Thursday, October 11, 2018

NEW UFT CONTRACT DONE (Updated with some details)

The UFT and City-DOE have a tentative contract agreement. The UFT, as usual, will be ramming it through quickly as an Executive Board and Delegate Assembly have been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at Fashion Industries High School. We will update with details as soon as we have them.

Update
Financial details on the 43 month contract from the Daily News:

The tentative 43-month contract follows the same wages negotiated by District Council 37 in June.

If ratified, UFT members will receive wage hikes of 2% in February, 2.50% in May of 2020, and 3% in May of 2021.


Update 2:
Just read from City Hall press conference Mulgrew is supporting continuation of mayoral control of schools as part of this deal and we did get 2 observations per year for many teachers starting next year.

Teacher evaluation observations: Starting in September 2019, we are revising teacher observations in our teacher evaluation system -- more closely tying the number of evaluations teachers receive to their experience and effectiveness. Tenured teachers previously rated Developing and Ineffective will be observed more frequently than teachers rated Effective and Highly Effective; probationary teachers will be observed more frequently than tenured teachers. Observations will be completed in cycles throughout the year to ensure more valuable feedback and development opportunities for teachers.

Update 3: From NYC Educator:
Evaluation—Anyone rated HE gets two. Anyone rated E or higher for two years running gets two. Anyone rated I plus E gets 3 informal. Developing and probationers 3 plus one formal. Ineffective 4 plus one formal.  UFT has asked for joint training in evaluation rather than simply supervisors norming. Feedback will be given in 30 days rather than 45. 

ATRs will be placed day one if there are openings in their license areas. 

From Chancellor Richard Carranza to all of us:

Dear Colleagues,

As I have traveled across our five boroughs I am struck by how so many of our schools continue to defy conventional wisdom, and change lives. These schools believe that all students—regardless of their community or background—can and deserve to learn at the highest level. They refuse to accept the narrative that some problems are simply too big for us to solve.

These schools, through collaboration, strong leadership, deep partnerships, and targeted investments, are able to change the narrative in historically underserved communities by making our schools examples of excellence through equity with classrooms full of joy, challenging curriculum, and outstanding teaching.

It is in that spirit of tireless commitment to our students that I am excited to announce we have reached a preliminary collective bargaining agreement with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) designed to help us advance equity and excellence for all New York City students. The preliminary agreement we have reached today is a demonstration of the commitment we have to our 79,000+ strong educators, alongside our commitment to advance equity for students who need us the most.

At the heart of this groundbreaking contract is The Bronx Plan. The Bronx Plan is a partnership between the DOE and the UFT that allows us to recruit and retain educators through the use of a targeted salary differential in schools that have, in the past, struggled to attract and keep teachers in key subjects. The Plan also creates the Collaborative Schools Model – an idea grounded in the knowledge that our schools perform at their best when teachers, leaders, and staff work together to solve longstanding problems. 

Alongside our clear focus on the Bronx – with the highest concentration of historically underserved schools in our city – we have also built upon our foundation for excellence citywide. We are updating our teacher development requirements to ensure that advanced coursework leading to a salary differential beyond a Master’s degree is aligned to the needs of our students. We are also building upon our nationally recognized teacher leadership pipeline with the addition of two new roles: Teacher Development Facilitator and Teacher Team Leader. Additionally the plan features pilot opportunities for Bronx high school students to participate in courses led remotely by New York City teachers. These opportunities will be on the leading edge of teaching and learning, expanding access to rigorous courses.

The agreement also helps us make better use of our most valuable resource – our people – by creating greater flexibility in our ability to leverage the talents and skills of teachers in the absent teacher reserve.

Ultimately this preliminary agreement is also a sign of the respect and value we place in our teaching force. Our teachers, paraeducators, and thousands of other pedagogues are professionals, and this agreement helps recognize and advance the immense contributions they give to our city every day.

As I have travelled our great city, one thing is crystal clear – we are privileged to have some of the best and most committed educators in the world. I am proud to introduce this preliminary agreement which affirms our commitment to equity and excellence, and I am proud of our partnership with the UFT, and I am proud of the educators across our great city who support and challenge students everyday.

In unity,

Richard

Update 3:
Mulgrew's email: My only editorial is Mulgrew won't let Delegates see the MOA and will only put it up online after they vote on it sight unseen and no mention of the healthcare givebacks either.


