The lump sum payments are essentially an interest free loan we gave to the city from 2009-2011 that we are still waiting until 2020 to be paid back in full. In 2008, DC 37 and NYC negotiated a contract with a 4% +4% pattern for raises for NYC municipal employee unions. The tradition of pattern bargaining then took effect where other unions asked for and received the same raises as the union that set the pattern. However, in an unprecedented move, then Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused to give those pattern raises to UFT members so we went almost five years without a contract.
In 2014, new Mayor Bill de Blasio falsely asserted that the city was broke so he claimed the city could not afford to give the UFT the back-pay they owed us. Instead, the city agreed to give us paltry raises and pay us back the money we were owed in those pattern raises from 2009-11 in small doses. UFT President Michael Mulgrew bought the mayor's ridiculous argument that the city had no money and unfortunately 75% of the teachers voted yes on the 2014 contract so we are still waiting for half of our money from 2009-2011. 25% will come to most of us in October. The UFT is getting their slice of the pie by taking extra dues. This is what we posted last October.
October 7, 2018
Go to the the DOE Payroll Portal to see what your 25% of the money the city owes us from 2009-2011 amounts to for October 15, 2018.UPDATE WITH FIGURES:
UFT dues, which are normally $60.36 per pay period, more than doubled to $143.67 for one teacher for this pay period.
The generic term for the extra $83.31 the UFT is taking is thievery since we paid union dues on this money when we were paid for these pay periods years ago.
As I say every year when the city repays us back part of the very large interest free loan we made to the city, the UFT before Michael Mulgrew never took union dues from retroactive money that was owed to us because we already paid union dues on the paychecks that this money is based on.
This should be a campaign issue in the upcoming 2019 union election.
Needless to say, UFT double dipping did not become an election issue in 2019. It should also not be a dumb excuse to drop out of the UFT and make us a weaker union with fewer members. For those who want to read my lengthy explanation on why dropping out is pure selfishness, it is copied below. I'll go back to having some original thoughts again soon.
May 15, 2019
On just about every topic we write about recently concerning the schools in New York City, one or two or sometimes more comments are written saying that routine extensions of probation, the broken testing system, school on Monday, December 23, etc. are just more reasons why we should stop paying union dues and drop out of the UFT. I disagree with these commenters but not because you don't have a point that UFT advocacy leaves much to be desired.
I agree wholeheartedly on this point and nobody has been a more robust critic of the UFT in public than me, including while serving on the UFT Executive Board and at the Delegate Assembly. However, the commenters who want to drop out provide no viable alternative to the union we have. You say the UFT doesn't support us so to protest we should stop paying union dues. Short term, you will keep more money but long term you are dooming all of us to much more and deeper misery. Quitting the UFT is not the answer unless you are organizing something better which I see no sign of anywhere in the New York City teaching force.
Understanding all of the UFT's faults, including a lack of a real democratic structure, let us still acknowledge that NYC teachers during the current contract will eventually start out earning $61,000 per year and max out after 22 years making over $128,00 per annum with good benefits and, except for Tier VI, a very good pension. Do you think our salaries, benefits and pensions are in any way, shape or form possible without a union? Be truthful, please if there are comments.
Beyond the wages and benefits, you say the UFT doesn't defend us very strongly and in many cases they merely go through the motions by pretending to advocate for members. I agree there is some truth here. UFT's advocacy is not full force like say the way PBA President Patrick Lynch defends his members or TWU's John Samuelson supports his. Let's accept it here as a given that the UFT is not always behind teachers 100% although I am sure many who work for the Union would disagree with that assertion.
The question then becomes this: What are you going to do about the sorry state of the UFT in many schools? If the answer is you are going to drop out and keep some more of your money, well how does that help our cause?
The argument I have heard is that if we all starve the UFT beast, then the Union leadership will be forced to work harder to support us to win back our dues money. There is a giant flaw in this argument as I see it. Many in the UFT leadership are basically incapable of changing and dues money or no dues money, they aren't becoming a militant union on behalf of their members. It is not in President Michael Mulgrew's DNA. Any show of activism is purely for show. The only game he and many of his Unity Caucus followers will play is the political game to try to convince the politicians to support us. They do play this game well at times.
These are not great political times for unions but we have kept a core of a decent salary and benefits. The UFT will still play the political game whether they have $100 million in the Union treasury or 100 pennies. If they only have 100 pennies, they will just be even weaker advocates for the members than now. If thousands of UFT members drop out and are not organized into anything, do you think the city is going to say we better listen to the teachers? No, we will all be that much weaker.
The question then becomes this: What are you going to do about the sorry state of the UFT in many schools? If the answer is you are going to drop out and keep some more of your money, well how does that help our cause?
The argument I have heard is that if we all starve the UFT beast, then the Union leadership will be forced to work harder to support us to win back our dues money. There is a giant flaw in this argument as I see it. Many in the UFT leadership are basically incapable of changing and dues money or no dues money, they aren't becoming a militant union on behalf of their members. It is not in President Michael Mulgrew's DNA. Any show of activism is purely for show. The only game he and many of his Unity Caucus followers will play is the political game to try to convince the politicians to support us. They do play this game well at times.
