LIVE BLOGGING FROM JUNE DELEGATE ASSEMBLY

I'm on the call on time today so will attempt to give a full report.

President Michael Mulgrew began the meeting with his President's Report:

President welcomes Delegates to June DA. Can't believe we made it to the last DA of the COVID school year. Yesterday, NYS announced we reached herd immunity. Pandemic is in a much better place than it was. Thanks the Delegates. Testament to all of the hard work. We have finally reached the 70% vaccinated number. Review of this year. Training Building Response Team folks who then went in. When we had to make a change, you were there to handle it. BRTs out front. We were anxious, but okay. Then, it became, test and trace and positivity rate. The positivity rate went up. State and city had two numbers. Schools closed and then opened up again. Thousands of operational complaints which led to so many UFT members getting compensated. Finally, we watched positivity rate come down and come down more. Our doctors told us we should look at opening schools again. Remote learning messed up and then what was done with the craziness of everything. We did everything in our power to keep our school system open. We were attacked from both sides: parents wanted it completely open and parents who wanted schools completely closed. At times, there was nothing we could do. Parents passionate. Had our first full in-person event since the pandemic, 5K run and walk. Zooms so we could teach kids or going back and forth to school each day with the PPE's. We need to celebrate what we have done. Hopefully, virus will be done by the end of the summer. Have to wait for what CDC says. We have reached herd immunity. Thanks all for what union leaders have done. 

National level

It's all about the infrastructure bill. Trying to be bipartisan but some Democrats willing to do it on their own. Infrastructure bill helps  our economy. Economists saying economy will crash if stimulus money doesn't work. For us, ventilation has to be retrofitted or we have to build new green schools. Martin Luther King campus needed work done to open. We saw that existing ventilation can be upgraded to MIRV 13 system. We can take out ultra-violet lighting to put in wellness lighting. They changed lighting fixtures and flooring. We will push really hard with the federal government to make school building upgrades part of the infrastructure bill. NYC has a model building (Katherine Grim School) that produces more energy than it uses. Working with construction unions on infrastructure.

State level

Albany was going to do the "big ugly" where Assembly, Senate and Governor put what they want into several bills. It didn't happen. Instead, individual bills passed. Automatic enrollment of paras in pension system passed both houses and goes now to the governor. City wanted to drop 7% assumption rate. City gets money back if they get over 7% return but makes it up if they get less than 7%. Chickens have come home to roost on special ed. 

APPR. School districts do not have to do APPR but can do it. City plugging in MOSLs. People were not working under conditions they were hired under. Breathe deep and relax. If the city tries to use it, we will deal with it. SED guidance is out. 

We believe Assembly is done for this session. We think the Senate will come back but bills won't deal with us.

New York City

Ticker tape parade for essential workers including us. Happy it is being done and we are part of it. No details yet. We will have float, bands and have a great time. 

City budget not even close to being done but will get moving after primary day.

We are involved in over 50 races in NYC primaries. Candidates thanking us. Nobody knows what to make of ranked-choice voting. We will learn when we get results. We'll make sure we have a structure in place with our friends who get elected to move forward. News not good for our candidate in the mayor's race. All candidates have a plan to move money from bureaucracy to the schools. We will deal with any issues with whoever is elected.

DOE projecting 6,000 new hires. The city rejected Early Retirement Incentive because they wanted to hire people and not get rid of any. Focus on class size. We have a big challenge in September. Many  schools are overcrowded. Many others are not. If children need more time one-on-one with teachers, the only way to do it is to lower class sizes. Parents are with us on this and dismantling the bureaucracy. CFE is fully funded. We are going to create the leverage to lower class sizes. Teacher's Choice should be back. Last year, mayor had a temper tantrum because we fought and won to close the schools and he didn't like it. Dial a teacher and other programs should be in city budget too.

Summer school has a large uptick in numbers of how many will be enrolled. Safety stuff is still in place. If you applied, you should get a job. Not sure about Big Apple Games. SBO season is open. We are going to try to extend it. 30-minute block at the beginning of the day is a big one. Four days of regular time and the kids leaving early one day is also popular for meeting. Teachers gravitating toward meeting. Contract runs out in November and we need to talk about this. Not a lot of 6 hour and 50-minute straight instruction SBOs. Programming follows. We want it done now. Get the initial rough programming together before you leave in June. It might change but we want less worry over the summer. 

Special Education

DOE is under a corrective action plan from the state because the federal government ordered this. The amount of time we spend over special education compliance is insane. This goes back to Joel Klein and Michael Bloomberg who gave schools a pile of money and told principals to spend it as they like. Same issue every year. We confirm violations. Principals say there's no violation. We show documentation and DOE finally admits violation and principals say they have no money to supply the services for the kids. IEPs changed. DOE says it's not our fault that the principal spent the money. We fight back that this is improper. In Albany, there are a bunch of bills to give independent powers to do certain things. US Department of Justice is involved. NYC worse under corrective action plan. UFT fears that the DOE will blame principals. Principals will say it isn't their fault. Hopefully, CSA will be with us. Bloomberg and Klein didn't care about lawsuits. Big deal coming on special ed. Your advocacy from the schools got us to the point where this will finally be addressed. Children need proper services and proper placements.

UFT business

Healthcare report: Retiree health plan being done through the MLC. Medicare Advantage Group plan proposed. Mediator involved has not made a decision on what the better plan is. Still up to the MLC to decide. We have a very large group. We have a retiree healthcare committee. All of our healthcare negotiations go through the MLC (Municipal Labor Committee). If ever the UFT was forced to say we could not go through the MLC on healthcare, we would be out on our own and that would probably cost our members a lot of money immediately. We get a better deal by going through the MLC. We use savings back in the healthcare stabilization fund. We did two rounds of bargaining with changes. Significant increase in senior-care program. Costs accelerating greatly. We need intervention from the federal government. If we didn't go through the MLC, we wouldn't get the rates we have. We abide by what the MLC votes. There would be a significant cost increase if the UFT went at it alone on healthcare.