I am pleased to inform you that we have reached a tentative contract agreement with the Department of Education ahead of schedule. This agreement recognizes your hard work and dedication and empowers us to improve the teaching and learning conditions in our schools so we can provide the best possible education to our students.

We began this process a year ago when we sent online contract surveys to members in all divisions and functional chapters. With your feedback in hand, we convened a 400-member negotiating committee that has met regularly throughout the bargaining process. Through tough, yet respectful negotiations with Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, we have hammered out a tentative contract that addresses the top priorities of UFT members.

We have called a special Delegate Assembly for Friday afternoon. If UFT delegates vote to recommend the agreement, you will have the opportunity to vote on it.

If ratified by the membership, the contract will provide pay increases of 2 percent, 2.5 percent and 3 percent spread out over 43 months (Feb. 14, 2019-Sept. 13, 2022). Classroom paraprofessionals with more than five years on the job will receive a $1,200 longevity increase in addition to the contractual raises. Paras with under five years will receive a $500 longevity on top of their raises. These pay increases are in addition to the lump-sum payments payable this month and in 2019 and 2020 that were negotiated as part of the 2014 contract.

Teachers told us in their contract survey responses that reducing the number of annual observations was a priority. Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, teachers rated Highly Effective and teachers rated Effective for two years in a row will be observed a minimum of two times a year. Teachers rated Effective for the current year, but rated Developing, Ineffective or Unsatisfactory for the prior school year, will be observed a minimum of three times.

The tentative contract will expand the authority of school-based UFT consultation committees, empowering them to raise and address issues of professional development, basic instructional supplies, curriculum, inadequate space and workload. Modeled on our successful paperwork dispute process, these workplace issues will first be addressed at the school, but the chapter leader can escalate these issues to the district and central levels if they cannot be resolved at the school. New anti-retaliation language in the tentative contract will protect you if a supervisor tries to retaliate against or harass you for using your professional voice and raising concerns.

We negotiated major new protections for paraprofessionals as well. A paraprofessional can no longer be suspended without pay indefinitely as investigations drag on for months and years. Under the tentative contract, paras will have due process rights similar to teachers.
School safety was another major concern raised in the contract survey responses. The Central Paperwork and Operations Committee will establish and enforce system-wide standards for school safety and discipline. The contract will also bolster the role and responsibilities of the UFT chapter leader on the School Safety Committee.

The tentative agreement also creates an accelerated process designed to dramatically reduce the time that thousands of students remain in oversize classes every year. All class size overages that can’t be resolved at the school by the 10th day of school will go to the UFT district representative and the superintendent to address. And by day 21, unresolved issues at that level will get escalated to a central labor management committee that will meet three days a week every week to bring the remaining classes within contractual limits. Any oversize classes not reduced by this process will be fast-tracked through arbitration, where an arbitrator will now have the authority to impose a remedy.

This tentative contract expands the array of courses that teachers can take to attain the 30 credits beyond a Master’s degree so teachers can apply more relevant and more affordable professional development toward that differential. Currently, teachers must have 30 traditional college credits. In the new process, the DOE and the UFT will pre-approve a broader range of PD, including some CTLE courses, as valid “A+ credits” toward the differential. College credits, P-credits and CLEP credits can still be in the mix, and we made sure that those teachers who already have the differential will not lose what they’ve already earned. The new requirements will be phased in for those already in the process of attaining their MA+30.

Under the tentative agreement, a Bronx Collaborative Schools Model will be created to help support high-needs schools — but this time with changes driven from the bottom up, not the top down. Up to 120 schools, mostly in the Bronx, will be identified for inclusion in the program based on staff turnover, student achievement and other criteria, but the chapter leader and the principal must both agree to participate. These schools will form joint labor-management committees and be provided with support to make significant changes in school operations. Each school will make its own decisions on how to improve school climate, reduce teacher turnover and increase academic achievement. The changes could include an additional $5,000 to $8,000 per year for teachers in a hard-to-staff license or title. This pilot program will sunset in June 2022, unless the UFT and the DOE agree to extend it.

We have also negotiated a process to reduce the backlog of non-class-size grievances and speed up the grievance process so members get quicker relief.

