Anyone interested in seeing how large the 12.5% loan repayment the city is making to UFT members, without any interest, or work we did from 2009-2011 can go into the payroll portal. Our stubs for the October 16 paycheck are there.
As in 2015, the UFT is getting a piece the action taking out union dues from the loan repayment. In the past (pre 2015), union dues did not come out of retroactive pay because we already paid dues on the checks during the pay period w hen we originally worked.
Leave it to the UFT to take their cut of our money.
It is just the latest indignity.
This is why people want Janus, despite potentially hurting themselves, need some "repayment" for all the screwing that has been done to us.
ReplyDeleteIm an ATR, force placed, well over the legal limit in terms of hardship travel, nobody gives a fuck, let me be the first to pull my dues ASAP. Another uft scam for the fat cats as we suffer daily...
ReplyDeleteDo something about it. We collectively have the power.
ReplyDelete70% of NYC's "brightest" won`t even notice.
ReplyDeleteThe quality and intelligence of the NYC teacher is a joke, just like the job itself, its a babysitting job with medical coverage, they are too stupid to understand when retro is even paid, let alone what figure is owed, then complain "I didnt get that" and then ask when the next raise is...
ReplyDeleteI know that we all have to vent but what do we expect to accomplish by constantly year after year bitch and complain about the same broken system that unjustly treats us? Is it safe to say that 5 years from now, we will get and send the same emails and complain about the same things? Yet, NOBODY DOING A DAMN THING ABOUT IT!
ReplyDelete2nd year ATR $89,000 Salary
So is it safe to say the next three October payments will be slightly more than double what this one is?
ReplyDeleteApprox double. Retro stops being added to in the spring.
ReplyDeleteSince the scale is constantly sliding, the percent they are adding is always changing, it is now only 2%, as of june, retro will be frozen.
ReplyDeleteWe are still earning 2% in retro, However it will be paid out over the shortest period, 3 payments, not 6 as with the first retro. So, 2% x 100k \ 3 is approximately $700 more in each future retro check. I received $5500 this time, so next time I will get $5500 x 2= $11,000 + 700= $11,700.
ReplyDeleteI meant to say in 5 payments, not 6. The first in 2015, then 2017, 2018, 2019...and if I’m alive, 2020.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else notice the numbers on the checks are way off? They double dipped on my TDA, loan repayment, and medical rider fee. The math doesn’t even seem to workout on my check, there are more deductions than gross pay. Then calculating in my net pay makes my check $2341 off. As a matter of fact, based on my accountant- wife’s look at the check we will owe the Department of Education money if this was paid out!
ReplyDeleteI find it so disturbing that everybody says the same thing- "if I'm still alive in 2020". There is something so very wrong with a system when so many feel this way.
ReplyDeletePS: To the UFT-take the extra $106 that you took from my check and shove it up your collective behinds.
And now we sit here with tongues hanging out of mouths waiting 12 months for the next fraction.
ReplyDeleteThis is what it is, people cant wait to quit or retire, people wating for 11 year old pay, people hoping not to die, people getting abused...
ReplyDeleteI have 18 years in the DOE and I am going to retire exactly on my 55th birthday. Got 7 years to go. Thank God for 25/55. I feel so bad for all the young new teachers at my school in the South Bronx. They are tier 6 which means they can't retire till they are 62. Figure they are in their early 20's which means they got about 40 years of DOE hell before the reach retirement age. The horror, oh the horror. As for me, I loved teaching in NYC till Bloomberg came along and fucked with everybody. Also, the UFT at the start of my career actually had teachers backs. There were no Leadership Academy principals and once I got tenure I ddi not ever get observed anymore. (Now I have to get observed 4 times a year) Today everything is put under a microscope. Working for the DOE sucks but that pension is the only thing keeping me going. I have a feeling there are a lot of veteran teachers who are thinking the same thing.
ReplyDeleteIm quiting sooner rather than later. Nowhere near 55. Wanted to get the retro but may not be able to hang on. Oh well. No amount of money can buy back the past.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else notice their deductions, Ghi rider, and trs tda are doubled or more?