Contract

The temporary agreement is sunsetting on June 30. There is a side agreement for the summer. Regular Contract is open July 1 with full arbitration. The first arbitration Grievance Department will file is for appropriate compensation for working last year's spring break. We filed for impact bargaining on people being forced to set up digital classrooms. Sunsetting temporary resolution on how we run Delegate Assemblies. Many people worked on this. We are trying to take what worked with this and try to improve it. We tinker, we move to try to make it better. It's just like tinkering with lessons. What the group came up with will be the first resolution we do. It will set up the first DA in October. We are at a place where we can do in-person and remote. People have been showing up in record numbers for these remote DAs. We want people to have a remote option but we need the camaraderie of people being in-person. Remote has to be secure. We have many enemies. There are people who can't come in because of far-off travel, illness or other things. There has to be a secure system. We think we have that worked out. Working on second-floor wi-fi upgrade. We will follow the traditional rules of DA for people in-person. People can listen, ask questions, and speak in debates remotely. Middle of November our Contract expires (it expires in September 2022). We need a negotiating committee. Every chapter has to have representation. We will go through training and we will discuss things and make demands for every chapter (title). We need a resolution. Staff folks will work with each chapter. Love the way the last contract worked out as we got many things done for different chapters (titles). We need a digital committee.

We wish we didn't lose so many members in the pandemic but we did. We need to take next year to celebrate our work, those who support us and our loved ones.

Staff Director's Report

Clean and green coalition. Go to UFT.org to sign petition to get this done. Panel discussion on Juneteenth. Vote in primary on June 22 or before. Have a great summer.

Question Period

 Question: Google classroom for next year?

Mulgrew Answer: That is why we filed for impact bargaining. DOE says they have the right to do it. We had an agreement on remote learning. We have an agreement on an asynchronous day on election day. We are hoping to get compensation for this.

Question: Parent-teacher conferences, how many conferences if you have 6 hour-50 minute SBO?

Answer from Debbie Poulos: If you go to 6-50, it is only two conferences. Stay default, it is still four. Mulgrew adds all are remote.

Question: Untenured teachers who were excessed and now have been extended, what can be done?

Answer: We will talk to this chancellor about it. We will hopefully get to a common-sense approach on this. We could try to work with the next mayor. We can rectify some but not all. Superintendents grant tenure. 

Question: Will the ratings be used?

Answer: If ratings were done before we reached an agreement, no. If after we reached an agreement, yes. If principals tried to use observations from before we reached an agreement, we said no.

Question: When will we have SBO votes?

Answer: Chapter Leader can do this now through Election Buddy now. Debbie Poulos can assist you. D75 should be able to do certain SBOs.

Question: What will instruction look like next year?

Answer: Mayor telling DOE it's business as usual. Majority coming back for the first time in a long time. It won't be business as usual. We have to analyze where children are at and then differentiating instruction. We will push DOE to put out plans as opposed to letting schools figure it out on their own individually. This is why we are advocating for the dismantling of the DOE. It won't be business as usual and we know that.

Question: Early Retirement Incentive, what happened?

Answer: ERI had to be done by May 31. City wants to increase, not decrease, headcount. They think they will need more people for next year. No ERI.

Question: Thanks Mulgrew, grievance process open July1, but is it fully open? Will we be waiting until September?

Answer: Grievance Department will be putting out guidance on this. Summer school placements and reorganizations will be done through operational issues. David Campbell will have more and we will get it out on Chapter Leader Update. Traditional grievances probably in September.

Question: Gatekeepers for retiree  medical procedures?

Answer: Advantage care in individual and groups. You are talking about individual programs. Need gatekeepers for individual programs. Group programs not like that. All the things the questioner is talking about don't exist. Group of over 200,000 people can manage what they can do. People are using this as an internal political issue. We are using our buying power to have the second or third largest group in the country which will work with a provider but we will be part of the managing of this. I hope this clarifies more. Waiting to see what the mediator decides. There is a long way to go in this process. We are trying to keep our Senior Care program to stay free. 

Question: Thanks Mulgrew, questions on Chapter 683 Chapter 683, 

Those who choose not to work and have retention rights would not lose retention rights if they didn't work this summer. If they were not in person on the first day, would there be a problem working the rest of the program?

 Another person accepted the program, but something came up, what happens to their retention rights?

Answer: Both of those people need to contact Michael Sill tomorrow and we will deal with it. msill@uft.org.

Question: Thanks Mulgrew, when will we know if we are getting additional guidance counselors and lower class sizes in the fall?

Answer: Pay attention to city budget. We need social workers and guidance counselors. There is a proposal in front of the City Council. We have another proposal on class sizes. We might get some real satisfaction on this but this will be a real fight. Courts have ruled against us but we only got lower class sizes by taking less of a raise in the past.

Question: Please don't apologize for speaking for a long time. Thank you, how can we get ready because of all of those needs for the fall? We don't even know about social distancing.

Answer: We will try to meet with DOE throughout the summer. DOE wants to test for learning loss but need a baseline. Not a lot of faith. We will meet with first deputy mayor. We want materials tools and a program. We have to be flexible for situations nobody thought of. Get the school system responsive to the needs of the school. We don't know about the social distancing yet. Some summer schools are really overcrowded. Trying to get answers.

Question: Hybrid DA by phone or Zoom?

Answer: Telephone right now.

Question: Green roofs as well as solar panels?

Answer: Green roofs are on the agenda. My generation has screwed the environment. The kids are going to fix it.

Motion Period:

First resolution to move up another one is moot because there is nothing to move up.

Motion 2: Peter Lamphere a little upset. He appreciates Mulgrew making sure things are done in the order that they are sent in by email.  Withdrawing resolution number 2 because something on hybrid DAs is on the agenda.

Motion 3: Move resolution condemning hate crimes against Asians to the top of the agenda. This is for this month so requires a 2/3 vote.

79% Vote Yes to move it up and 21% vote No

(Daniel Alicea cut off before the next motion that he was supposed to speak on.)

Motion 4: Resolution for this month from Clara Barton CL: Retirees Medicare Advantage is for-profit companies. Over time benefits erode. For example, many doctors don't take GHI any longer. Want transparency in the process. 

Mulgrew: Last resolved might be a problem with the MLC. UFT does not have the right to stop the process with MLC. We have no right to stop it. The motion is therefore out of order. This last resolved would bind us where it is not possible. Process is basically stalled at this point. We will do side-by-side comparisons. We are working with for profit groups for in-service members. 

