I cannot comprehend why the UFT would come to an agreement with the Department of Education on the time schedule for next school year on June 1, the day after the city denied UFTers an Early Retirement Incentive. It is puzzling that Michael Mulgrew would be making nice-nice with Chancellor Meisha Porter right after the city-DOE disrespected us by not permitting our members the chance to retire early after the State Legislature and the Governor passed the ERI into law.
One does not need an advanced degree to figure out that the DOE was in a bind when it came to the time schedule. Since extended time was agreed to by the UFT in 2002, how to use that extended time has been a constant headache for the DOE. Back in 2002, the UFT and DOE agreed to put 100 minutes of extended time per week into two fifty-minute blocks, one for professional development and the other for extra help for the students in single-session schools. For secondary schools, this was a manageable joke because on the day kids were supposed to stay for help, most went home and teachers laughed but for elementary schools where kids actually stayed, it was a nightmare. They needed two dismissal schedules and two bus schedules one day a week. It didn't work.
The DOE quickly asked UFT President Randi Weingarten to renegotiate this contractual provision. Renegotiate it we did in 2002, 2003, 2004 and then again in 2005. We had a member referendum to approve each contractual change. Chancellor Joel Klein had enough and when ten extra daily minutes were added to the Contract in the infamous 2005 Agreement, Klein and Weingarten agreed to a new extra help provision for four days a week with 37.5 minutes of small group instruction in single session schools. Many did not like it but it lasted through 2014. Klein didn't care about two bus schedules and two dismissal times while Weingarten was at her concessionary worst in 2005.
Enter Bill de Blasio and his Chancellor Carmen Farina to negotiate the long-delayed UFT 2014 Contract with UFT President Mulgrew. The time schedule clause was changed again in the 2014 Contract to eliminate the extra help time for students. It was replaced by marathon Mondays and Tuesdays that included 80 minutes of professional development on Monday after school and 75 minutes of parent engagement and other professional work for Tuesdays. Farina and Mulgrew also added four parent-teacher evenings instead of two. This clause with one dismissal time for the elementary school students was renewed annually by the DOE and UFT for the next five years but was not continued this year because of the pandemic. By not having an agreement yet for 2021-2022, the DOE was going to have to figure out again how to do two student dismissal times four times a week. They weren't happy. The UFT reported last week that there was no agreement on the time schedule for 2021-2022 so the system would have to revert to the 2005 schedule with its logistical issues.
The employer did not want to go back to the difficult schedule while the UFT seemed to be okay with it according to what we saw on Facebook. The reaction in the comments here was mixed but it was fairly clear that the UFT probably had some leverage in negotiations. What did the UFT do with that leverage? They got two pre-approved School Based Options to allow for 6 hour and 50 minute daily schedules for schools where the Principal, Chapter Leader, and at least 55% of the UFT staff agreed while the default remained marathon Mondays and Tuesdays.
What should the UFT have done?
My understanding of how a negotiation process works is that both sides want something and then each side gives a bit so there is an agreement. The UFT wanted an early retirement incentive from the city while the DOE did not want to go back to the schedule with two dismissal times. If I was in Michael Mulgrew's position, I would have called the mayor or whichever deputy mayor is in charge of dealing with the UFT directly and said quite simply, "If you don't approve the ERI which my members deserve and will save you money, then you can sit and figure out how to do the 2005 time schedule again because we aren't agreeing to anything on the time schedule!"
If it came down to a public relations war, the UFT would easily win because we would have been on the side of teachers spending more time with students.
Instead, de Blasio refused to sign off on the ERI on May 31 and the very next day Mulgrew and Porter were signing off on an agreement on a time schedule that makes DOE's life easier. There were not even a few days of outrage from the UFT against the mayor for denying us the ERI.
The only way to improve on any of this is to vote out Mulgrew and Unity Caucus in chapter elections this June and in the general UFT election next spring.
61 comments:
I despise UNITY and Mulgrew wit he the power of a thousand suns.
The ERI would possibly be beneficial for some teachers age 55 or more who were planning on working one or two more years. A portion of that 55+ group would have taken the ERI and immediately retired and collected a pension.
That is a very very small group (and are retiring in a year or two in any case) so I am not certain the ERI was a priority for UFT leadership.
The UFT colludes with the DOE to undermine the working conditions of the rank and file.
