I leave the editorializing to all of you.
Dear James,
UFT members spend their days nurturing and supporting children, yet the city’s current parental leave policy forces members to choose between their own children and their profession.
It’s time that the city grants UFT members the paid parental leave they deserve. But we need your help to get it done.
Studies have shown time and again that babies benefit from being home with their parents in their first and most vulnerable weeks. Yet our current system forces new parents to choose between caring for their own children and earning a paycheck that may be crucial to their families.
The UFT has continued to try to negotiate a fair and reasonable paid parental leave policy with the city ever since Mayor Bill de Blasio in December 2015 imposed a paid parental leave program on the city’s nonunion, managerial employees. That program included givebacks from the managerial employees that we won’t accept for our members. We want any new parental leave policy to cover both adoption and foster care.
It’s time for a public campaign.
A UFT member, Emily James, put it eloquently at a recent union meeting: “We dedicate our lives to taking care of other people’s children and we become their second mothers. And when we have our own, the system seems to have forgotten us.”
I hope you’ll join our fight.
Sincerely,
Michael Mulgrew
UFT President |
I've said it once and I'll say it again: Mulgrew better not agree to any form of givebacks from teachers who do not have kids or who will never have kids. Leave my CAR as it is. Create a buy in program for teachers who want paid maternity leave.
ReplyDeleteMulgrew is fighting hard for this, but not for the ATRs.
ReplyDeleteWhat can be worse than 0 plus 0, 1% raises and holding our money for 11 years? They found it, making me pay for leave I wont use.
ReplyDeleteRead between the lines. There will be givebacks for paid parental leave, just not the same ones that were imposed on the city managers.
ReplyDeleteMulgrew's own words: "That program included givebacks from the managerial employees that we won’t accept for our members."
However, we will certainly accept other givebacks.
As the poster mentioned above, the only givebacks should be made by those teachers who choose to have kids. There are thousands of NYC teachers such as myself who have decided to never have kids. We should not be punished for the choices that others make in the form of givebacks.
ReplyDeleteMulgrew has already told us he is going to give back. What are we going to do about it? Nothing but bitch here and on facebook. You think Mulgrew cares?
ReplyDeleteHow about this- Anyone who chooses paid parental leave may take up to 6 months but that amount in $$ is deducted from their pension at the end of their careers.
ReplyDeleteThat is not what is being negotiated according to everything I have read and heard. The state law in the private sector and the precedent set by the city managers in the NYC government sector says we all pay for the paid parental leave benefit. The question is how much do we pay?
ReplyDeleteAt least Mulgrew will be covered when he gives birth. It's apt to be a big baby - give Janus all the love she needs. Why are you so afraid, Mike? The other unions certainly aren't.
ReplyDeleteTeachers who choose not to have kids should not pay a cent. It is bullshit if that is how it works elsewhere.
ReplyDelete"I hope you'll join our fight."
ReplyDeleteI Absolutely will not join this fight if it means taking even the smallest hit against the 120 plus days I have in my CAR that I have accumulated in my 20 years of teaching or forthcoming years in which I want to continue to bank the days for either a half a year early retirement, payout or added half year of terminal leave after my 30 are up. Many of us have earned that right to make such decisions by trekking through snow, ice, storms, arriving to work when not at our healthiest when it could have been easy to take the day off or coming in when our minds called for a "mental health day".
Why pay taxes for schools if you have no kids? I guess that is OK since that is how you get your salary.
ReplyDeleteMeatheads calculation goes something like this: 80% of membership are female, 40% of that group will probably want the benefit at some point and the remaining 40% will not object because they empathize with other females. Of the 20% of males complaining, they will be branded as misogynists
ReplyDeletePretty crafty for the sawdust-for-brains Mulgrew.
I didn't work six weeks with my arm in a cast, trudging through ice and snow. to have anybody touch my CAR. I don't go to work with sciatica, horrific sinus infections, and vertigo to have anybody touch my CAR. I seriously will lose my shit if that happens.
ReplyDeleteIf only as much effort was put into fighting bad administrators, preventing reduction of TDA, excessive paperwork, Common Core, stupid PD etc...
ReplyDeleteNo, let's fight for something only affecting some teachers, not all. Makes sense.
All of that is opposed by the UFT - this is not. Lowering everyone's CAR for maternity leave will be the nail in the coffin for the UFT. Go ahead Mulgrew make my decision even easier.
ReplyDeleteRemember, Art Pepper saved our healthcare and our retro.