CL says for profit healthcare is a problem. 

Mulgrew: It might not be a traditional Medicare Advantage provider.

The last resolved clause Mulgrew objected to:

RESOLVED, that the UFT leadership requests that a moratorium be placed on the final decision regarding this proposed change to Medicare Part B until such time that the membership is informed of all the details involved with this change, a full discussion has occurred and the membership has been able to give input into the decision.

(Daniel Alicea informs us he was on the call at all times and was dropped by the screener. He is quite livid right now for not being able to present this resolution as it was stated by the screener that he was off the call.)

Special Orders of Business

Motion 1 on stopping hate crimes against Asian Americans.

93% vote Yes and 7% NO on ending debate. ?The motion is not voted on but I gather the motion to end debate will be it.)

Leroy Barr asks for motion to extend to do the resolution on how to run the DA for next school year.

85% vote YES and 15% vote NO.

Leroy Barr presents resolution on hybrid DA. We are working on glitches and we have fixed them. The process is 100 times better than when we started. Doubled Delegate participation during the pandemic. For 60 years, people had to be live to participate. Remote people will have ability to vote. Many worked on this hybrid model for next year.

D2 person supports hybrid DA. 

Another CL speaks strongly in favor of the resolution because she likes having the choice to get important information and can vote. Hard to get from Staten Island to DA. 

Speaker against says standing together in person has been lost. We have to stand together in solidarity.

 CL says hybrid is a good way to start as we move out of pandemic. People who want to speak can show up in person.

Mulgrew calls the question himself and the vote takes place:

While awaiting results, Mulgrew tells all to relax over the summer.

92% YES 8% NO

Mulgrew says to enjoy summer and thank you for helping Mulgrew get through pandemic.

UFT SETS DEMOCRACY BACK AGAIN BY CREATING SECOND-CLASS STATUS FOR REMOTE DELEGATES FOR NEXT YEAR

At the UFT Executive Board this evening, the Board voted 94-6 to create a two-tiered hybrid system for Delegate Assemblies for the next school year. Those who can make it to 52 Broadway in Manhattan will get full rights to vote on motions, to ask questions, to make motions, to second motions, to move motions, to speak in a debate, to raise points of order, to raise parliamentary inquiries, to ask for points of information, to propose amendments, and more. On the other hand, those who are remote will get the right to listen to President Mulgrew filibuster, to speak in a debate, and then vote secretly.

If you are a Delegate who is a parent who can't get to lower Manhattan by 4:15 P.M., or a Delegate who is incapacitated and or may have an emergency at school or home, Mulgrew, and the Unity Caucus are denying these Delegates some basic rights. 

It is 2021; the technology exists to put a system in place so that those attending remotely for whatever reason have the same basic rights as those attending a meeting in person.

How do famous deliberative bodies handle voting and participating remotely in a pandemic or proxy voting for new parents? The US House of Representatives permitted proxy voting during the pandemic. Probably the most copied legislative body in the world, the UK House of Commons, has given members the right to vote by proxy during the pandemic and they also allow new parents to vote by proxy. 

1. Proxy voting shall be available to

a. new mothers, new fathers and adoptive parents,

b. Members who do not wish to vote in person for medical or public health reasons related to the pandemic.

2. A Member shall demonstrate eligibility for part (a) of the scheme (parental leave) by self-certifying that they meet the eligibility requirements.

They vote by proxy as their constituents who voted for them have a right to know how they voted. UFT remote votes are anonymous as they will be in person too according to what I was told. I don't know of any deliberative body that votes on everything by secret ballot. Where is the accountability for elected Delegates and Chapter Leaders? Back to the UK, when they are attending remotely, Members of Parliament have these rights:

When the House of Commons was recalled on 30 December 2020, MPs agreed to extend remote participation in proceedings in the Chamber to all MPs.

This means that all MPs can participate remotely in:

• Departmental questions
• Urgent questions, and ministerial statements
• Debates, including moving a motion
• Presentation of petitions

See they can make motions. The remote MPs of course can take part in the famous Prime Minister's Questions. Watch the video below to see how the leader of the opposition Labor Party Kier Starmer gets to ask six questions to Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the leader of the second-largest opposition party, the Scottish National Party, Ian Blackford gets to ask two. Also, note how Blackford is remote. You can also see how fair Speaker Lindsey Hoyle is throughout. Watch how he rotates from one person from the Conservative Party side and then the next person to speak is from the opposition side and it goes back and forth throughout. Could you imagine Michael Mulgrew standing up to this level of scrutiny or being that fair in chairing a debate?

Oh sorry, ladies and gentlemen. I am dreaming again. I am expecting the leaders of the Unity Caucus who run the UFT to be fair to new mothers and other Delegates who can't attend meetings in person and to treat people that disagree with them with respect. Our UFT President can't even figure out how to run a debate where one speaker speaks in favor of a motion and is followed by a speaker against and then one for and then one opposed, etc. I plead temporary insanity to expect basic fairness from Unity Caucus leaders. Perhaps DOENUTS has it right comparing the UFT to the Republicans.

Women make up the vast majority of the UFT membership and parents with child care responsibilities are probably a big share of Delegates but if they have to be remote for the Delegate Assembly, they get second-class status.

You can read about the debate at the Executive Board here. The vote was 94-6 in favor of second-class status for those who attend the DA remotely. That means five Unity Caucus members joined independent Mike Schirtzer in opposing the hybrid remote DA rules. That's five more than usually vote with someone opposed to one of Unity's proposals. Maybe it's a start. 

In other Executive Board news, here's something a regular commenter (at least one) can't wait to see:

On July 1st we hope to file arbitration on last year's spring break. 

Nothing much new on retiree healthcare and for some reason the UFT is negotiating on evaluations. I am not a lawyer but I thought the Legislature and Governor were pretty clear that the law was waived for 2020-2021.