If the delegates recommend this tentative contract to you, we’ll be sharing the complete Memorandum of Agreement and the salary schedules for every title. It will all be available in a special Contract 2018 section of the UFT website.

I hope you agree that this is a contract that we can all wholeheartedly support.

Sincerely,


Michael Mulgrew


57 comments:

Language Teacher said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
TJL said...

"Additionally the plan features pilot opportunities for Bronx high school students to participate in courses led remotely by New York City teachers."

I literally mentioned this exact thing in a blog on Chaz' blog that may not be live yet; hopefully our Union got this one right.

James Eterno said...

I copied Chancellor's email onto main post.

UnityDog said...

Carazana just admitted he is a member of Unity...look how he signed the letter

Anonymous said...

The "Bronx Plan" seems like it will cause a massive rift in the rank and file. If I read this correctly, teachers in certain licenses in certain schools will be getting a larger paycheck while other teachers will not. It is almost like a hazard pay scheme and this is going to make a very large amount teachers very angry here in NYC. The pilot "Remote Learning" classes for certain high school students seems like a practice run to have online learning to replace many brick and mortar high school classes. I read no mention of a change in our teacher evaluation system or a change in the number of observations from 4 to 2. This whole thing is gonna get cooking tonight and tomorrow when word gets out. WHEN IS THE DELEGATE ASSEMBLY HAPPENING so our delegate can vote this heap of nonsense down?

Anonymous said...

These raises are horrible, don’t even keep up with inflation! But they respect teachers hahaha yeah right!

Anonymous said...

TDA Fixed account was not returned back to 8.25% like administrators have gotten for last 10 years. Raises don't keep up with inflation. Vote No

Anonymous said...

http://nyceducator.com/ has more details including changes to the eval system

Anonymous said...

and ATRs get ready to be placed in schools on the first day of the year

Anonymous said...

We'll see if any givebacks materialize

Anonymous said...

Here's some more info on the "Bronx Plan":

There will be a Bronx Collaborative School Model, though it will not be restricted to the Bronx. No, I don’t know why they named it that. This will help schools via consensus building. Chapter leader must buy in or school will not be considered. This will apply to up to 120 schools. There will be a hard to staff differential for all UFT titles.

Anonymous said...

This sucks. I will vote no and then stop paying dues. How do I do that?

Anonymous said...

come on all lets not be the first to start dissing the contract. lets see it it full detail...on the surface its appears as though they are trying to facilitate our relationship...lets keep the negativity to a min until we know..geez

Mr. Rose said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr. Rose said...

yeah it doesn't seem terrible on its face (of course the raises could be higher...like keeping with inflation would be nice) but I didn't see any obvious givebacks (yet). As an ATR I hope they can find a way to get forced placement without screwing every last one of us. We'll see.

Unknown said...

Hope this differential includes attendance teachers. I work in hard to staff district and if teachers in my district are entitled to extra money, we'd better be too. What about it?

Anonymous said...

2 OBSERVATIONS AND PARKING PERMIT GUY here and I must say that I approve of this tentative agreement! Ol' Mulgrew realized his days were numbered unless he got us a decent contract and this is the best one we have had since 2005.

Anonymous said...

Not to sound like a Debby Downer but the DOE is sorely mistaken if they think veteran teachers are going to leave their nice schools to go work in a "Bronx School" for an additional 5 to 8 grand a year extra. Remember, we are all still going to be rated on Danielson, even with the less observations. It would be career suicide to transfer into one of those schools and I do not foresee a bunch of teachers jumping at the chance. However, newbies right out of college will jump at the chance for the extra money since they do not plan on sticking around for more than a couple of years anyway. I predict this program will be history in 3 years. Mark my words on that.

Anonymous said...

Not worth the daily tolls and gas mileage or extra money for lirr or mta tickets. Needs to be like 15k

Anonymous said...

355,

You think the contract from 05 was good?

Please elaborate.

RBE said...

The pattern raises are below inflation and the eval changes don't come until next year which gives the DOE this year to ratchet up pressure on administrations to dole out developings and ineffectives, which may happen in some districts (see Manhattan under the insane Marisol Rosales, for example.)

Not impressed, nor were most in my school I talked to today. Reaction was meh, at best.