James,
Do you think the UFT played nice bc the doe placed atrs ? That’s the only reason I can see for playing nice with the doe
Completely agree, why would bitch face Mulgrew negotiate or use obvious leverage tactics to help members. The media, parents, and quite frankly the entire country would be behind us. Diblasio and Cuomo both should have been removed by now with the investigations. They have no leverage, truly shows how much of a fraud Mulgrew and UFT really are.
What a profession, college degree, 1-2 master's degrees, years to be tenured and treated like babies like we need all this PD. Admin, central up to the chancellor needs more PD, let teachers teach, it' enough already.
Exactly. Seems very odd.
What leverage does the UFT seem to have these days on almost anything? Things have gone downhill as the days of the clout of UFT power clearly diminished when Bloomberg became mayor and Weingarten caved with that disastrous 2005 contracts. Mulgrew waited out the remaining years of Bloomberg’s 3 terms—with the hope of a ‘more sympathetic’ DeBlasio. So what happens—the 2014 results in an inexplicable 6 year plus extended retro pay for a contract that expired in 2009. The only difference is that there has been better Mayoral cordial relationship with the UFT—but power is controlled by Tweed and the Mayor. and Mulgrew has played along and looks at arbitration for help.
To the point of leverage of time schedule with ERI—the ERI was never going to happen when there is no need for layoffs till maybe next summer. As for the extended day, just have the feeling that most teachers (not all) have gotten used to students going home daily at 2:20 or so —and have adjusted to the longer nonsense Mondays and Tuesdays—and the city knows that. Just curious to see a current membership vote on this issue.
And what leverage does the UFT have with the more important issue of Healthcare/Medicare for both retirees and in-service when there is a MLC that seems to be doing the bargaining of the UFT. along with all the city unions.
There is no question that Mulgrew should not be re-elected next year —as 13 years as President of anything is just too long and is a threat to democracy. It’s time for changes and for Unity to step aside for the sake of change—and give others an opportunity—to be more in tune with its membership— if that’s possible —But— does any union really have leverage or clout in an era of national anti-union sentiment.
Let’s see what leverage the UFT has—no matter who is UFT President -when it comes to negotiating a new contact come next summer.-or bargaining with the potential for significant layoffs come July 1, 2022 —or even dealing with the possibility of a new Mayor that is pro-charter.
Good luck.
Anyone hear if DC 37 received an ERI?
Another day, another negative posting by James, about the union, on the pro union blog...Followed by a dozen quick negative comments. I detect a trend...Followed by questions asking about an ERI for next year. No wonder we are stomped on. Teacher grade fraud is only upended by teacher stupidity.
If the UFT had any leverage or the city feared the UFT, the city would have never attempted to pull the retro check. The fact that somebody at city hall had the guts to propose pulling it demonstrates that the UFT has no leverage. The fact that we then negotiated how it would be paid out (rather than say "Judge we have a contract") shows how worthless our contract (OOps :Memorandum of Agreement") is.
Do we think the city would have told the FDNY, NYPD, DSNY, "We're informing you that we will not be paying your retro money." ?
Terrible union.
There is a difference between having no leverage and not utilizing the leverage you have, Nerd.
Everything is negotiable, especially when you have something the other party wants. If I go into even a retail store with cash, I’ll come out paying less and usually without paying sales tax. That’s just with simple every day items. The UFT controls the labor of 100,000 educated people trying to elevate and educate either an overwhelming underclass or a small group of gifted students. As the career has turned into a job and become something more akin to torture than teaching, the onus should be on the city to keep their workforce and to keep it happy. Everything is negotiable. Do you want this, then what are you giving us? If they want to ratch up the torture, then labor can be withheld. It’s very apparent that Michael Mulgrew is not the man for this job. There are so many numerous examples of his incompetence as both a leader and a negotiator that it is absolutely incredible that he is still in the position he is in. There seems to be a overwhelming avoidance of involvement by teachers in every day governance which was understandable before 2005, but hasn’t been since. As Mulgrew shuns the needs and wants of veterans, retirees and everyone, except Tier 6 teachers, there should be an urgency to get him out and all those affiliated with him. If this does not happen the UFT will soon only be representing primarily temporary workers and will leave a devastated and intentionally ignored group of veterans and retirees scrambling to pay medical bills and praying their pensions aren’t taken away.
UFT email now saying remote for summer staff on accomodation? WTF???
