Wednesday, January 31, 2018

NY TEACHER NOW TALKING ABOUT PAID PARENTAL LEAVE, NOT PAID FAMILY LEAVE

I read articles in the NY Teacher on paid parental leave. However, when I looked at the UFT's 2016 testimony to the City Council it is on paid family leave. The new state law covers paid family leave. Paid family leave looks like a more comprehensive benefit than paid parental leave. It would be available to all of us to take care of family members, not just infants.

Paid family leave would obviously cost more for the city and they would want more givebacks from us.  The state is now mandating paid family leave in the private sector that is paid for by payroll contributions by all employees at a company. The maximum cost per year per employee is only $85.56. That is not a huge burden.

If the UFT wants to win the widest support possible, they should push for paid family leave. While the city can afford to give us this benefit at no cost to employees, I am under no illusions that any city union can get it.

We are too weak.

Below is copied from the state website on what family leave covers in addition to taking care of a baby.


If an employee’s family member has a serious health condition, they are eligible to care for them under the Paid Family Leave program. Family members include:
  • Spouses
  • Domestic Partners
  • Children
  • Parents
  • Parents-in-law
  • Grandparents
  • Grandchildren
A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
  • Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or
  • Continuing treatment or supervision by a health care provider.
Ordinarily, conditions such as the common cold, the flu, ear aches, upset stomach, minor ulcers, routine dental or orthodontia problems, periodontal disease, etc. do not meet the definition of a serious health condition.
Active Military Duty Deployment
Paid Family Leave is available when a spouse, child, domestic partner or parent of the employee is on active military duty abroad or has been notified of an impending call or order of active military duty abroad.  
Employees can take leave to help out with obligations arising out of a call to duty—for example:
  • Making alternative child care arrangements for a child of the deployed military member;
  • Attending certain military ceremonies and briefings; and
  • Making financial or legal arrangements to address the military member’s absence.
Paid Family Leave, which provides wage replacement and job security, can be taken by employees who are also eligible for time off under the military provisions in the federal Family Medical Leave Act.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paid family leave is very important. I think most of us would willingly pay the $85, especially once we save that $1400 in union dues.

Anonymous said...

How long of a leave and is it at full salary?

Anonymous said...

Just got the list of ctle hours available for purchase to fulfill PD hours.... that is really MESSED UP uft

Anonymous said...

On UFT website today, VNSNY just settled with the nurses for a 1.75% raise in 2018 and 2 percent in 2019. Guess our union is going to tell the teachers what a great job they did negotiating. What's inflation going to be in the next two years. Nurses thank the union for a PAY CUT!

Anonymous said...

Right, then add in medical givebacks and paid parental and its a net zero.

Anonymous said...

The UFT is dead.

James Eterno said...

We are the UFT. Yes it is a rigged system but ultimately the membership is the union. Only all of us working together can change it.

Anonymous said...

As a teacher who is never having kids, I actually don't mind paying say, $85.00 a year to help my fellow teachers. However, I have a DEEP FEELING that there are going to be much bigger paybacks from us to fund this. If there are, as the rumors say, the possibility of loosing CAR days or vacation time, or a longer school day, I will be beyond pissed and will give me further reason to consider leaving the UFT. (I am undecided as of now. The new contract will form my decision to stay or leave the UFT)

James Eterno said...

The $85 per year gets you paid family leave that you might use for a family member. That is if we just followed the private sector rules in the state law. Those givebacks from the previous comment will not be considered I do not believe.

Anonymous said...

Who likes the higher paychecks from new tax law???? Guess we can use some of that for maternity leave since everyone doesn't want the money from this tax plan....

Anonymous said...

Again the UFT is dead. There isn’t a pulse. You can see the rigor mortise, you can smell the rot. You and I are not the UFT. Our $1400 is and that’s it. There is no way to revive it. We should all push for a new union.

Anonymous said...

I'm gonna donate my tax decrease to Antifa, on behalf of the UFT.