The entire resolution on remote DAs:

REORGANIZATION GRIEVANCE PROCESS FOR FALL

 The latest from Michael Mulgrew:

Dear _________, You should be receiving your teaching programs and assignments for next school year. If you have an issue during this reorganization period, you should use the online process we established last year. The remote reorganization process can be used to raise an issue related to Article 7 of the DOE/UFT contract (programs, assignments and teaching conditions in schools and programs). Examples of issues that teachers can report on the Remote Reorganization Form are: Denial of first preference two years in a row Assignment of an ICT class without expressing preference Cluster selection Assignment of four periods in a row Comp time selection The form will be available until June 30, 2021. It has similar timelines and steps/levels of appeal as the regular reorganization grievance process. The major differences are: You complete the online form yourself. The chapter leader does not fill out the form on the teacher's behalf, but the teacher can request help from the chapter leader in filling out the form. You are not required to submit the form within two days of knowledge of the issue. You can file at any time as long as the issue still exists. Any reorganization issues raised in this process are eligible for expedited arbitration. School Level You should first attempt to resolve the issue informally with your principal. If unsuccessful, you should Fill out this online Remote Reorganization Form. Submit a copy of the form to the principal and request a meeting with the principal and the chapter leader or other union representative to resolve the issue within two school days. The principal must conduct a video or phone conference with you and the union representative. If the issue is not resolved within two school days of the principal receiving the form, your UFT district representative can escalate the issue to the district level. District Level When the UFT district representative escalates an unresolved issue to the district level, the reorganization issue will be emailed to the superintendent, the principal, the chapter leader and other central DOE and union staff. The superintendent and the district representative will have four school days to resolve the reorganization issue from the date it was escalated to the district level. A meeting will be scheduled via video conference or phone call with the superintendent, or his/her designee, the principal, you and the district representative. After four days, the unresolved issue can be escalated to the reorganization subcommittee of the Central Operational Committee. Central Level The reorganization subcommittee of the Central Operational Committee will meet remotely on a weekly basis to resolve any issues not settled at the district level. If a reorganization issue is not resolved through this process, the UFT may file a demand for arbitration. If you have any questions, reach out to your district rep.

Sincerely, Michael Mulgrew UFT President

SUE EDELMAN EXPOSES SOME NYC PRINCIPALS SHILLING FOR ED TECH PRODUCTS DURING SCHOOL DAY

The latest in the NY Post from Sue Edelman shows that there are consequences to giving principals unchecked power. Some are using part of the school day to promote ed-tech products.

At least 12 NYC principals have lent their names and schools to be used in promotional materials for a software vendor, which raked in more than $1.1 million from the Department of Education this year.

The school chiefs may have violated ethics rules by helping plug Operoo, a for-profit company that sells a system to remotely manage paperwork and communicate with parents, numerous materials show.

In one instance, an April 14 webinar titled “Live Principal Panel: COVID-19, One Year On,” and viewed by The Post, took place at 2 p.m. on a school day. Widely advertised online, It featured six principals, including Mark Erlenwein of elite Staten Island Tech, and was hosted by Phil Weinberg, a former DOE deputy chancellor.

Weinberg, who hung up on The Post when called about the event, asked the principals “how they’ve harnessed technology to both survive and lead the transformation.” Each of the principals praised Operoo, one calling it “a godsend.”

“It’s outrageous that these principals are promoting a for-profit product like Operoo, and during the school day no less,” said Leonie Haimson, a DOE watchdog and executive director of Class Size Matters.

“During a very challenging and difficult year, they should be focused on ensuring kids are getting all the support and services they need, rather than acting as sales reps for the ed-tech industry.”

Other principals involved in the promotions included Karen Ditolla, Mark Twain IS for the Gifted and Talented; Deirdre DeAngelis, New Dorp HS; Trish Peterson, PS 8; Tiffany Hicks, Magnet School of the Arts; Moses Ojeda, Thomas Edison HS; and Nora deRosa, IS 7.  None returned messages.

The Special Commissioner of Investigations has been informed according to the article. I predict nothing or next to nothing will happen to these principals. It will just be another DOE embarrassment. Had it been teachers using school time, even if it was non-teaching time, to promote products, there probably would be theft of services charges thrown at them and they would be facing termination hearings very shortly.

The DOE apparently is okay with the principals using school time to pitch ed-tech as long as they inform the Conflicts of Interests Board about what they are doing.

The principals did not ask permission, according to the DOE. Ethics officer Samantha Biletsky “reached out to remind them of the COIB rules,” said spokeswoman Katie O’Hanlon.

The principals were not compensated by Operoo, O’Hanlon said. While getting paid their DOE salaries, they are free to attend “education-relevant conferences” during work hours and “share their wisdom.” 

A TEACHER SURVIVOR DEFENDS SCOTT STRINGER

Guest blogger Mindy Rosier-Rayburn is a NYC teacher of special education who is a member of the UFT Executive Board and  President at Chelsea Reform Democratic Club. This was originally posted on Facebook. She gave us permission to post here.

A friend of mine messaged me over the weekend, asking me if I believed the second allegation against Scott Stringer.  I didn't respond that night, but did after some thought. Here was my response ...

Thinking more abstractly...because this is really bothering me….

In general, are we the same people we were 30 years ago? One would hope, as we age, we become wiser. We learn from our mistakes and try to live with less regrets. I am more impressed with how a person evolves than who they were long ago. Ten years ago, I wasn't political at all. I wasn't most of my life. I was in an abusive marriage and was so depressed. I was going through the motions and put all of my focus into teaching, my school, my students and my colleagues. 

My school is co located with the FIRST Success Academy.  I became political because of Eva Moskowitz, as she kept coming after the space in my special needs school. I was trying to save my public school in Harlem. At the time, I met with a few from AQE who gave me a crash course in organizing. They taught me to follow the money, how to organize, who to call, who to meet, etc...People behind Moskowitz $$$.. Dan Loeb. People behind Cuomo's reelection $$$...Dan Loeb. This started everything for me.

In '92 I graduated HS. Same age as her. At 18, I did no harm...but I'm sure I made plenty of mistakes...I know I have in choices of past partners. That unfortunately stems from my own history of sexual abuse. I'm diagnosed with PTSD. I don't take any accusation lightly. I am also an overthinker and I look at every angle.