But but but but spring break pay is about to be negotiated, right?
707 right on point!
Their refusal to strike and withhold labor is all we need to know. There is no leverage for a union that refuses to use the power of a strike.
Why? Because the UFT works for the Democrat Party, not teachers. Michael Mulgrew, Randi, all of them, will always sell out teachers when their democrat masters tell them to. Does anyone think the teachers unions don’t prioritize the Democrat Party over the rank and file? Come on, man. Wise up.
It's disappointing the UFT got nothing for the schedule agreement, but as Veteran Teacher points out, the ERI would have helped a relatively small number of our members. I don't think it would have been the right issue to link. And I say that as one of the people who would have definitely benefited.
But James' main point, about not even trying to get anything for members, of not negotiating, or just being bad at it, I agree with that, as I agree with his conclusion.
Jonathan
UFT has no leverage. Public opinion is against us. They think we closed the schools and that we had no intentions of ever reopening. The contract is going to be very bad for us. They'll negotiate a pay freeze and sell it to us as this great deal as inflation spirals out of control.
7:07AM - 'colludes' - You got it. The UFT colludes with the DOE. Absolutely.
Veteran NY Teacher and Jonathan, Why go through the process of using political capital in Albany to get the ERI through the State Legislature and have Cuomo sign it if it was not a priority? The UFT could have let the ERI die in Committee in Albany after we knew the federal stimulus money was on the way and there was no impending financial crisis for NYC. Once we got it through the Legislature and Cuomo, shouldn't the UFT then push to finish the job with as much force as it can assemble?
This is 9:52 again. I just wanted to add one more thing. It recently came out that the city made a 33% return on our TDA investments this year. They pay us 7%, and they keep the difference, 26%. I don’t know how many billions of dollars that equates to, but it is billions. Billions made on money that we 100% contributed into - with ZERO contributions from the City. That’s more than enough money to pay an ERI, while saving the city long term money via early retirement and let’s not forget about splitting our last payment of ‘retro’.
I think the generous interpretation is that they are saving that capital for the upcoming contract negotiations, and letting it die in Albany would have negated that advantage, such as there is one. They will be negotiating with a different mayor, but making a fuss about early retirement could have been a public relations loss and since it was an option at the city level (if they allowed it to die in Albany they couldn't lay any claim to doing the city a favor), the union can say they were willing to forego the ERI in the name of preserving a stable, experienced workforce to help students transition back to full-time in-person learning in September.
Now will they actually fight for a real contract with real gains and no givebacks or concessions? I have doubts....
I think the generous interpretation is that they are saving that capital for the upcoming contract negotiations, and letting it die in Albany would have muted that advantage, such as there is one. They will be negotiating with a different mayor, but making a fuss about early retirement could have been a public relations loss and since it was an option at the city level (if they allowed it to die in Albany they couldn't lay any claim to doing the city a favor), the union can say they were willing to forego the ERI in the name of preserving a stable, experienced workforce to help students transition back to full-time in-person learning in September.
Now will they actually fight for a real contract with real gains and no givebacks or concessions? I have doubts....
How do we pressure leadership before they start negotiating, before they hand us a shitty package and say well, that's the best we could get...
So glad I am in my final year on this job !!
Nice work, uft. So much for female empowerment.
NEW: A second woman is accusing Scott Stringer of sexual harassment and making unwanted advances. She says they occurred when she worked for him nearly three decades ago.
Stringer says he has no memory of the woman.
By
@katieglueck
All I know is that the UFT and DC37 fought really hard to get sponsorship in the NYS Senate & Assembly. They testified at the budget hearings along with the Mayor. All supported the ERI. Even the City Council stepped up and passed a Home Rule which guaranteed that the ERI would be included in the State Budget. To have climbed over all these hurdles just to have the Mayor go back on his support is mind boggling. I don’t know where DC37 is with their negotiations but I can’t imagine that they would get nothing out of it. If DC37 is not successful then it’s time to wave the white flag. Our unions no longer have any clout!
All I can say is Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb.
Here they are posing together:
https://imgc.allpostersimages.com/img/print/u-g-F3MM1T0.jpg?w=900&h=900&p=0
Is Mulgrew actually running again next year, or does he know Randi is planning on stepping down as AFT president and he thinks he's stepping in?
