I am often skeptical about what I read in the press. The other day we reported how 3% of municipal union members in NYC dropped union dues according to the N.Y. Post. If the DOE is to be believed, none of those 3% came from NYC teachers.
From Chalkbeat's Alex Zimmerman's Twitter:
NYC's education department says zero teachers tried to opt out of paying union dues in tiny window of opportunity post-Janus.
That would be zero teachers trying to leave, not one.
UFT solidarity forever!
Below is a DOE response to a Freedom of Information Law request from Chalkbeat's Zimmerman.
Dear Mr. Zimmerman:
This letter is in final response to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request referenced above. In response to your request for "any documentation that shows the number of teachers who opted out of paying dues to the United Federation of Teachers during the annual two-week window that ended July 1, 2018," I have been informed that the NYC DOE received no requests to opt out of paying dues during the window you reference. Accordingly, there are no responsive records to provide.
The remainder of the letter informs Zimmerman about rights under the FOIL law.
Something does not compute. The N.Y. Post said there are 10,000 fewer municipal workers in unions in NYC. Some commenters here say over and over how they opted out. Did all of them miss the window or lie?
It looks to me like UFT is not losing any dues without a struggle. They will do everything they can to keep dues coming in. It seems that they have support from their partners at the NYC DOE. On the surface that is positive in the sense that it keeps the union fully funded. However, it gives the UFT yet another reason to cozy up to management and not fight for the UFT membership.
The UFT just may well be the Hotel California: "You can check out any time you like but you can never leave."
47 comments:
That would be a lie, I did .
Is your September 15 paystub online yet? Are union dues being taken out?
You see what you said James, we are screwed in every way. if we opt out, they find a way to bock it, the contract get worse and worse, we cant strike, we get abused by admin and students, there is no discipline code...How can this possibly get any worse? And you encourage us to keep paying? Yeah, I get it, "It may get worse without dues." It is already worse. This is one of the biggest jokes in the country, teacher abuse, grade fraud, union dues being a sham...The joke is on us, the fatcats sit in their plush offices, making more than the highest paid teachers by far, do nothing, cozy up to the city, tell us to drop dead, watch us suffer, put out articles that say everything is great, everyone outside the uft think everything is great based ob fake stats, and we want to kill ourselves. But dont forget, we are off to a great start. I cant continue to live like this. I hate this job so much.
Janus has been nulled by the UFT DOE. They don't follow any education laws so why should they follow supreme court decisions? They let the agency fee payers go but if you signed a union card in 1992, it holds forever. Opt out, no way.
The only thing I believe,because we were kept in the daark, people may have opted out after July 1, but people opted out. Hey, what would you expect, they are trash and do nothing for us.
FACT: There was a 2 week window last June to opt out. This happened within days of the Janus decision being released. Hardly anybody knew how to opt out let alone know that there was only a 2 week window to opt out. However, the cat is out of the bag now and teachers will be deciding to keep paying dues or pull dues based on the next contract. The new contract will be deciding factor for thousands of teachers weather they will continue to pay dues to the UFT. The UFT is dumb but not stupid and they know this is a fact and as such I am hopefully optimistic that we may see better working conditions in our next contract.
Who made the two week window? Sounds crazy. Not one person, not even one, opted out in those two weeks? Yeah right. Next contract will suck just like the last one did. Nobody is leaving until courts get involved.
I tried to opt out in July. I was told I could do so but that dues would still be removed from my paycheck until next June. I asked would I be reimbursed for those dues since I would be opted out for the year and was told no. Therefore I saw that it was illogical to pay for being in the Uft and not be a member. Not that it’s much different in the way it has always been.
So i opted out but im still paying dues but when i tried to opt back in on the website it said i am in. what a fucking mess.
Welcome to the Hotel California. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. Can we have that guitar solo now?
There was no point in opting out for this year because the UFT was taking your money regardless. The next contract, if settled by June, will determine union participation for many of us.