How do we know she wasn't giving mixed signals to a much younger, less evolved Scott Stringer? I'm more impressed by how he's climbed his way through local politics, what he's done, what he's said he's going to do, etc… How has he been treating women in recent years... I remember a man who almost 6 years ago, pulled me to the side on Broadway, right after 'take-off' on our EdWalk to Albany, letting me know, that if we needed anything, to contact him. I remember a man who called me on the morning of my wedding to congratulate me. I also remember,  the first time I met him, he informed me that he enjoyed my Success Academy tweets back during my school fight in the 2012/13 time span. He respected what I stood for, what I was fighting for. These have been some of my experiences.  

It just upsets me, that women who may want attention in the current climate, will twist something from way in the past and try to tank a man's opportunity to become Mayor. As an actual survivor, it's insulting and it takes the legitimacy away from true survivors.  

If he was still behaving like this...like the current allegations against Cuomo, ok, then there might be a story...

But again, this is from a long time ago. We have to put ourselves into the times of back then and into their minds. What was acceptable then, isn't now...but is that our fault back then? That's why you look at how one evolves. 

Is everyone reading this the same exact person they were 30 years ago? 20 years ago? 10 years ago? One's evolution into who they are today should really matter.

My 2 cents...

*His response...

"The thing is this second woman is using the same lawyer as the first. This anti union lawyer Patricia Pastor who represents non union construction companies.  It seems like she might have been trying to find any women who worked for Scott in the past, going back as far as women who waitressed in his bar thirty years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if she was contacting girls he dated in high school!  I guess if you are a guy and you ever in the past, even when you were young, misread signals from a girl and made a pass at her, that you should forget a career in politics.  It's sad."

This is my opinion. I am not here to argue with anyone and please don't argue with any commenters. Please don't rank Yang, Adams, nor Garcia. Thank you 👊🏽

UNITED TEACHERS OF LOS ANGELES PRESIDENT SAYS LA SCHOOLS MUCH SAFER FROM COVID-19 COMPARED TO CHICAGO AND NYC

The video linked here and embedded below is from UTLA President Cicily Myart-Cruz. On May 28 she compared Covid-19 numbers from schools in the three largest cities in the United States. Nobody here will be shocked that the NYC schools finished last by a large number since buildings were open most of the year. Whenever UFT President Michael Mulgrew and Mayor Bill de Blasio say how safe the NYC schools have been when it comes to COVID-19, play them this recording from Myart-Cruz.

She says: 

Our COVID 19 negotiations are responsible for the lowest number of infections among the nation's largest school districts. According to the online dashboard, for New York City schools, NYC has had nearly 26,000 Coronavirus cases since reopening in September. According to Chicago's dashboard, schools there have had about 1,700 cases since they opened in March. LAUSD has had fewer than 300 cases since reopening in April.

Myart-Cruz asserts that not reopening too fast in spite of political pressure saved lives. She subsequently talks about how she has surveyed her members to find out how they want the federal and state COVID recovery funds to be spent. In the video, she announced that the members responded that they want lower class sizes and salary increases as their top two priorities. When is the UFT planning on surveying its members on how to spend stimulus funds?

Give me a militant union like UTLA that involves its members over one like the UFT that believes backroom deals can resolve all of the issues the union's rank and file face.

Please watch the video for yourself. 

TAKE THE CITY'S MEET THE MAYOR QUIZ

The City has a Meet the Mayor Quiz. I urge everyone to go there and take it. It has 61 questions and while I don't think it is perfect, you will get a rough idea of where the candidates stand on issues compared to you. 

My first choice according to the City quiz is Maya Wiley. That's a bit strange since one of her major issues is defunding the police which partly involves moving school safety back to the DOE which the officers mostly don't want. I think defunding the police would not be helpful to NYC for obvious reasons. People having opportunity in life does bring crime down but not having enough police officers is not the way to make neighborhoods safe. Guess I'm a moderate on this issue. Wiley may not be my first choice on public safety, however Wiley is very good on many education issues. She wants to lower class sizes and empower School Leadership Teams. This is from her website:

Give parents and students a greater role in school governance by granting more power to School Leadership Teams (SLT).

This is needed. She also favors checks on mayoral authority over schools which would be another step forward.

Create a Commission on School Governance with parent, student, community & advocacy representatives to establish stronger checks and balances and more methods for institutionalized parent, student and community input and decision-making.

How about an elected NYC school board as about 93% of the school systems in the country have? I could never understand why this was out of the question in NYC.

The main problem with Wiley is her resume which makes it kind of hard to put much faith in what she says. It is difficult to trust her to keep her word as she was a standard MSNBC DNC cheerleader and worked for Mayor de Blasio as a lawyer.

From GothamGazette from a few years back:

Two weeks ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio and his government legal counsel, Maya Wiley, declared that a new classification had been granted to five outside advisers of the mayor, shielding communication between de Blasio and those advisers - three of whom represent clients with city business - from certain public disclosure requirements. In doing so, de Blasio provoked heightened scrutiny, even some ridicule, of his relationships with these “agents of the city,” as Wiley called them, including the question of whether they should be subject to the same conflict of interest and financial disclosures required of top city officials.

You can read more on Wiley's lawyer for de Blasio time here. Some of it is cringeworthy. This is strange but her limousine liberal background where she and her partner pay for private security in their neighborhood means she is really not that serious about cutting the NYPD and this is merely campaign rhetoric.

Scott Stringer finished second on the quiz for me even though he is the UFT's one and only choice. I have already commented on Stringer here and concluded my posting with mixed feelings but I certainly can rank him one or two in what is not a very strong field. I like his education positions and his views in other areas such as public safety are actually rational. For example, listening to actual police officers:

Establish mechanisms to receive feedback from both the community and frontline officers and incorporate these surveys into the management and oversight of precincts. 

If we actually heard what the actual officers are thinking, we may be able to push through sensible reforms.

On the other hand, Stringer having Bloomberg flunky-charter school supporter Micah Lasher as his campaign manager puts up a huge red flag. In addition, when the Board of Education returned to a majority of Borough Presidents for a while in 2009, Stringer as Manhattan BP led the push to make sure Joel Klein stayed on as Chancellor when Stringer had the power to take a stand against Bloomberg style ed deform. Stringer did appoint for most of his tenure Patrick Sullivan to the Panel for Educational Policy who was a great friend of public schools and my school in particular. 