ReplyDeleteMore in deductions than net. Wtf is going on here.
Re: the TDA part: WHAT am i missing?? Didn't you guys put in a much higher pct request with TRS before this check in anticipation of a huge chunk going to taxes if we didn't DO so?? I know I did...55%...so, am not surprised at ALL that more than $5000 of this check is going to TDA...that's exactly what i wanted to happen! As for the REST of it, absolutely, we're getting gouged left and right.
ReplyDeleteAs stated, NYs dumbest
ReplyDeleteIf they just gave us our money when they should have I would have paid my mortgage off already.
ReplyDeleteOur Union is full of crooks.
ReplyDeleteNYs Meekest.
ReplyDeleteI did NOT up my TDA and they took double the percentage, usually 10% of 4,000, this check they took 20% of 8,000. All my deductions for MTA, TDA, insurance are double.
ReplyDeleteThe last post said: "I did NOT up my TDA and they took double the percentage, usually 10% of 4,000, this check they took 20% of 8,000. All my deductions for MTA, TDA, insurance are double." Re the TDA part, I don't =get= it...but if that happened uniformly across the board to everyone, and others didn't WANT it, then something is totally WRONG with that.
ReplyDeleteWhat i find interesting is, i =did= request DOUBLE my "normal" percentage, and GOT it..but they never changed my original pct to REFLECT that change...it stayed THE SAME on the TDA page, and yet they took out double ANYWAY. In my case that's what i wanted, but now i'm wondering if they would have have doubled it ANYWAY.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is too many teachers just go with the flow and do not question this nonsense. We are the exception to this. I can only hope that when my colleagues get a taste of the lump sum payments they want more upfront.
ReplyDeleteYou guys arent too smart
ReplyDeleteTda was and is set at 14%. They took 27.5%. Someone screwed up.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the alleged "system crash" of the TDA system that garnered an "extended time allotment" to increase your investment actually didn't have a "glitch" hence the TDA system processed both requests.
DeleteMy paycheck is very wonky, the numbers don't add up and are totally wrong. Anyone else having this problem?
ReplyDeleteNo wonder we get walked all over.
ReplyDeleteLook at total earnings top left.. Multiply that by the percentage you requested for tda. Not that hard, the more money that's in your check, the higher the tda amount is going to be.
ReplyDeleteJoe, we're not stupid, it's wrong! I had only $658 out of $24,000 left to contribute to the TDA, and they took $1316. They doubled my union dues too; this however is not reflected in the net pay. It's some kind of crazy mistake. I've taught math for 33 years, I can do the simple calculations to concretely say the Board of Education fell down on the job once again!
ReplyDeleteThey are too dumb. Wait till we go thru this again next year. And get asked about the next raise...
ReplyDeleteThe dues, thats a scam
ReplyDeleteThe dues are a total scam! They are calculating our dues higher because theoretically step 8 where they are calculated from would've been higher. It's an absolute shame the way this contract is written! The DOE benefits as employees leave, die, or are first. But the UFT also benefits as they receive this steady chain of dues through 2020.
ReplyDeleteHere's a serious question I and my colleagues have been pondering: When Janus says we no longer have to pay UFT dues, will we have to pay dues on the "retro"?
We are nearly 100% sure the answer is "NO!" Since the money is being paid in subsequent years, and the dues is simply a "formula" and agreement the NYC DOE and UFT aggreed to, there is no legal basis for them to have the ability to collect dues from before the payment is issued. Since we are not entitled to the money until the date specified in the contract(Oct 1st) the UFT can't claim it is acting under the law which governed union dues prior to the date of payout.
Well, hasnt happened yet...
ReplyDeleteI just checked my stub. If anyone can figure the decutions out, you should get a job as a puzzle expert. My TDA contraibution went through the roof. I upped it but not by that much.
ReplyDeleteI think I may quit the UFT just not to have to pay the extra dues for the retro that they are sucking out of us. Give me a new union to join please.