"Veteran NY Teacher and Jonathan, Why go through the process of using political capital in Albany to get the ERI through the State Legislature and have Cuomo sign it if it was not a priority? "
I'm not sure. But I would guess, momentum. Once it got that far, even after they realized it was unlikely, the optics of dropping it partway would have been awful, so they kept going. Certainly the City's position was "No," but even they avoided breaking off negotiations.
Do you know how much capital Mulgrew/Pallotta actually spent on this?
But even if I'm wrong, and I don't think so, but even if:
If Mulgrew could have played hard ball over the schedule, and fought for trading it for something, ERI would have benefitted too narrow a group of our members to have been the high stakes bargaining chip. And I'm saying this, I hit 30 last week, and I have the age - I was potentially a poster child beneficiary.
Jonathan
Teachers aren't in any position to be asking for anything. And as far as public relations go, the public hates New York City teachers for the damage they have done to the youth of this city. Society in general ranks teachers as low as Congress for being such cowards during this whole pandemic
Jonathan, Getting thousands of your members hopes up as a law passes in Albany for something Mulgrew knew he wouldn't go all out for is awful optics on the part of the UFT.
We knew the money was coming from DC the day Warnock and Ossoff were elected in early January. There was no need to push this through in Albany in March and April if the UFT was not going to use its clout with de Blasio to make it a reality.
5:58, Public does not hate teachers. 60% of NYC families kept their kids home for remote schooling all year.
In regards to the ATR placements. Michael Sill just emailed all people in the ATR saying ATRs will become "regular staff members" at the schools they are currently in. I took this to mean that we will not be known as ATRs anymore and that we will get our seniority back. I just hope I"m right.
I don't disagree James... but I think they don't mind so much the mini-backlash now.
But getting into their heads is challenging - because of how convoluted their reasoning is. I can convince myself that they let this keep rolling, even though they knew it was unlikely to end well, and that they didn't care.
Yes some hate us.or is it just ny post blaming Randi and uft for closing schools.protesting parents...selfish...yet when the gates were opened, barely any kids returned.
Yes some hate us.or is it just ny post blaming Randi and uft for closing schools.protesting parents...selfish...yet when the gates were opened, barely any kids returned.
5:58 How are teachers cowards? Did you sign up for this job knowing you’d have to put your life on the line? Didn’t think so. It’s not NYPD or FDNY. No one hates us. Yes, there are many who are jealous and don’t realize all we do. We are not respected and that starts and must change with our own union and rank and file morons like you. - Hawk
Our profession appeared very selfish, particularly in NYC. It will be a challenge to get back in the good graces of the public. We don't know how much of that 60% didn't want their kids in masks or with sticks up their noses, or didn't bother because of the split scheduling. Even in the City the resentment from the parents of kids I tutored, overheard in bars, told directly from the bartenders and waitresses, the UPS guys who deliver to our building, the SSAs, flatbed driver when I needed one, guy at the pizzeria, etc.
9:52, the billions earned by TDA investments do not belong to the city. They belong to the teachers who have invested in the variable funds. The rise in the diversified equity fund to $132 a share represents a
real windfall for teachers savvy or lucky enough to be invested. In no way was this available for the city to fund the ERI
How does our profession seem selfish when all we do is bend over backwards for students and parents. How many teachers will never strike cause it will hurt the kids education? Too many! NYPD would strike and let people literally die if they had to. This job is not life and death, we should strike when need be. But we don’t cause many are the exact opposite of selfish and a little to giving if you ask me. - Hawk
I agree James. I am a DC 37 member but alas, I work for the DOE.We just got an email from Henry Garrido, that they will push to get the ERI for the other agencies since 6/30 is their deadline. So close, yet so far. Thank you for all you do. Be well.
Yes 7:16 -cowards like you who think that going to work is putting your life on the line. Good thing groceries store workers and truck drivers delivering goods didn't have your mindset or you'd be
starving.
James wrote the below, but demands we contribute to this disaster.
"Jonathan, Getting thousands of your members hopes up as a law passes in Albany for something Mulgrew knew he wouldn't go all out for is awful optics on the part of the UFT.
We knew the money was coming from DC the day Warnock and Ossoff were elected in early January. There was no need to push this through in Albany in March and April if the UFT was not going to use its clout with de Blasio to make it a reality."
Now it is time to pull for Fernando Mateo for Mayor, love how Flynn backed him. Finished with dems ruining new york and other dem cities all over this country.