My view on the recent sexual misconduct allegations against Stringer from alleged incidents from many years back is that the women should be listened to and taken very seriously but Stringer and everyone else deserves due process.

It is interesting to note that one group within the UFT that says they stand with survivors is not even considering what Stringer says on the issues in their mayoral campaign literature. Personally, I believe that isn't fair as people deserve every chance to defend themselves. Accusations should not be sufficient to destroy someone's career. This group suspended its own members without any due process back in 2018. They haven't come far in three years apparently on fairness but we can still hope for a brighter tomorrow within the UFT opposition.

I think I will vote Stringer 1 and Miley 2 or the other way around. I'm undecided on the order but it really doesn't matter as the chances of the race coming down to the two of them is almost zero. Wiley has surged to second in a recent poll. I have no idea why the UFT isn't pushing for a second endorsement now with Stringer so low in the polls. The left seems to be consolidating around Wiley. The AOC endorsement certainly gave her a big push. Art Chang came in third for me on the City Quiz but he doesn't have a prayer and his plan for an IEP for every student is totally unnecessary.

Please take the City Quiz for yourself. I would like to hear about who the folks who read here support but I gather many of our vocal commenters won't have rankings like mine. There should be some Fernando Mateo/Curtis Sliwa fans among our commenters.

Note that Kathryn Garcia, Andrew Yang, and Eric Adams were not in my top five, and I won't rank any of those three in my rank choices as all three of them would not look favorable to UFTers. Curtis Sliwa even finished ahead of one of those three on my list from the Quiz. 

STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES AND CUOMO SIGNS BILL TO WAIVE TEACHER EVALUATION FOR 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

The State Legislature has passed a bill to waive teacher evaluation for this school year (a little late don't you think?). We have updated information this morning that Governor Cuomo has signed it. 

This came from NY BAT's June 7 on Twitter. 

NY BATs

@NYBATs

Jun 7

PANDEMIC EVALUATIONS? Bill passed by NYS Assembly + Senate to waive controversial APPR teacher evaluation system for this school year has just been delivered to  @NYGovCuomo to sign or veto within 10 days https://nysenate.gov//legislation/bills/2021/S5576

NY BATs

@NYBATs

Jun 7

Had this bill been signed into law in April it could have saved principals across the state the time/difficulty of conducting remote observations for which there are no standards or guidance.

The bill's language that I think you mostly want to see:

§ 3. Section 3012-d of the education law is amended by  adding  a  new subdivision 17 to read as follows:

 17.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS SECTION, FOR THE TWO THOUSAND TWENTY--TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE SCHOOL YEAR, NO SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES SHALL  COMPLETE  AN  ANNUAL TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EVALUATION REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION FOR ANY CLASSROOM TEACHER OR BUILDING PRINCIPAL AND STATE FUNDING SHALL NOT BE WITHHELD FROM ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR NOT COMPLYING WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION.

PLENTY OF EXEC BD NEWS TONIGHT: RETRO COMING 7/22, ERI EXCUSES, MAYOR'S RACE, SPRING BREAK ARBITRATION, BRYANT HS, TIME SCHEDULE

 Tonight's Executive Board report from Arthur Goldstein is a must-read. There is plenty of news that Arthur reported on. We'll try to highlight what we think is important and give some commentary.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew--ERI--Problem was city wanted to increase rather than decrease head count--lots of federal money. Wasn't about titles anymore. They just didn't want to cooperate, and do not want people to retire. They can't fill the need in many titles. It was us, DC37 and DSA. Once federal money came in, city changed position. 

The UFT knew the federal money was on the way in January when Ossoff and Warnock gave the Democrats control of the Senate. The stimulus was passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in early March. Why push for the ERI in Albany in April and waste political capital if theUFT knew de Blasio was no longer behind it? 

We are expecting teacher evaluation to be waived again. Not passed yet. Thanks to everyone for staying on top of issues. 

So after everyone has useless observations, waive the evaluation. Why didn't the UFT-NYSUT spend some political capital to get this done much earlier?

Next year--not sure about masks for next year.

Politics--very stormy out there--Thanks to people who are doing phone banks. We have challenges on mayoral side. No one knows what to do with ranked choice voting. We have some bad people trying to stop us. 

I'll have more on the mayor's race when I have time. We should be ranking more than one.

Retro--Agreement said we would get it on second paycheck in July. City has agreed to do it on separate check July 22nd. People have been asking for that. Worked for both them and us. If you want to change TDA you have to move quickly. 

Debra Penny--Email will come tomorrow. You can change back from July 1 to 15th. Will be email tomorrow. 

Retirees and per session will probably be late as usual but at least that is the end to this 12 year fleecing of UFTers.

What will happen now is if ATR has a positive rating, they will be placed permanently. Has cost a lot of money. Principals were reluctant to hire senior teachers.

Mike Sill--Has been a long fight. They tried to make people miserable via weekly rotation and senior teachers had it rough. Now they will be placed permanently and their positions will be funded. Amazing how principals' issues disappear when money comes with them. Our enemies won't be able to use existence of this pool against us anymore.

Mulgrew--This is common sense. Talking with DOE, trying to open up everything officially. Governor said today that all COVID safety procedures are gone when everything hits 70%. We have an agreement that when this ends, grievances and arbitrations are open. First will be spring break. 

No apology from the UFT for agreeing to the ATR pool in the first place in 2005.

Thanks to Mike Schirtzer for bringing up Bryant and the time schedule:

Bad principals--Keep filing things, stay on top of them and shine a late. Less than normal craziness this year, but always bad apples. 

Bryant--lots of turnover, terrible ratings, what can we do?

We will keep pushing issue, and at end we usually get result. Shame it can't be automatic. Principals say we make things up. Bryant on radar.

Single session--Will we go back?

This was about getting parent teacher conference remote, and we also got pre-approved SBOs. You don't have to fight at school level. Elementary can have 30 minutes in morning for planning. We can sunset it on yearly basis. We are filing impact bargaining claim against principals who insist on digital classrooms for next year. Sent letter today.

No, Mr. Mulgrew, you do still have to fight it at the school level because the default schedule is marathon Mondays and Tuesdays so if a principal doesn't want the SBO, it's dead unless I am misreading the Contract. If so, we will gladly update.