On plus side, contract got done before the next recession, which may be coming down the pike. See all the negative economic news here:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/cramers-sell-off-handbook-4-things-must-happen-for-stocks-to-recover.html

That said, I'm a no on the contract. If this is the best the UFT leadership can do, it's not terribly impressive.

What would it take for the UFT to get a contract that, you know, keeps pace with inflation?

Anonymous said...

First off we are never getting the 8.25% back like administrators unless we agree to go back early for endless pd.
we b***tched and moaned endlessly about the two days-
we cant have our cake and eat it too.
2nd Atrs should be placed from day one.
yes i was an atr
no i am not an administrator.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, what better can we expect? Meh raises and 2 observations. This will pass easily.

Anonymous said...

James, what is your opinion on this?

Anonymous said...

2005 contract was the worst contract ever in recent history. This new one is the best one since that shitty one went into effect. (I think that is what the anno person was trying to say and I agree with her or him)

Anonymous said...

the math isnt that hard really: salary increases (when exactly?) that are under the rate of inflation = pay cut.

James Eterno said...

I would abstain at the Delegate Assembly as I would never vote on anything sight unseen. Gotta see the details.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully administrators will realize their workload goes down if the give people E this year. Only morons would give out D’s and I’s (more work for them).

Anonymous said...

I tend to agree....I will not go the Bronx...at all...in my 18th year....hell no...

Anonymous said...

if they want people to go to the Bronx, teachers get a waiver on danielson rubric -- only s/u - no test score on evaluation - only s/u - also need to pay at least 15k additional salary you hire the teacher - look at teacher's record, recommendations, demo lesson, portfolio, whatever - once hired --- stop the madness that is danielson! in the bx - it will be death by danielson

Anonymous said...

Ha, ha, ha! Nobody is going to transfer to go work in one of those Bronx Schools. The UFT actually pulled a good move and was able to fool the Chancellor to make him think that experienced teachers already in the system would be willing to go work there for more cash.

Anonymous said...

New teacher here. Who is part of the Delegate Assembly that votes first? And then the rest of us vote on this? Is that how it works?

Anonymous said...

Funny thing is highly effective teachers magically become developing and ineffective once they go to crappy schools. Who'd of thunk it.

Anonymous said...

Just like the ACA, you can't see the details until it's signed. So sick of this crap.

Anonymous said...

What a bunch iif crap. another crappy contract. vote no and opt out.

James Eterno said...

Delegates come from every school new teacher. One delegate per 60 teachers and the Chapter Leader is a Delegate. They recommend a contract to the membership who then votes in the schools.

James Eterno said...

I broke down the raises so people can see what the real deal is.

Anonymous said...

James, can you answer something very simple for me. Yes or no. Do the delegates from each school have to some way or another inform the chapter of teachers what is proposed in the contract and take a vote as a chapter and then go to the DA meeting and represent what that vote result was. In other words, let's say that the chapter votes by majority that they like the proposal so then the delegate from that school goes and votes yes. If the chapter does not like the proposal, the delegate goes to the DA and votes no. Is that correct? If it is correct, can any reader of this reply if this actually happens in their school. Much appreciated.

Anonymous said...

That would make sense but the Union is not giving chapter leaders and delegates time to do that.

Former Teacher said...

Is anyone the least bit concerned with the remote learning aspect of the contract? The culinary union in Las Vegas was very concerned with the loss of jobs to the new robotic technologies so the union had clauses in the contract stating that there would be severance pay and retraining for members whose job was phased out because of technology. Should we as teachers not be concerned about this? This summer I subbed a class that was completely online. The only reason I was there was for legal and compliance issues. There was no educational reason for me to be there. Actually there was no reason for me to be at the school nor the students to come to the school. This could have all been done over the phone. A teacher can be responsible for far more than 34 students in the classroom in this new set up. There are so many different aspects that need to be looked at.

Anonymous said...

Wish we they could have gotten rid of repurposed workday, or made it actually count toward CTLE

Anonymous said...

Delegates including chapter leaders are elected representatives. At the DA they vote how they think it should go. They represent their staff. It's a Representative democracy not a direct democracy.

Anonymous said...

Delegates including chapter leaders are elected representatives. At the DA they vote how they think it should go. They represent their staff. It's a Representative democracy not a direct democracy.

Well, how in the world would they know how "they think it should go" if they don't even ask? Do they just go on "feel"?