The million-dollar question is why we never got interest for 12 years on our retro money, are these scum bags paying us back with our interest.
FDNY AND NYPD GET 20 years why do we need 25-30 years? 25/50 can be negotiated not like 25 years is not putting in your time obviously we have 25/55.
The cowardly part comes in once you’re vaccinated and still too scared to go back to work. NY had 271 deaths per 100,000. Florida had 171 per 100,000. Ny schools closed. Florida schools opened. California closed. 161 out of 100,000. This data doesn’t support either argument. It suggests other variables besides schools driving infection rates. My uneducated guess... open spaces, and more outdoor activities and overall health of residents was important. The bottom line is any ny teacher who wanted a vaccine, got one by now. Schools should be fully open now.
11:15, I know where you are going and that debate is done here. You had your say here now start your blog.
Anon2323, This post is on politics but not the mayor's race. I went and looked up Fernando Mateo's positions on schools. This is from a CBS 2 interview.
Mateo: "I believe in that parents are the ultimate guardians of their children. Parents should have the right to carry a voucher and send their kids to whatever school they choose. Why? Because I dropped out of school at 14. Because I was a victim of the school system. I know what goes on in public school. And it’s not fun. When your sneakers get robbed, when your coat gets robbed, and you go home without a coat and barefooted, because some bully took your sneakers and your coat away. I believe that parents should be able to decide where their kids are going to go to school.
And with that, I will certainly accept as many charter schools as possible, because they’re providing better education."
Mateo is not our friend. Vouchers and charters gives public money to private schools which ultimately leaves public schools with the students who choose public ed along with pupils charters and private schools don't want and we get reduced funding. School choice is designed to kill public education. See Bloomberg years. Do we really want to go back to that?
Prehistoric, I believe the city gets the excess from the fixed fund after the 7% interest is paid out. In years when the investments do not earn 7%, the city has to make up the difference. To the best of my knowledge in most years the city investments earn over 7% and the city pockets the excess, not us.
If you are in diversified equity, you gain or lose based on how well the investments do.
60% of parents chose remote and that is why the majority of the school system is still remote. It is what the parents wanted.
If I had a job that required me to be in work and zero remote option I’d do it. Teachers had that option! If grocery and all the rest could’ve been remote they would have. It has nothing to do with being a coward , it has to do with being intelligent and healthy. Jackass.
- Hawk
Being bad for nyc teachers doesn’t mean bad for nyc. Anon2323. Nyc is a lost cause. Get out. They will always vote for a soft on crime mayor. Suburbs are a whole different world. Much better quality of life. Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and Ulster. Start looking. One of my best decisions was exiting nyc.
10:01. You called the commenter a jackass so in your scaredy cat world that means you won. Congratulations.
I went into a NYC public library today-they are still not open for in person computer classes
Told just remote only
How is a NYC who needs help learning how to use a computer supposed to do so virtually-So school is safe for unvaccinated elementary students but a properly ventalated library classroom is not.
Mulgrew and DeBlasio I hope they rott in hell.
Yes, I prefer Bloomberg over de Blasio.
Lmaooo. Nothing scaredy cat about my world, I just like being healthy. - Hawk
The city does indeed keep the difference between a 7% and 33%. I remember, it must be a decade ago, a similar scenario, that Stringer got himself involved in. The city had just as large a windfall from our money but paid a 25% management fee to the company managing it. Other companies were getting anywhere from 1 to 5% and Stringer was trying to figure out what was going on. I never heard a resolution, but somebody got very wealthy. I don’t know if the city is still throwing away money like that in management fees , but they are more than willing to give billions of dollars away for no reason to almost anyone rather than give it to teachers.
The UFT leaders don’t really want or rather don’t care about an ERI. They don’t have to worry about an early retirement so then it doesn’t count.
The UFT leaders don’t really want or rather don’t care about an ERI. They don’t have to worry about an early retirement so then it doesn’t count.
I agree, he had also approved the last ERI!!
By naming the incentive an “Early Retirement Incentive” a few teachers thought that meant they might be able to retire and collect a pension earlier than age 55. And support fizzled in the ranks when the reality emerged.
A more accurate name might have been “Retirement Incentive for the Age 55+“. Of course only a small subset of teachers within the already small slice of the 55+ teachers set would actually want to go for it. Another reason why the UFT wouldn’t give up much of anything in a ‘fight’ for it.
Post a Comment