to fan the flames or deescalate situations.

Anonymous said...

Good for you James I'm proud of you. Thanks for the advice on how to not fan the flames but your buddy Ed should work for farina. Must be the teachers fault is the problem these days. God Bless!

Anonymous said...

You would be banned over at NYC Educator who wrote a full piece on racism on that blog. Probably a reaction to the racist comments here. ))

Anonymous said...

Sad you think the comments are racist! Our nation is doomed!

Anonymous said...

I guess Barry Obama and black lives matter would also be banned from nyc educator for racists comments. Fair and Balanced!

ed notes online said...

There is a first year teacher in MORE - short, slightly built who taught in one of the toughest areas of the city this past year and is now teaching summer school on a very tough high school. I asked if he had been getting any comments from kids directed at him along the lines we are seeing hear. Never he said. It is not blame the teacher when those of us who had experience with the same population didn't get these reactions on a general basis. i was not a master teacher and had struggles. when I did I tried to examine my own role to see if my reactions caused certain counter reactions. With some kids no matter what I did I would be resented. But with most if something sent screwy I had options that I didn't take. Things are generally bad in the schools but much of that is due to the people managing the schools from the top down. Other than the really crazy/criminal kids, most of the rest are getting more screwed than the teachers.

Anonymous said...

Yeah right Ed hope your post makes you feel better about your beliefs. Enjoy your retirement and thank you for your service. God bless!!!

Anonymous said...

Race bating guy has to have the last word. Go back to Rush and celebrate the private sector while you work for the government. That is hypocrisy.

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your day my angry friend and may God Bless You!

Anonymous said...

May God bless you too my misguided colleague.

Anonymous said...

Thanks and I love Rush. Saw them a few years ago. Great songs!!!

Anonymous said...

Came by to comment about the Con-Ed contract and yes they are a private company and that matters because taxpayers who complain about every nickel teachers get in a contract couldn't careless what private sector comoanies pay their employees. That said James,have you ever seen their contract? Employees get 10 -25 vacation days a year with the employees having to work 25 years to earn 25 days. Their pensions are much worse than ours earning about $48,000 on $100,000 salary after 30 years at 55. If they get injured at work, they only receive full salary for 7 days and then go on a system that reduces their income by 60%. You do realize they pay a lot for heLth insurance nit just co-pay but weekly reductions. Here is an excerpt from their 2012-2015 contract:

"The weekly claims under your medical plan have sky-rocketed in recent years. As a result, Con Ed insisted that you pay much, much more in your weekly contribution, in your co-pays, and deductibles. The company wanted you to pay $157 per week by the end of this contract, with a family deductible between $1200 and $2800, for in-network care, and between $2250 and $5600 for out-of-network, depending on which “choice” you selected. Although your weekly cost and deductible still had to go up, we were able to keep them within reason. For example, the family deductible for Choice 1 will be $750 for in-network care, both medical and hospital combined, and $1950 for out-of-network. As of January 1, 2013, your co-pay for your primary doctor will actually be reduced, to $25, for your primary doctor, although there will be the slight increase to $31 for Specialists. Your preventive care is covered 100% in-network. Choice 1 will pay 90% of your in-network medical and hospital costs (after the deductible is paid), and 100% of your medical and hospital costs once you have satisfied the annual out-of-pocket limit of $1000, for a single, or $2500 for a family in Choice 1. The out-of-pocket limits for out-of- network care for Choice 1 will be $1700 for single and $5100 for family."

Sounds great doesn't it James? And you have the nerve to complain about our salaries and compensation while trumpeting how great their's is? Thank god you guys don't control the union or we all would be in trouble.

James Eterno said...

Just talking about Con ed salary increases and how they did better in terms of their percentage raise than city workers. They crushed the pattern set by Mulgrew as are other unions. The city surpluses have been huge and have you seen the stock market lately even with the Brexet vote? I think Wall Street just set some records. There is plenty of money out there and we got very little of it. Who locks into a nine year contract when the economic picture is improving in the city and nationally? The UFT. That mistake is biting us over and over again. Consider that working conditions are not improving either.

Of course our salaries aren't the same as Con Ed workers since we do completely different jobs with different education levels needed to get the job. We have to obtain a Masters degree just to keep our job. I doubt there are too many Con Ed union workers who have our education levels. To compare our entire package is an apples and oranges comparison. I'm not saying that what they do isn't as important as what we do as they are certainly skilled workers and I sure am glad that they keep the electricity going. We just need a very specialized professional certification to get our teaching jobs and deserve just compensation.

If a more militant public sector union like the Transit Workers Union Local 100, whose workers average pay is probably less than ours, suddenly received a better pay increase than us, don't you think it would be relevant for comparison? Oh yeah that really happened in 2014 as TWU's 2012-2016 contract was for "1%, 1%, 2%, 2%, 2% - plus full retroactive pay - between 2012 and 2016." (Source is their website) Full retroactive pay and no interest free loan to the city not to be repaid fully until 2020. No 18 months of zeros like we settled for. 8% over five years with no interest free loan to the government or Mulgrew's 10% over 7 with an interest free loan to the city. Which is better? They are now set to do better in the next round. Do you think the Verizon and Con Ed increases won't be talked about in their negotiations? Management will counter by talking about what private sector workers pay for healthcare and will surely cry poverty too but skilled union negotiators will rally their people around what salary increases are in settlements and work accordingly.

As for healthcare, we have nothing to apologize for since city workers are part of a huge group with hundreds of thousands of us in that insurance pool. Our rates should be lower because of our size.

Unions compare increases all the time and contracts are trending upward as has been the economy for several years. By agreeing to a nine year contract and setting a horrible 7 year pattern for city workers, Mulgrew did a lousy job for teachers, cops and every other city worker. I stand by that 100%

Anonymous said...

Unity troll is back. Bring back the bigot. At least he's somewhat entertaining.

Anonymous said...

You do realize that private sector workers, are not part of pattern bargaining. Your post was about how much better their contract was than ours. Their contract is much worse than ours as up I have demonstrated. Now you bring up TWU. Tough for me or anyone to comment if you keep switching the topic. If you want me to breakdown the TWU's contract we can do that next.

James Eterno said...

Private or public, they do better than the UFT pattern in terms of salary increases. The point of the post was to show that contract salary increases are trending upward and we missed the boat by settling for an unheard of nine year contract. Simple as that and your comparison of everything Con Ed to UFT was well beyond the scope of the posting which was completely focused on salary increases.

Anonymous said...

Call me whatever you wish my anon 1:02 friend and thanks for the compliment.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back bigot. You add much more to the thread than the Unity troll.

Anonymous said...

Thanks my name calling friend and thanks for showing me the error of my ways. God Bless!