I can almost guarantee you all the the contract will be done by Feb when it expires. The pattern was already set. DeBlasio does not want a fight and neither does the UFT.
I will opt out the first cjance I get. Thank uyu for providing information for us so we know just how badly UFT is screwing us. This is the only blog thaqt tells the truth.
I never joined...agency member for my entire DOE experience. No dues on my 9/15 stub. Every year, I would follow the dates in the UFT rag and write the UFT Pres.
You are one of the smartest guys in the city and I applaud you. Seriously.
Janus decision was issued after the last day of school. I doubt whether there was a two week window. Perhaps a two day window.
Maybe, a one day window. June 30th was a Saturday.
If you feel that you are being cheated by the UFT, you are a right.
If you want to change the UFT fiasco, then you must withhold your dues.
It was announced june 27, you a couple days.
As I said on another post, this means nothing, school was over and most did not know of the crooked deal, enabled by Cuomo and the pols, that allowed the UFT to decree that opting out can only happen within 2 weeks (and since Janus was after school ended, it was only a couple of days.). To tell you the truth I'm surprised no one from the Mackinac Center or other org has tried to support a teacher in a lawsuit, saying the UFT and State are putting up illegal roadblocks to enforcing Janus.
The pay pattern may be set by DC37 but work rules are not. The onus is on the leadership now to deliver. It has to prove it is really worth the $1500 a year. Hopefully the UFT/Unity can adapt quickly to how the free market works.
I, too, am skeptical that no teacher opted out. I have no reason to disbelieve the Post article that 10,000 City workers did opt out during the very short window in July. Since teachers are 25% of the City workforce one might have expected at least hundreds of teachers to be part of that 10,000.
I have no idea why the DOE would report no teachers opting out. But I think no one should speculate about nefarious plots or specific collusion between the UFT and DOE to prevent teachers from opting out. I don't know why the reported number is "0." I hope some enterprising reporter will be able to get more information about what happened.
All this aside, I'm pretty certain that next year's opt out period will cause many teachers to leave. I'm also pretty sure that the two week "opt-out window" would not survive the inevitable litigation that will be brought to invalidate it.
There is nothing magical about the UFT and NYSUT that should lead anyone to think that the ultimate number of opt outers will not begin to approximate the 25% attrition level that public sector unions in MI and WI had when they became "right to work" states. That or else the recent rise in teacher activism will cause more teachers to stay with their unions.
We'll see....
Now that I've read all the comments and other blogs I bet this is what happened:
Since there was an absurdly short "optout period" (the last two weeks in June) I'm betting that the DOE/UFT agreed that anyone who opted out after the window would not be considered a "formal opt out" until next year when the dues stop will go into effect.
That said, I find it hard to believe that no teachers opted out during the window and, so, had their dues stopped starting July 1.
Curious and curiouser....
I think everone can agree that the UFT and DOE are partnered in a racketeering operation. (RICO)
And we are in such pain. And nothing changes. Should I quit? Consider suicide? I am not even joking. Yes, it is that bad. I cannot believe I have wasted so many years of my life on this. The uft remains silent as I get beaten everyday. The contract pretty much doesnt exist.
I know how you feel. 67 days left till Christmas break. Thats why you need to load up on the retirement accounts, resign early, and have those accounts work for you, and live off your savings. That is my plan. I am gone soon, way below retirement age.
The DOE is so incompetent and inept that it probably couldn't even figure out how many people opted out. I'm not kidding, they're just too big and messy to do most things correctly.
If you had any doubt about the slime that is heading the UFT and their cozy relationship to the corrupt politicians in NY ,just take a look at this 2 week opt out window that no one was informed about. Do you need any more proof of the contempt they have for NYC teachers?
Three federal lawsuits have been filed by teachers who were targeted by Principal Manuel Urena of the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. He has been accused of targeting Jewish, Caucasian. and veteran teachers on trumped up disciplinary and performance charges and replaced them with young Hispanic teachers.
