UFT-DOE AGREEMENT ON REMOTE CLASSROOMS

I have just gone over the new remote agreement.  At first glance, it looks to me like forced overtime (or you can call it a longer workday) if part of a class is quarantined. The extra time will be compensated at a lower per session rate as opposed to your regular pay rate which would be substantially higher for most UFTers. 

UFTers deserve time and a half, maybe more in a pandemic, but teachers aren't hourly employees. Still, couldn't Mulgrew have at least demanded  and accepted nothing less than pro rata pay? Does he even know what pro rata means? Also, you can now officially be evaluated digitally.

Read  the MOA and summary yourself and let us know what you think. 

Dear ________, We have maintained since last spring that the mayor’s position of no remote instruction was not realistic, but only last week did the mayor finally acknowledge the need for a remote option for medically fragile students. But in that same announcement, the mayor said city schools would be offering “digital platform-based instruction” to these students and to students who must quarantine. We told him that he cannot require our members to deliver remote instruction without collective bargaining. Today, we concluded negotiations on your rights and responsibilities regarding remote instruction for this school year only. We made sure that you would be appropriately compensated for the work of setting up your digital classroom or platform. We also finalized guidance on remote instruction for quarantining students that minimizes the disruption to your workday and provides compensation for holding office hours and doing other work that supports these students. See the full agreement » Here are the highlights of the new agreement: Digital Classroom Set-Up All teachers and related service providers will be given from Sept. 9 to Oct. 1 to set up their digital classrooms. The set-up should include uploading necessary materials for the first day of an emergency closure You are not required to upload any additional content more than 24 hours prior to an emergency closure You will receive $225 on Oct. 31 for setting up your digital classroom. Digital Classroom Use The following are times when the digital classroom will be used: Conducting remote parent-teacher conferences Conducting synchronous/live instruction on snow days or during whole-class or whole-school closures (related to either health or emergency) Conducting asynchronous instruction on Election Day Conducting asynchronous instruction for partial class closures due to quarantining students Conducting synchronous/live instruction if the teacher/provider has to quarantine and is able to work remotely Digital classrooms are not to be used for: Regular instruction for absent students (not related to a quarantine) Newsletters or ongoing family communications Uploading or collecting lesson plans Instruction when Closures Occur Full class or whole school closure The teacher or related service provider will conduct synchronous/live online instruction Partial class closure when teacher/related service provider not quarantined Synchronous in-person instruction will continue with students who are not quarantining  Digital asynchronous instruction will be provided to students who are quarantining A minimum of one to two (per-session) office hours must be provided per week of a partial class closure to quarantining students Office hours consist of: Posting assignments Individual or small-group synchronous instruction/support/tutoring to students who are quarantining Emailing or checking in on assignments with quarantining students Office-hour compensation: Two hours of per-session pay per week for each partial closure of two or more days One hour of additional per-session pay per additional course taught in middle and high school (not each section) You may request additional hours based on your workload When office hours can occur: During the school day as paid preparation or lunch periods After-school hours paid at the per-session rate at a time decided by the teacher/related service provider and subject to supervisory approval Time-keeping procedures must be followed to record the time worked Evaluation of Digital Classrooms 24-hour notice must be given for any observation in a digital classroom that will be used for evaluation purposes No evaluative observations will be conducted on the first day of an emergency closure Election Day Remote Learning Each school will provide per-session postings for teachers who wish to create content for the asynchronous learning day. There will be four hours of available per-session work per grade and subject. Resolving Issues Related to Remote Work Any issue related to pay for remote work can be settled through the DOE-UFT regular grievance process Other issues should follow the operational issues process We will keep you up to date as new information becomes available. Sincerely, Michael Mulgrew UFT Presidentl