ReplyDelete3:29 is right on dues. Then all of us who have worked since 2009 should be having the same amount deducted. It shouldn't be based on how much is in each check but I am hearing different numbers from different people.
ReplyDeleteBlogger John Elfrank-Dana said...
ReplyDeleteI have been advocating a breakaway union for high schools for years now. I was a chapter leader for 10 years (retired my last year) and a delegate for 6 years. I worked as an arbitration advocate in the UFT Grievance Department until I demanded to get paid for my work. I took them to small claims court to get what they owed me and won. Needless to say, they didn't want me in their office any longer.
The UFT (Unity Caucus) is a textbook case in organizational pathology, where the original purpose of the organization (protecting the rights of members) becomes supplanted by the perpetuation of a political inside group that continues to enrich itself. To do this the UFT has morphed from a democratic union into a corporate entity. It has increasingly removed democratic accountability to members by "at large" officers that are elected by non-constituent groups, like retirees and elementary school Unity hacks voting in the High Schools Vice President. Or, like the District Reps being appointed and not subject to the vote of chapter leaders in the district, as used to be the case.
Notice also that brand new teachers pay the same $100 a month dues as the most senior teachers. What incentive does the UFT have to protect member rights? What do they care about rampant teacher turnover? So long as they have a no layoff clause in the contract, the UFT's dues stream remains intact. Hence, why senior members are harassed to quit or retire early with their "union" doing nothing other than offering the illusion of due diligence with bogus appeals processes that have an over 90% failure rate.
Most recently, those of us out on medical or maternity leave in Oct. 2015 did not get the Oct. 2015 retro check as we were off payroll, but were promised by the UFT that we will get it in 2017. We were bargaining chips for the UFT. Many on maternity don't come back (thus, they will never get their retro) and us on medical often die (thus, no payment again), saving the city a lot of money. Well, now I hear on good information that we will not get our 2015 check until 2021. I am not surprised.
Unity Caucus has rigged the system that makes it impossible for change via elections. They are a textbook, Tammany Hall, kind of political machine. Mulgrew once told me, "these teachers will never go on strike". So, he thought my attempts to radicalize my chapter were futile. Yes, the dreaded "S" word. That's because Unity consistently uses the threat of strike and does nothing to lead the membership to prepare for one, to scare members who have mortgage payments to make. Well, fewer and fewer members have mortgages now.
I teach TFA and Fellows in retirement and did so 10 years prior to retiring in 2016. Trust me, there's little optimism that they will stick around much longer in teaching and it has everything to do with working conditions.
Break these chains. Create a real union. You'll be surprised just how enthusiastic you will find the high school, and probably middle school, members who want radical change. As a retiree I pledge my support to this project.
John Elfrank-Dana
UFT Chapter Leader (ret.)
Murry Bergtraum High School
www.Elfrank.net
Thanks John, enjoy your retirement. If only our own Union president sounded like this.
DeletePowerful stuff John.
ReplyDeleteAnd, good luck Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThis may hurt the union next year because if we become right to work members will anticipate next year's lump sum and withrdaw their dues and resume paying in November (if that is what they want to do).
ReplyDeleteNo, I will stop permanently.
ReplyDeleteSo if you stop paying you still get all the same "union benefits" as someone who is paying?
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't mean dental and optical, I know the doe pays for that. I mean "protections" and whatever other bs they don't really do.
DeleteYes, same for free, sounds good considering...
ReplyDeleteScrewing over other teachers by not paying your fair share is not better than the powers that be that love screwing over unions.
ReplyDeleteNo, I’m not Unity. I just won’t screw over others.
So we should all stop paying. This has gone far too long.
ReplyDeleteThe last hope I have for our union is that pulling our dues will change it. I plan to pull my dues and I hope they change. If not screw the union and screw everyone else, I’ve done my part for 20 years.
ReplyDeleteYeah, im a millionaire at this point, i tried, been tortured, fuck them...
