PAYROLL SECRETARY REVEALS MORE PAID PARENTAL LEAVE INFORMATION

The following email came to the ICEUFT@gmail.com address.

Hi,

I would like to know if you can make a posting about the UFT Parental Leave.  I am a payroll secretary and I just found out things about the leave that I don't think the UFT told its members about.

1)  The UFT will try to match the salary that the UFT employee was getting at the time that they are going to take the parental leave.

2)  Taking the parental leave will cause an adjustment in the UFT employees summer pay.

3)  The time that the UFT employee is on the UFT Parental Leave, does not count towards pension or other things.

4)  If both parent want to take the leave they can take it at the same time, but they get 3 weeks each.  For example:  If the birth mother takes the UFT parental leave for 4 weeks then the non-birth parent can take the remaining 2 weeks.  It isn't 6 weeks each.  

Thanks,

anonymous

UFT not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to its members is not a revelation. They are amazingly adept spinmasters for sure.

I will address each point separately.

1) The UFT is admitting they will try to match the salary but not guarantee it because the union and the city may have underestimated the cost of Paid Parental Leave. The City is giving the UFT Welfare Fund $50.8 million to pay the benefit, but as we pointed out in July, if more parents take advantage of the leave than the city is paying for, the city is not on the hook. According to the Independent Budget Office, the city is making a $9.5 million profit on top of all of us paying for the benefit with a 75 day deferred raise due to a contract extension. The city gains no matter what. Rather than reducing benefits to parents, the UFT might consider cutting back elsewhere if there is a real baby boom.

Here is the text from the actual agreement:

Section I, Paragraph 2:

The administration of the program and the level of benefit provided is to be determined by the UFT and UFTWF. Any dispute or disagreement by a UFT represented employee regarding the UFT or UFTWF administration of the program or determination of the level of benefit provided shall be referred to the UFT for resolution by whatever process the UFT deems appropriate, and is not subject to the grievance or arbitration procedure in the applicable collective bargaining agreements.

It looks like the city, the IBO and the UFT may have all underestimated how many UFT members would use the benefit. It is too soon to tell if there will be a Paid Parental Leave baby boom but early evidence shows that a high number of new parents have figured out how to use this benefit. We shall see if numbers even out as we go forward. The city savings should actually increase if more parents take the leave as they won't have those parents on payroll  and they won't have to pay pension contributions for the time they are on leave or add to their sick banks. In addition, substitutes are cheaper while using ATRs costs them even less.

2) I don't think we mentioned that the DOE would be recalculating and paying lower summer pay for parents who use the Parental Leave benefit, nor did the IBO mention this in their analysis which I am just reading again today. Add that to the city savings.

3) We have mentioned the $14.9 million pension savings for the city and the lack of building time toward completing probation as a drawback.

4) IBO covered the limitations on two parents not being able to extend the leave but having to split it. UFT spin doesn't exactl emphasize this.

I am all for Paid Parental Leave and the more expansive Paid Family Leave. Every worker should have access to these benefits. It would be good for our society. I am also for transparancy and that's what seems to be missing from the UFT throughout this whole process.

It was great to hear from the payroll secretary with real world experience in the new process. Please keep those emails coming. It's good to in contact with new people. We will do our best to respond to all.