These are not great political times for unions but we have kept a core of a decent salary and benefits. The UFT will still play the political game whether they have $100 million in the Union treasury or 100 pennies. If they only have 100 pennies, they will just be even weaker advocates for the members than now. If thousands of UFT members drop out and are not organized into anything, do you think the city is going to say we better listen to the teachers? No, we will all be that much weaker.
Do you truly feel that Michael Mulgrew is going to become Eugene Debs if half of us leave in order to convince the other half to stay? It won't happen. The militancy has to come from the rank and file. It will have a much greater impact if those militants are UFT members.
Potential defectors need to face reality. There is absolutely no evidence or historical precedent that anyone can find showing that weakening unions by dropping out and leaving the union with fewer paying members and thus fewer resources leads to improved wages, benefits or better working conditions. Find me an example, just one, where this has worked and I will listen.
There is plenty of evidence, however, that working people in states that have right to work laws (unions can't force workers to join a union or pay a fair share fee if a non-union member) do worse economically.
There is plenty of evidence, however, that working people in states that have right to work laws (unions can't force workers to join a union or pay a fair share fee if a non-union member) do worse economically.
From the Economic Policy Institute 2018 study comparing right to work with non-right to work states:
- Wages in RTW states are 3.1 percent lower than those in non-RTW states, after controlling for a full complement of individual demographic and socioeconomic factors as well as state macroeconomic indicators. This translates into RTW being associated with $1,558 lower annual wages for a typical full-time, full-year worker.
- The relationship between RTW status and wages remains economically and statistically significant under alternative specifications of our econometric model.
Now that we are right to work in the public sector nationally after the Supreme Court ruled last June that government employees cannot be forced to join a union or pay fair share fees for what the unions do, those of us who are union dissidents are left with four choices:
1-We can shut up rather than be critical and ask to join the in crowd (become Unity UFT cheerleaders).
2-We can quit our union, go home and hope for the best.
3-We can try to form a better union.
4-We can attempt to bring about change from within the union while still being critical of its flaws.
I still believe, until someone can convince me otherwise, that choice 4 is the way forward. We are better off staying in the UFT, even if we despise much of what our Union's leadership does, or rather often doesn't do, to defend us. Change happens in schools when we persuade our colleagues that it is in our collective interest to be active and force the UFT to support us. Dropping out to save some money each check is the wrong answer; it is pure "me only" selfishness.
30 comments:
YOU called them thieves. So you support thieves? Makes no sense. How about a few duespayers list what they are paying in dues on 10/15/19. Looks to between $150 and $200. Still wanting a uft answer on how the extra is calculated.
It isn't to save some money, it is the only way I can say fuck you to the uft. They dont listen to simple emails.
Come on James, it's the principle of the thing. Only way we can respond to the mistreatment.
140 for me. Read the exec board minutes at NYC educator and saw a comment asking why no one brought up the extra dues there and he replied to the poster that they should come and ask him or herself. Isn't he supposed to be there keeping Unity in check? Seems like all he cares about is class size. I like that comment here from another post about flooding the concierge and demanding an explanation of the thievery. I know I will be calling until they respond. It's just wrong.
Arthur ran with Mulgrew's Unity Caucus. His perspective has changed.
Class action lawsuit by members against UFT.
DEMAND CHANGE. TAKING EXTRA MONEY IS WRONG. DUES WERE ALREADY PAID.
WE SHOULD BE REFUNDED OR NOT HAVE DUES TAKEN OUT FOR A FEW WEEKS TO CREDIT US FOR THEM DOUBLE DIPPING.
CHANGE WILL NOT OCCUR UNLESS WE DEMAND IT. IE DEC 23RD WE GOT IT OFF. WE NEED CHANGE WITHIN OUR UNION NOW. DEMAND THEY STOP TAKING OUR MONEY. WE SHOULDNT NOT HAVE TO LEAVE THE UNION WE NEED TO SHOW THEM WE WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS B.S. ANYMORE. UFT GIVE US DUE CREDIT NOW.
WE ALSO NEED NEW BLOOD IN THE UNION. WE HAVE BEEN LET DOWN OVER AND OVER, CRAPPY RAISES, DEC 23RD SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN AN ISSUE. WE NEED A UNION STAFF AND PRESIDENT THAT WORKS FOR INTS MEMBERS NOT JUST THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILY MEMEBERS WHO HAVE $$$$$$$$$$ CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY.
You want to know what is stealing? The fact that UFT district reps and tons of bigwigs at the UFT who DO NOT TEACH A SINGLE CLASS yet get paid by both the DOE and the UFT. Every UFT worker should be required to work at least part time in the hell hole schools that they hide from. These folks need to know the hell we go through on a daily basis. If they had to deal with Danielson, insane admins, and violent kids everyday, then maybe they would have the heart to help us out.
So he is an asshole now?