ReplyDeleteAs much scam as student grades
ReplyDeleteRight, its sad our best case, which we wont get, would be the twu 9% over 4 years plus $500 cash.
ReplyDeleteFunny seeing liberal teachers complaining about a socialist policy. I thought all you Bernie libs were all for taking from those who have... You know the rest my confused friends. I guess you only like it when the libs take from someone else. Too funny!!
ReplyDeleteAnd the students are still awful
ReplyDeleteCome on, Janus! I'm ready to send her my birthday present. Get the hundreds of millions of unclaimed CAR dollars sitting for over years by retirees, many are dead, to pay for maternity leave. The city is collecting tons of money in interest.
ReplyDeleteAnother buyout next June?
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered how many women actually read this blog. This comment-jamboree begins to make it clear.
ReplyDeleteNot many, I guess, when pregnancy is casually tied to disease and the discussion is mostly I-want-mine-and-the-hell-with-everyone-else. Of course, we'd all prefer no giveback but simply to say "nope, not doing this" even if our sisters and many of our brothers want and need it?
The blog is getting more and more difficult to read--between the more frequent and overt racism and the lack of respect many commenters show for each other, and occasionally, James Eterno. A very sour view of the world and of what being part of a union is supposed to mean.
Solidarity forever?
Harris,The comments reflect a wide range of views and I am confident here they are coming mostly from male readers. I do think they do reflect much of the frustration teachers feel so even though I don't agree with some of where the frustration is being directed, I welcome the free exchange of ideas.
ReplyDeleteRight, because we should commend "students" who have 36 arrests by 18 years old.
ReplyDeleteThis is a liberal board, the students can do know wrong, the criminals are always right, its always somebody else's fault, all they need is a restorative circle...Did I get that right? Most HS graduates cant read a write, so everything must be going well.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't agree. I believe in a strong discipline policy. I have seen too many students over the years who deny other students their education by being disruptive. I am all for mediation and talking to students but when a pupil engages in behavior that disrupts the learning process for the other kids, that student must face consequences. I agree that many NYC dipomas are bogus. I favor teacher empowerment as an answer. As long as we are reasonable, we could generally fix many of the problems.
ReplyDeleteWell, in that case, nobody has been reasonable because there is no discipline, almost every school is completely out of control, and the grades are a complete sham.
ReplyDeleteI dont like when people talk facts here, and then are called racist. Facts are facts, stats are stats. What we deal with every day, those would be facts.
ReplyDeleteJames, im with Harriss-the lack of women commenting here is alarming. We are a women's profession. It's why we get paid less than cops, firefighters, and garbage men. Its ok to treat teachers like crap becuase we're in a patriarchal society where that is the norm. It would seem to any one with half a brain the least we can do is offer paid leave to a majority of those that teach. An argument which begins with I didnt have it therefore you shouldnt have it either is worthy of my 5 year old, but not an educated adult. The entire idea of a union is to increase our rights so those that come after us have more than we did.
ReplyDeleteUm, no.
ReplyDeleteWhatever I can do to get more women to comment is fine. I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteMy female friends are all strong minded women who have never had a problem standing up for themselves. My mother is an independent minded strong woman as were my grandmother and great-grandmother. Many of my female colleagues are not. It's not about our gender. It's about who we are as people. We have failed to demand respect in our profession. We have failed to vote in UFT elections. Some of us aren't even registered to vote as of today with the NY Con-con looming over our heads. Teachers, male and female, are being systematically abused. As anonymous Nov 5 2:08 pointed out, the UFT should be fighting for what affects all of us. To cherry pick a "women's issue" is divisive at this point in time. If we get paid maternity with unreasonable give-backs to the profession at large, we have done teachers (mostly women) a disservice in the long run. If women don't want to be treated differently, then perhaps we need to behave differently and make demands like many men do (cops firefighters). When I was chpater leader I would often schedule union meetings on a PD day because we had one lunch period and it gave us the opportunity to all be at one meeting. Many times there was also a baby or bridal shower scheduled at the same time. Some women chose to ooh and ahh over presents and cake, while others chose to be involved with matters that affect our profession and attended the union meeting. Women cannot blame men or society for their choices and their inability to stand up for themselves and demand respect, fair pay wages, fair evaluations etc... All issues that affect all teachers not just those with two X-chromosones. Roseanne McCosh
ReplyDeleteRoseanne, you are awesome! You summed it up perfectly. No cherry picking issues that only effect some teachers.
ReplyDelete