According to the teachers, including a former Chapter Leader, their complaints to both the DOE and UFT fell on deaf ears. You can read the New York Post article Here.
Principal Urena has been identified as an administrator in need of improvement by the Solidarity caucus in their blog called "Don't Tread On Educators" blog. You can find what the commenters say about Principal Urena Here.
This appears to be another case of our union leadership not acting upon member complaints when targeted by a vindictive Principal.
Hey James, say something about the anti white doe mentality, or is that acceptable? You know what would happen if it was the opposite.
James is the same as the media, double standard, affirmative action, give freebies to those who underperform due to their own 2018 culture. Thats why the system has been failing for decades, why the same people never get out of poverty, commit all the crime, and now in the joke doe, get all the power, just to abuse white teachers.
The only way for us to fgix things is to all opt out of the union. I;'m glad there are people working to help us do that.
I support UFT members and good administrators regardless of sex, race, religion, creed, color, sexual orientation. I oppose it when people play the race card or any of those other cards to target people unfairly.
I hope that clears that one up. 11:26 and 11:16 obviously don't know me or my record. By the way these comments are way off topic.
Also, for the millionth time: How is having an even weaker union going to lead to improved working conditions? No logic in that argument 11:49. Only way to improve things is to organize for collective action.
For the millionth time, the uft had 100% dues and played us for suckers. I am willing to take a shot not paying.
And do what? Could you please give one, just one, example of workers in a right to work state who are doing better with fewer members in their unions? I have asked this for months. Still no answer.
Can you give me 1 example of the uft helping me in 20 years,or one example of the contract or working conditions or salary against inflation improving with 100% paying dues? My hope would be that once people drop out, the hierarchy works harder to get us better deals and better raises, then I can opt back in.
Union power comes from a rank and file willing to stand up for themselves collectively, not from individuals leaving a union and making it weaker. Why is that collective power concept so difficult to accept?
Because it wont happen, and im tired if being stepped on by my own union.
James, you are confusing the city screwing us with ourown uniin screwing us. I will not pay the uft to do that. And stop saying it wont get better, they had their chance.
So no answer then. Leave that to people like me to work things out.
If whites were trying to get rid of blacks there would be riots in the streets. uft does nothing when Jews are the target.
Tell James and de blasio, tomorrow, September 11, while everyone is in tears that diversity is our strength.
Anonymous 1:39 I don't agree with a host of things our union does. Talk to teachers in a right to work state, and you'll suddenly think Mulgrew is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I feel mulgrew is a doe shill, however, a bad union is better than no union.
I do not like mulgrew, but I will say that the state of teaching that is bad was caused by Bloomberg and Klein with weingarten signing off on it.
Weingarten sold the 05 contract which made the open market, school budgets and giving principals power.
Principals have zero right to budgets and hiring.
Female principals will hire young women they can bully. Male principals will hire young women they feel they can hook up with.
It’s laughable how principals feel they are junior CEO’s
I have no problem with diversity. Who are these comments from?
There is no requirement for any blogger to allow an open door where idiotic comments coming from sick minds are allowed to flow. Let them get their own blogs rather than have a forum on the back of James' hard work in doing this.
Moderate, moderate, moderate and let those idiots stew in their own juice.
This is a serious legal issue. All members had to Opt-in just like every other school union in NYS. My wife who is still an NYC DOE employee did not join the union and dues were taken out. That will need to be returned or we will be visiting a law firm for violating the constitutional agreement in the Janus decision.
If I do opt-out this June, which I am considering given the failings of the new proposed contract, what about the prescription and optical coverage? Is there another avenue to secure those benefits?
Our union has declined over the years and union leaders are far and few but the many times I think about opting out I feel that some protection how poor it is better than nothing. I look at paying my union dues as my apartment insurance it’s there but would I ever use it. It has become for many of us a false sense of security. I work in Queens and the Queens UFT is poorly run and when I need something I usually call the Manhattan office. So far they have been the best with minor issues. They also give me hope that there are still some true union leaders out there.
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