Why dont all the chapter leaders around city have an email chain. You guys can set a date where all chapter leaders can meet and discuss issues from all areas of the city. Use top 5 priority and take it with UFT, or better yet invite the UFT to chapter meeting and have a town hall.
The UFT is taking $176.26 plus $0.75 in pol dues out of my Oct 15 paycheck. What are pol dues? What can I do about the extra $114.94 the UFT is taking? Whom do I contact? I am already quite ambivalent about the $61.32 I donate every paycheck.
Am I the only one who can’t even get to payroll portal? It says there is an error.
Arthur is a disgrace since he joined Unity. An arrogant, self-serving, pompous disgrace. If you disagree with him, he insults you. If you respond in kind, he bans you and rationalizes the ban because he perceives your response as an insult. Unity can have him, he’s now just another mouthpiece for Mulgrew and friends.
This how sad the career has gotten. Everything of true value has been stripped from the teaching profession, except the money. And now it’s only the money that matters. This is what the Weingarten/Mulgrew UFT and the Bloomberg molded DOE have created and the reason why the profession is doomed in NYC. When money is the only thing that matters, everyone and everything is expendable. If the business model is eradicated and publicly denounced by the UFT and DOE then there’s hope. Otherwise it’s just a matter of time before the for profit charter schools bid to take over everything for less than what the taxpayers are paying now. The UFT is embracing the business model even in its own organization and deBlasio is capitulating to the deformers. Eva is patiently waiting for the next mayor.
Anon 10:43 - or Chris - Of course Arthur banned you. You are nuts. Zucker has exposed you.
So just like the open market and the travel hardship and the delayed retro with no interst and the 1.3% raise average and the abuseive princiapls and the abusive students the uft is silent.
2:19 , they aren't silent, they are charging you extra dues this check for all those wonderful things you listed they do for us
Jmeas continues to say a union is better than no union. I agree. But how can we let this go, and keep letting everything go? How can we accept this, your word, thievery. Every thread, there are a thousand different complaints about a thousand different, valid things. At some point you have to say im tired of supporting this garbage.
All this stuff made my decision easy last summer.
One of the things the UFT will learn by embracing the business model (the almighty dollar over all else) is that those they purport to represent will use that same mentality to choose saving money over what used to be intractable loyalty. The sword cuts both ways.
Forgot about medical copays up...yeah, glass I opted out.
James with every post gives people reasons to opt out of the union - doing the kind of propaganda that would make Koch Brothers proud. Saving them the money they would have to spend. But he then covers himself by saying don't drop out. It has taken me some time to see this but the constant drumbeat of what the union is doing wrong with nary a comment about what it might be doing right functions as an ad to drop out. Sometimes something has to give. Either you work to make the union stronger or you tear it down and try to claim that in doing so you are really making the union stronger. You can't have it both ways. Go for the jugular but stop telling people that despite every negative blog they must ignore and go work in a union that really wants no part of them. This blog is the poster boy for leaving the union.
People only read the parts that confirm their views. There are big problems with the UFT but there is no example, not one, where any union has had massive defections and then improved working conditions. No way I would be able to leave with a defined benefits pension and TDA without a union. What is not clear? We are better off with a union with big flaws that is 100% strong than one where thousands defect.
Mend it don't end it. Simple.
10:35, Can you read? People like you are the problem, not this blog. Change happens in schools.
4-We can attempt to bring about change from within the union while still being critical of its flaws.
I still believe, until someone can convince me otherwise, that choice 4 is the way forward. We are better off staying in the UFT, even if we despise much of what our Union's leadership does, or rather often doesn't do, to defend us. Change happens in schools when we persuade our colleagues that it is in our collective interest to be active and force the UFT to support us. Dropping out to save some money each check is the wrong answer; it is pure "me only" selfishness.
And in 20 years we will be having the same conversation, about how things are so bad, about how we've been abused and nothing got better, i will still be waiting for a travel hardship transfer, will be waiting for the open market to work, waiting for raises that actually match or beat inflation...and the union will still be sucking down our dues. Sorry, i just cant play that game anymore.
Maybe if you stopped complaining here and got other people to read this blog then that could help.
I am not leaving the union but my point is that the overall impact of this blog is to lead people in that direction even if James argues against it. There is a constant drumbeat of attacks on the leadership which they deserve in so many ways but this blog attracts the disaffected who fundamentally do nothing other than bitch and threaten to leave the union and this blog has more of an effect in that direction than moving them towards action. Or at least to be involved in creating an opposition. James would love to do that but all you people do is bitch. If there is so much disaffection where are they? It reminds me of the assumption that somewhere out there there are aliens. There is an argument that if there are aliens where have they been?
The aliens are on Rigel 5. ET is Eterno. ET phone home.
12:53,
Mulgrew is from Uranus
One of Bloomberg's mottos was divide and conquer; and so he did with the teachers. I do believe we have reached a point of no return.
Although Bloomberg gets most of the credit for the sad state of the schools, the UFT is not far behind.
Any union that would have Mulgrew as its leader cannot be taken seriously. Anyone with a true junior high school education can listen to him and tell that his intellectual prowess is severely limited.
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