Another issue was June 26th being a full day. The UFT is working on getting time to pack up rooms.

BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL CHAPTER LEADER'S OPEN LETTER TO DOE CONCERNING PRINCIPAL DWARKA

Guest blogger Georgia Lignou is a veteran teacher of social studies who has just been re-elected as UFT Chapter Leader at Bryant High School in Queens.

Is the managerial and pedagogical approach of Bryant HS endorsed by the DOE?

This is an open letter to the DOE, a challenge, and an invitation to a discussion on management and pedagogy long overdue and necessary before we return to the buildings in September.

The question is about William Cullen Bryant High School. A school located in a beautiful neighborhood, in a well-maintained building, and a population of students who for the most part are a pleasure to work with. This is the place that one would expect teachers to want to stay and build a career. Yet for the last ten years the school has been losing about 20 to 30 teachers a year and at times more. A few teachers have resigned, and some lost their licenses ending their careers when they had barely begun. In addition to that, about 15 Assistant Principals have been pushed out, left, or got demoted. In the meantime, even though there was some academic improvement, the school is still struggling to get off the State’s Need of Improvement TSI list.

You would expect that somebody in the DOE would have noticed the trend and would have investigated what makes this school such a hostile work environment that so many teachers choose to leave.

Not only the DOE did not notice the red flags, but even when it was called to question by the UFT numerous times during these years, they refused to address the issue.

The school is supervised by Principal Namita Dwarka. She was a student and a teacher at Bryant before she left to take supervising positions in three high schools, Townsend Harris, John Bowne and Art and Design. Speaking to people from all three schools, they said that she had to leave because she was not a good fit. When she first came to Bryant, we welcomed her as somebody returning home. Soon we realized that she was not a good fit for Bryant either, but soon it was Bryant that changed to fit her. Yes, it was the principal’s vision that it turned into a nightmare for so many. It is a vision that created a well-oiled, top-down totalitarian machine that has managed to cover a lot of abuse for the last ten years.

The word that most teachers in Bryant would use to describe the work environment is fearful. Fear characterizes the culture of the school followed by intimidation, retaliation, and lack of trust, and there is evidence on how and why these feelings were cultivated. Letters in the file for nonsensical and unfounded reasons. Teachers called into the principal’s office just to be told that Bryant is not a fit place for them. People questioned for things they said in Union Meetings. The Consultation Committee being disrespected and never taken seriously. Misunderstood expectations of loyalty. Pressure on teachers to promote students. Fear that changes suggestions to mandates in violation of our Collective Bargaining Agreement. And more, every person and a story. In a recent poll taken in the school that a majority of the staff participated in, 99% said that it is indeed an abusive work environment and from the people who participated only one said that it is not. In the DOE’s School Environment Survey, the principal approval rating is among the lowest in the City and has been for the last ten years.

Teacher evaluations are punitive and used as a form of control. And that is the second red flag that the DOE refuses to acknowledge. Highly Effective in Bryant is a very rare sighting. Teachers receive disproportionately higher percentages of Developing and Ineffective in many of the Danielson components compared to other schools. About one-third of the teachers receive an overall Developing rating for the year on the school measure MOTP. Ratings improve because of the MOSL of student test scores, a proof that the school has hardworking and effective teachers. The reasons on the rating reports deeming the lessons Developing reflect a very narrow definition of the Danielson Rubric and attention to tedious details and technicalities of lessons that take hours to plan and have very little if any real effect on education. The art of teaching is approached as a craft, but even at that the expectations are very narrow, and lessons are found ineffective just because they are different.

One could argue that the effective MOSL results are proof that the principal’s instructional and lesson format expectations are indeed effective. However, this would be a conclusion based on incomplete evidence. The school provides countless hours of tutoring after school, during breaks, and on the weekends including Sundays. Many teachers are still taking a career risk and prioritize their instruction differently. A simple search on the State’s and the City’s data sites will reveal that the school’s Regents results overall, are still lower than other High Schools in Queens and they have been for many years. Finally, teachers have indicated time and time again that they feel confident more discretion in how they teach will produce better results. That will explain why so many talented teachers who were lost to Bryant went on to have thriving careers in other schools, some of them paradoxically in administration.

Rating reports are used as a management tool but at a closer look, they also tell a story about pedagogy. It is a story of little professional discretion. It is a story of lessons with little teacher involvement, dominated by group work, traffic lights, regroupings, protocols, sentence starters, rubrics, self-assessments, discovery learning, and student-to-student discussion. All these are unquestionably good strategies when used properly. However, when they must be observed during the random fifteen minutes of an unannounced visit, they become the lesson, in every class, in every subject, every day. It is a story about scared teachers who, in their effort to hit the Danielson Rubric look-fors, teach dull and unnatural lessons, void of spontaneity, inspiration and creativity, leaving behind confused students with very little understanding of content knowledge. It is a story of clumsy experiments of unproven instructional strategies on the back of students.

This year was no exception. While teachers are trying to conclude a very dramatic and traumatic year and best help the students complete their courses, they were assaulted by Developing and Ineffective ratings. So, in June of the year of the Pandemic teachers are being formally observed in classes with four and five students wearing masks and seating six feet apart and are downrated for lack of student-to-student discussion. Furthermore, as many of our colleagues are already in the Open Market applying for jobs elsewhere, we wonder what pedagogical or administrative sense these observation reports serve.

So, this is a story about management and pedagogy and looking at the turnover numbers and the teacher rating statistics, two numbers that are not only interrelated but are also indicative of the work environment, we cannot help but wonder, is this a case of lack of supervision or is this style of management endorsed by the DOE?

We call on the DOE to sit with us to review and discuss our data because if this is not resolved, coming September Bryant HS will not be the friendly and healthy environment students deserve and need.

Georgia Lignou

UFT Chapter Leader, Bryant HS                                                             

MOST ATRs WILL HAVE FULL RIGHTS WHEN PLACED IN THE FALL

We have details on Absent Teacher Reserve placement and the news is optimistic. Some feared that next school year that ATRs would be in the same school but still just covering classes. This information from the DOE's Hiring Update for the 2021-2022 school year (see below) does not support that negative outlook.

