Ultimately, UFT members have the last word on whether we accept a new contract agreement. Right now, the UFT and City are negotiating a contract to replace the one that expired in September of 2022.
The UFT is stating that we should say yes to a fair contract. What would a fair contract look like?
In terms of wages, UFT Executive Board member Mike Schirtzer and I thought about what it would take to keep up with inflation. We did some quick research and looked up the Social Security cost of living adjustment for the last two years. UFT members had their last salary increase in the spring of 2021. The Social Security COLA for 2022 was 5.9%. For 2023, it is 8.7%. We thought this would be a good place to start for UFT salary increases so UFTers could just keep up with increases in the cost of living.
Mike and I along with Camille Eterno and Daniel Alicea came up with this resolution that we would like UFT Chapters to endorse. Daniel added in that raises should not be paid for with healthcare concessions.
Whereas, members of the United Federation of Teachers have not had a raise since May of 2021; be it therefore
Resolved, that the directly elected representatives of the UFT Executive Board and Delegate Assembly recommend to the UFT Contract Negotiating Committee that our union settle for nothing less than raises aligned with Social Security cost of living adjustments of a 5.9% raise for 2022 and an 8.7% raise for 2023 without any concessions on our healthcare benefits.
12 comments:
Unity goons will never allow this resolution to pass. Furthermore, the Mayor does not give a rats ass about any "teach in's". The UFT is just putting on another dog and pony show for its members while they sell them out in back room deals with the city. The only saving grace is that the rank and file do not have to vote on any shitty contract that is thrown at us. What I fear is that the Mayor is gonna dangle a cash sign on bonus that many younger teachers will be dumb enough to take.
Good Luck with that.
Love the sentiment James, and I'd add a couple things.
1. I wouldn't call it a raise, I'd call it a cost of living adjustment. Reason being: it's not a raise, it's a cost of living adjustment.
2. Our next contract must have language that protects us from having to give something up just to keep up with inflation. Cost of living adjustments should not be bargained for every four years, they should be part of the deal even after a contract expires.
Well said! Already printed out post and will distribute in mailboxes at my school before or after school hours.
Thank you
I mean this sounds great, but do we have any leverage? I'd imagine they hear this... laugh... and walk away from the table.
It sounds like a great idea, but what about retirees on fixed pensions? We deserve a cost of living adjustment, also.
@John Q Teacher As a young teacher, I think it's pretty funny how we get blamed for everything on this blog when Tier I-IV members voted for all the bad leaders and bad contracts that left us with nothing.
Retirees get a COLA and every argument the retirees make to save their free Medicare is based on them trading salary and benefits for their health insurance in retirement. You knew or should have known exactly what your retirement would be like.
You also get a COLA on your social security! Which was 8.7% effective for 2023 and 5.9% effective 2022, far more than teachers received in raises.
Retirees also had a far, far, far better retirement than new teachers- lookup Tier 6. I happen to be on Tier IV and know how good I have it! Do you know how good you've got it? Do you know these people pay 5.75% for nearly their whole career and need to work until they are 63?
It's just utterly ridiculous to even discuss retirees when discussing a raise for teachers. As a matter of fact the entire resolution is just silly because NYC knows suckers when they see them.
Did anyone see what STARTING nurses will get? $108,000 a year! That is without overtime or differentials! They absolutely deserve it, but a starting teacher with a BA gets 61k- the message is DO NOT BECOME A TEACHER!
https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/health/new-york-to-raise-wages-for-registered-nurses-working-for-state-agencies/71-11152ab3-a6a2-4e79-b482-979e2d0ab47c
Dave: Retirees only get a cola after 5 years or age 62, and we only get 1/2 of the cpi on the first $18,000. The Social Security cost of living is on the full cpiand is updated every year.
Dave: Retirees only get a cola after 5 years or age 62, and we only get 1/2 of the cpi on the first $18,000. The Social Security cost of living is on the full cpi and is updated every year.
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