Michael Mulgrew, the UFT President who almost never shows up to hear members under attack pleading their cases at the open mic before Executive Board meetings, was there tonight to hear teacher Emily James present her petition with close to 80,000 people on it looking for paid family leave for UFT members.
Mulgrew responded, according to High School Representative Mike Schirtzer, by saying the city managers got a terrible deal for parental leave (The ICE blog has reported on this) and the UFT won't be pressured internally into accepting a bad deal but we will take the petition to the city and report back to Emily at the next meeting.
We also heard from Mike through UFT lawyer Adam Ross that anyone on unpaid leave (child care, restoration of health, wind up personal affairs) when the lump sum payments (I call them interest free loan repayments) are made will be a year behind. Those on payroll or retired received a payment in October of 2015 and will get one next month, another in October of 2018, the next in October 2019 and finally the last payment will come in October 2020. Someone on leave will be at least a year behind. Someone who was on leave in October of 2015 who is back now will receive the 2015 payment now and will be a year behind and waiting until 2021 to get the full money back.
I don't even want to ask what happens to someone who is on a multi-year leave to take care of the kids. They may get paid back in full during the next solar eclipse.
Arthur Goldstein's full report on the Executive Board up is now up.
http://nyceducator.com/2017/09/uft-executive-board-september-26-2017.html?m=1
20 comments:
Mulgrew says he is going to take the petition to City Hall. Guess what? City Hall is not going to want to give NYC teachers or any other unions paid maternity leave without givebacks. Thus the city says no paid leave without givebacks and Mulgrew saves face by saying he did his best. (He also will not be criticized by the rank and file by making a secret deal with givebacks) In the end, teachers get reduced sick bank time, more days teaching for no pay, or some other massive giveback. As for me, I am furious that due to the fact that I have chosen to live a child free life as a NYC teacher that I may loose sick days or be forced to give up something else so other teachers get paid leave. Having a child is a choice. Nobody forces someone to have a child while working. Having a child is not the same as getting sick which is unpredictable. If the city wants to pay for maternity leave with no givebacks, that is fine. However, I predict that city is going to want something big from the UFT in return for paid maternity leave. If that is the case, the UFT should drop this once and for all. I don't care if there are 70,000 signatures on that petition. Let those 70,000 teachers all pool their days and pay into paid leave, not me. NO GIVEBACKS!!!
NO GIVEBACKS! Had children all ready and planned for it. This will not go anywhere. This is not a pressing issue no matter how many signatures are on the petition.
Agree with both comments above. I planned along with my husband who is in the private sector when we had our three children. If there are givebacks of any sort, I will be extremely disappointed.
Who cares if we are angry? Don't you get it the UFT will laugh all the way to the bank when they sell us out on child care leave and they will laugh even more when only a handful defect after SCOTUS allows it.
I don't get sick much so why should I pay for health care? And I don't give a crap about having 50 kids in my class so why should i pay for lower class sizes?
In fact why not fire half the teachers and give up preps and class size so I can make more?
There is the type of unionism some of you are advocating. Me me me.
Go screw yourselves. Oh, you already have.
Very disappointed that women with petition already were ready for givebacks. Why should we give anything back???? The city is flush with money. This is 2017! Time to just give this to us without a give back!!!! And it should not just be for women who have babies. What about those of us who are caretakers for our elderly parents and have to charge tons of time (btw, I am a man!) to take our parents to doctors, hospitals, etc......
My proposal: for every five years of service, teachers get 3 weeks of paid family leave--for childbirth, care of relatives, etc...thus, if you start teaching at 22 and have your first child at 32--6 weeks! If you are like me and now are the primary caretaker of a parent with Alzheimer's (no small feat), and you have 25 years--you now have blocks of time to take care of the things that are required of caregivers.
BUT--NO GIVEBACKS!!!!!