Most ATRs are going to be permanently staffed at the school they were placed in this year. There will be no cost to the school for what the DOE is calling Transfer Subsidy Placements. Here is a very important part for ATRs to study closely:

The excessed employee will assume their rightful seniority (if any) at the with all accompanying rights and responsibilities including a program/schedule appropriate for the license area/title of the employee.

It looks like that means these soon to be former ATRs should get a program preference sheet and C6 preference sheet just like everyone else even though the DOE omitted the word school from that sentence.

I blame the UFT for accepting the ATR pool in 2005 but the Union does get credit for never agreeing to a time limit for ATRs to find a permanent position or be fired. I look forward to hearing reaction to ATR placement from the Ed deformers from the Joel Klein era who created the ATR pool and expanded it by closing so many schools.

The bulk of the credit here goes to Chancellor Meisha Porter for recognizing the value of the ATRs and finally placing them in permanent positions. Mulgrew never made regular placement a UFT priority while agreeing to indignities such as weekly ATR rotations, weaker due process for ATRs and more. I would have liked to have seen the ATRs have a real say in their placement,  however this DOE placement program is still a big step forward.

 

WHY DIDN'T THE UFT USE THE TIME SCHEDULE AS LEVERAGE TO GET THE EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE?

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. 

UFT-DOE COME TO AGREEMENT TO BRING BACK MARATHON MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS BUT SBO OPT OUTS ARE AVAILABLE

Below is the latest from the UFT on the school day for 2021-22. There is finally an agreement with the DOE to continue marathon Monday and Tuesday as the default time schedule for single session schools.

Apparently, going back to Article 6A, as we reported on last week, where schools would use a default schedule with two dismissal times for different groups of students each day, was not practical. The DOE decided to negotiate to provide some real, viable options. 

The main problem now is if a Principal and UFT Chapter don't agree on the schedule, it is then up to the principal to make the decision to use the default one.

Dear UFT Member, With the resumption of fully in-person learning next school year, the city Department of Education and the UFT have agreed to go back to the normal collective bargaining agreement and re-establish the “pilot” workday agreement that was in effect from 2014 until the pandemic hit. The only changes are:   Parent teacher conferences will now be held remotely. There are two additional school-based options (SBOs) that your school can consider for the school day if you work in a single-session school.   In September, single-session schools will again have a default school day of six hours and 20 minutes Monday through Friday, with 80 minutes for professional development on Monday afternoon and 75 minutes on Tuesday comprised of 40 minutes for parent engagement and 35 minutes for Other Professional Work (see Default Workday Configuration for Teachers for details). Four three-hour parent teacher conferences will be held over the course of the school year; the DOE will communicate the dates of the September and May conferences. Multi-session schools will return to a standard school day and workday of six hours and 50 minutes. Teachers in both single-session and multi-session schools will now be able to conduct all evening parent-teacher conferences remotely, and they will be able to conduct the afternoon conferences remotely if their commute allows. School chapters and principals may use the SBO process in the DOE-UFT contract to modify certain contractual provisions governing the workday at their school. With this agreement in place, the SBO process can begin to move forward. SBO votes will take place electronically.   Pre-approved SBO options Pre-approved SBOs have already been okayed by the DOE and the UFT, but they must be approved in an SBO vote by 55% of the members of the chapter who actually vote. Two new pre-approved SBOs for single-session schools: ·     Six-hour and 50-minute school day: The school day will be 6 hours 50 minutes for teachers, paras and students from Monday through Friday. Under this option, there is no 155 minutes of extended time for professional development, parent engagement or Other Professional Work. There are two 40-minute conferences (faculty and grade/department) each month between October and May, which will now be scheduled during the school day or held remotely at an agreed-upon time. If held during the workday, these conferences would replace either a lunch or a prep. If held during a prep, teachers will be expected to complete the work of a prep remotely. There will be two afternoon and evening parent teacher conferences instead of four. ·     Six-hour and 50-minute workday including 30 minutes without students: The school day will be 6 hours and 20 minutes for students. Teachers and paras will spend another 30 minutes each morning on common planning, professional learning and/or office hours. Schools must determine how each 30-minute session will be used at the time of the SBO. There will be two afternoon and evening parent teacher conferences instead of four.   The following pre-approved SBOs remain in effect:   ·     100/55 option: Similar to the default workday, except there is 100 minutes of professional development on Monday and 55 minutes of parent engagement on Tuesday. ·     80/40/35 option: Similar to the default workday, but the 75 minutes for parent engagement and Other Professional Work on Tuesday are broken up across two days. ·     80/75 before-school option: The extended time allotted for professional development, parent engagement and Other Professional Work is moved to the mornings, before students arrive. ·     Combined conferences for multi-session schools: The faculty and department conferences are held on one day each month between October and May. All of the options available to schools are spelled out in the June 1 Memorandum of Agreement for the 2021-22 school year. Read the full agreement » Thank you for everything you do.

 

Sincerely, Michael Mulgrew UFT President

A CHAPTER LEADER SUCCINCTLY DESCRIBES FRUSTRATION OF HAVING NO GRIEVANCE PROCESS

It is approaching a year and a quarter since the UFT agreed to suspend the grievance process. While the grievance process is mostly still shut, the DOE runs fully operational offices to discipline UFTers. 

One chapter leader sent me this picture this morning and then expressed the dissatisfaction of what it is like for a union rep to fight without a grievance process.

Add this to the list of why the union sucks.

 Effin useless 

My advice:

Vote against Unity Chapter leaders and Delegates now if you have not yet voted in chapter elections.

Vote out Mulgrew-Unity in the 2022 general UFT election.

NO EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE

From the UFT:

The city will not offer an early retirement incentive this year.

We are disappointed to inform you that despite all our efforts, City Hall has refused to offer an early retirement incentive for any DOE employees this year. Under the legislation passed in Albany in April, the city had until May 31 to finalize details of an early retirement incentive program with the UFT and it failed to do so.

With the influx of federal COVID relief funds for education, the city is now focused on hiring more educators, not reducing its workforce. We know this is disappointing and yet another way we feel let down by City Hall this year. They were just not able to offer us an early retirement incentive after the economic picture changed.

We know how hard you work and will always fight hard on your behalf.