ReplyDeleteMy deductions are easy to understand: 20% of total earnings for the pay period for TDA (20% for me is constant--I didn't change the rate for this check), more in taxes because the check is higher than ususal, health coverage deduction is the same, UFT took more bc every time we get an increase they make sure they get their cut, a few dollars in arrears for religious observance days (The rate of deduction for past religious observance increased with each 2% we got so it makes sense that they take the difference when we get our retro).
ReplyDeleteTry to hang on for 3 more payments then quit, thats my plan...
ReplyDeleteMy deductions are higher than the total income on the paycheck. That’s pretty wrong.
ReplyDeleteThey also doubled my TDA percent.
My UFT payment is about 4.5 times the usual payment.
The stub is pretty wrong.
My wife and I both are teachers. On her check both taxes and deductions are doubled and she has a -3,867.23 check! Yes, her check actually reads a negative number! Negative! My check also shows double everything, however the doubled deductions are not actually calculated into my check and I get what I am supposed to receive $4567.
ReplyDeleteAny advise on what to do? Who do we call? Aren't these already printed if they're up on the portal?
Wha? We get per session retro too? Bunch of fucking idiots.
ReplyDeleteI checked my TDA account today, and lo and behold, they FINALLY changed my percentage to the 55% I had requested BEFORE the deadline to make this change, weeks ago....but it only showed on my page TODAY. (and they DID take out the 55% on the retro check) So now i switched it back to the 26% "max" allowance. But now that I maxed out on my TDA contributions with the retro check, and there's nothing left to withdraw on the next NON-retro check on the 31st. So, my question is, will they put the goal amount back on there again right away, or wait till the next calendar year starts...anybody?
ReplyDeleteThe TDA maximum amount works on the calendar year, not the school year. So as of January 1 you can contribute to your maximum again. So if you’re over 50 you can contribute another $24,000, maybe if a bit more as the IRS has not announced the max for 2018 yet.
ReplyDeleteI just checked payroll portal and my retro info isn't there yet. Retirees this year have to wait until 10/19 to get their retro, but the UFT takes their share as if a retiree was still a full time employee. The UFT is full of it. This year they claim they are low on money. If a retiree goes back to work for the DOE the UFT gets dues from the retiree's pension and also takes dues from the retiree's DOE checks. Retirees pay double dues. Before this the UFT used to refund part of the double dues, but now since the UFT is low on money they just might keep the double dues. When a person retires they get less benefits from the UFT. Retirees have to pay for an optional rider from their pension in order to get prescriptions. The UFT has been reimbursing retirees for part of the optional rider once a year, but that could stop also because of Janus. The only benefits retirees get from the UFT is the dental and optical. UFT members need to join forces and kick meatball Mike tothe curb. How much will he give back to the city negotiating the next contract. Will the city claim poverty again so there will only be 1% raises in the contract? Meatball Mike will accept everything and anything the city says. The city will probably use the balance of the retro as a bargaining chip. If the UFT wants its members to get the balance of the retro due them in 2018, 2019 & 2020 which is 25% per year and the city will claim that's a lot of money they don't have, the city will require some givebacks and Mikey will sit back and say okay - no problem. Like Mikey told all UFT members before the 2014 contract "Retro isn't a God given right." The UFT worked hand-in-hand to save the city a bundle. I really wonder since this contract was signed and voted for in 2014 how many UFT members quit or resigned, how many retirees paased away, how many UFT members on a leave of absense haven't returned - the amount of money the city is saving. How much of that money went in Mikey's pockets for him to push the lousy contract that we got.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.uft.org/news/incorrect-deduction-information-does-payroll-portal
ReplyDeleteBut the uft dues at $200 is correct?
ReplyDeleteI have worked in half a dozen jobs in my life, from Fortune 500 companies to small mom-and-pop operations. I have never seen something go so horribly wrong in a paycheck! Let alone thousands of paychecks! This is absolutely disgusting!
ReplyDeleteMy UFT dues are more than $200. Haven’t figured that out.
ReplyDeleteDo we get per session separately?
yes, 11/1.
ReplyDelete