NYC PRE-K TEACHERS THREATENING STRIKE

NYC pre-k teachers at Community Based Organizations are threatening to walk off the job in May if they do not receive pay parity with public school teachers. The cost for pre-k teacher pay parity to the city over four years is estimated to be $438 million according to District Council 1707, the union representing pre-k teachers who work at CBO's.

From Chalkbeat NY:

Pre-K teachers who work in community organizations have threatened a single-day strike in May to demand higher pay, casting a harsh spotlight on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature political achievement at the same time he is considering a presidential bid.

The mayor has made free pre-K available for every 4-year-old in the city at breakneck speed, an accomplishmentmade possible by the very pre-K teachers now weighing a walk out. In order to serve so many children, the city relies on community organizations, which enroll almost 60 percent of the students in universal pre-K. The rest attend public schools.

Teachers employed in community centers have a starting salary around $42,000. Those employed by the education department, represented by the United Federation of Teachers, have salaries that start around $59,000. The yawning gap has made it a struggle to recruit and retain teachers, community operators say.

The Day Care Council’s figure includes boosting pay only for certified teachers, which they estimate make up about 3,000 educators, or about half of those in the classroom. (Teachers can begin working at a community organization without certification while they earn their credentials, and operators say many of their teachers are on study plans because those with certification leave for the higher salaries offered at public schools.)

The city should not be allowed to contract these teaching positions out however pay parity does make sense.

What follows is probably the most interesting part of the Chalkbeat piece. The pre-k teachers in addition to pay parity with UFT teachers are calling for an annual 2.8% cost of living adjustment.

NYC teachers got about 2% a year for salary increases in the recent contract paid for in part with healthcare givebacks. Again from Chalkbeat:

Also included in the estimate is a pay boost for center directors so those employees will continue to earn about 23 percent more than teachers, and an annual compounded 2.8 percent cost of living increase.


At least the DC1707 accountants don't just tell their members the city has no money like the UFT leaders tell us.

Does anyone know why the pre-k teachers in CBOs are not in the UFT?