Let's be serious here. Read the posting. The DOE is not even giving people on unpaid leaves their interest free loan repayment on time. The DOE is making these people wait a year for their money.These officials who have zero heart are suddenly going to grant parental leave without givebacks? I don't think so. The only way we get this without givebacks is if we were able to use our collective power to fight for it. That is not happening just based on the lack of solidarity here. Expect a smaller raise or some other giveback in exchange for parental leave. The UFT is only arguing that the giveback should be much less than what the city managers had to give.
James, that is the entire point. We ARE expecting givebacks and that is why the majority of people posting here are angry. We are pissed at there mere thought of givebacks. We would rather see not paid maternity paid leave if there are givebacks. We are not women haters here. We are rational men and women who understand the deep responsibilities and ramifications involved in planning and raising a child. We understand that having a child is a planned choice and is different from getting ill where insurance is needed. We do not think that it is fair that we will end ip loosing sick bank days or a possible larger raise to fund paid maternity leave especially if we already had kids or choose to never have kids of our own. Paid maternity leave punishes those of us who are responsible enough to pay for kids on our own or who choose to never have kids. If the city wants paid maternity leave based on givebacks, the only people who should be effected by this are those who are planning on having kids. Maybe set up a system where teachers who want kids can opt in to a paid maternity leave plan where they get less sick days per year or a reduction in pay. I was talking about the possibility of teachers loosing sick days to pay for maternity leave with a group of female teachers yesterday and they all agree that it is not fair to those of us who choose to never have kids.
What a lot of teachers don't understand is the huge amount of money those of us who are child free stand to loose out of a reduction in sick days will cost us over our careers. I have over 130 days in my CAR. I have no children and will never have children. I hardly take any sick days. I want to max out my CAR at the contractual limit of 200 days. (You can cash out half of all accumulated sick days). If I get a reduction in future sick days, I will have a much harder chance being able to acquire 200 days in my CAR. Thus, teachers such as my self who are child free by choice stand to loose tens of thousands of dollars to pay for those teachers who choose to have kids and get "paid" maternity leave. Anybody who can't see how biased this system is against teachers who are child free or who are not having any further children, need to wake up and smell the coffee!
It shows how corrupt a union we have when our leader is advocating for the city on the lump sum payments.
I am not disagreeing with any of you that all of us should not have to pay for the benefit. The UFT rejected the loss of sick bank days proposal is my understanding so give credit there. The problem is we no longer function as a real union so we do not and cannot achieve gains. The only way that changes is when teachers en masse say, "Enough."
You know what grinds my gears? All we are gonna hear about for the next 9 months is paid maternity leave. (As a guy who is never going to have kids, I am for paid leave as long as the city pays for it and not out of my CAR) What really burns me up is that we are still gonna be stuck with the bullshit Danielson crap and the 4 observation hell here in NYC. So over all this nonsense.
Chances are if a future parent doesn't have three or more children then they will actually lose money from any "deal" that is made. Nobody is going to be smart enough to run the numbers. Most people having kids will be younger and making less money. Even giving up a half percent will bite them in the rear over the long run. Forget about the rest of us who had kids already or will never have any.
From what I understand even the MORE folks were clapping after the presentation from the speakers for paid family leave. If they are representing my interests then they should know I DO NOT AGREE nor do I want this negotiated. Thank you.
I voted MORE and now I am upset with my choice. They always are screaming for fairness but a "paid" maternity leave via givebacks in any shape or form for teaches who choose not to have kids or who already had kids is simply not fair. We will loose a ton of money over the years if it is in the form of lost raises or reduction in CAR days.
MORE favors paid family leave without givebacks.
I thought most teachers were socialists. Free healthcare, free housing, free college, free sneakers, free cigarettes, I guess I was wrong
James, you are starting to sound like a two faced politician. You support family paid leave but with no give backs. You and I know you can't get something for nothing. You said yourself in other posts. im disappointed!
Eterno is a FRAUD!!!
I was telling you MORE'S position is paid family leave without givebacks which as I have said I support but I don't believe is realistically obtainable. I hope I am wrong.
Usually we only hear the name calling against me around UFT election or contract ratification time so misinterpret all you like and call me what you want. ICE won't censor unless you cross the line. Just be creative and keep it clean.
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