Anonymous said...

To 8:56am:
As a newly elected Chapter Leader, this morning, I made a quick document printout of the changes in the contract from what I gathered around the internet, including here, and having my chapter vote on how they feel. I will use the majority consensus to inform my decision on how I vote today the Delegate Assembly. Unfortunately, we do not know the wording or the detail behind some of these things so I'm looking forward to seeing what the Memorandum actually says.

Anonymous said...

Meathead Mike did it again. Another piece of crap. His pockets are lined with the money from the raises that he should have fought for, but newbies will vote "YES" once they hear this is the best we can get.

Anonymous said...

@8:56

That's great that you do that. That is NEVER done in my school.

Anonymous said...

Never done in your school? Do you say anything or do anything about it?

Anonymous said...

Never done in your school? Do you say anything or do anything about it?

No, I twiddle my thumb and never question anything. Yes, I have asked about it and was left unclear about the procedure, so I asked here. Do I plan on changing the system in my specific school if and when I find out for certain that delegates SHOULD get the consensus thought of the chapter and then vote that way at the DA? Yes and No. I will certainly not run for delegate as I have no interest, but I'll make it known for sure that the delegates are not doing there responsibility to the Chapter of the school. Again, I am still confused as to what the protocol is. James, you were a chapter leader for many years. DO DELEGATES NEED TO HAVE A CONSENSUS THOUGHT ON ISSUES IN THEIR RESPECTIVE SCHOOL AND VOTE THAT WAY AT THE DA or CAN THEY JUST VOTE WHAT THEY FEEL IS RIGHT FOR THE MEMBERSHIP WITHOUT EVER ASKING THE MEMBERSHIP? I am still confused by this.

Prehistoric pedagogue said...

85% yes vote on this contract

Anonymous said...

For a blog comprised of educators there is a serious lack of education and knowledge on our state tax cap law and inflation. We can’t look at NYC in a vacuum, but must compare it to school districts state wide for accurate evaluation. All school district budgets in NY State must not increase by more than 2% or the rate of inflation (since 2012). See chart below. NYC is the only district where the tax cap does not apply. Bottom line: 7.5% raise over 3-1/2 years is more than the vast majority of districts statewide and is not below the rate of inflation (even with the cap in place, some districts can vote to supercede it, which a handful of districts have done). Not to mention the fact that with the new federal $10,000 cap on property taxes in place - school districts, especially those surrounding NYC where taxes are already high, are now facing increased pressure to keep school taxes where they are or raise them only incrementally (meaning teachers raises suffer). I’m not saying there aren’t flaws elswhere in the contract, but as far as the raises are concerned, there should be no complaints. We have to have realistic expectations taking into consideration all relevant factors.

Here are statewide caps since New York’s law took effect:
2012-13: 2 percent
2013-14: 2 percent
2014-15: 1.46 percent
2015-16: 1.62 percent
2016-17: 0.12 percent
2017-18: 1.26 percent
2018-19: 2 percent

James Eterno said...

NYC is flush with cash. The surplus this year is huge. Rest of the state should follow us if we are exempt.

James Eterno said...

Here is some real irony. Trump tax cuts pumped a ton of money into economy and should be inflationary. Most unions are getting around 3% but when a big union like the UFT settles for around 2%, it sets a trend that will keep other raises down so we are helping a bit to keep inflation in check and that helps Trump.

Former Teacher said...

I was in a school all day yesterday. No discussion about contract. Chapter leader nowhere to be found. I went to the chapter leader's office three times, no sign of chapter leader. I suppose the chapter leader voted the way he wanted or the most efficient way to get the meeting over with. This is probably how it happened in the majority of schools yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Trump on the brain?

Anonymous said...

Being rated in another system it is also discriminatory. And not having assigned classes is discriminatory while they hire new teachers. Having our Union negotiate secret deals without voting on it is discriminatory. Being rated by someone we never met is outrageous. The whole ATR Pool is discriminatory. Etc....
Shameful and ridiculous. The Union is to be blamed for the harassment that we put up with, and the abuse. ATRs are being harassed by Field Supervisors, and bring rated U based on lies.

Anonymous said...

For how many years....were we without a contract?

Is the new one retroactive on all matters?

James Eterno said...

0. This contract was early.