One of the many rumors that is going around the NYC school system is that there will be an ATR time limit for the next school year. This rumor seems to have originated from the Bureaucrats at the "Children First Networks" (CFN's) as many teachers and school administrators have brought back these rumors. This has caused many of the ATRs to contact the union about the rumors of an ATR time limit and have been reassured that there is no ATR time limit. However, some in the union leadership have been less than forthright about the union's steadfastness in making sure there will not be an ATR time limit in the future. These union officials have claimed that the union may not be able to stop an ATR time limit as time goes on. Really? Let's investigate if this claimby certain union officials is really true?
My investigation starts in 1982 when New York State passed the Triborough Amendment as part of the Taylor Law that requires the employer to keep the existing contract in place until a new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated with the union. That means that even if the DOE demanded an ATR time limit it cannot get one without the union's agreement. Therefore, the only way there could be an ATR time limit is if our union caves and agrees to one. In other words, there cannot be an ATR time limit without the union's approval. The DOE created the ATRs and it is their fault, nobody else's that we have an ATR crises. The union would be doing a disservice to its members by letting the DOE get away with the mess they created in the first place. Under Randi Weingarten, the great appeaser, the union has given up many of our rights for a raise that barely kept up with inflation. Now we have Michael (don't call me Mike) Mulgrew who has privately claimed that he will be much tougher with the DOE and City when it comes to its members. What bothers me is he has essentially the same Weingarten lackeys surrounding him with a history of failed accomplishments. Only time will tell if his actions equal his rhetoric.
That brings us to Emperor, Mayor4Life Michael Bloomberg who thinks that he can just simply change the rules that govern the unions. Unfortunately, for Bloomie the New York State laws that govern the Civil Service and public employees are not for sale, unlike the New York City Mayoral Election, the combined might of the unions make any changes that weaken civil service protections are "dead on arrival". Therefore, the Mayor can rant and rave all he wants but if he indeed goes ahead with teacher layoffs, it will be "last in, first out". Therefore, look for the City to magically come up with the money to save the "newbies" just like he did for the unqualified Chancellor, Cathie Black by giving her 10 million dollars for test tutoring. However, no matter what the Mayor wants, he cannot impose an ATR time limit.
I hope this post puts to rest the fears of the 1,400 ATRs in the system that there will be an ATR time limit since only the union can allow one to be implemented and of cause the union would never do this to their members. Right Michael Mulgrew?
18 comments:
Now you support unity. The problem with the system is the system. It takes too long to fire a teacher and the Mayor has too much control. How about decreasing the Mayor's power and decreasing 3020 process. There is not much left to it in nyc anyway.
You are wrong. The union created the ATR situation. Now they will sell them out.
You, who spent all this time as an inmate in the latex latrine, cannot even think that the union represents any of its members.
At least realize that they will sell us out as they have every step of the way.
If the history tells us anything, it is just not consistent with the pattern of UFT to stand up for ATRs or its members. I would say out of three items (tenure, LIFO and ATR) Bloomberg wanted most, ATR, a weakest link, will be the first to go and has less widespread impact on UFT and its members.
It is hard for me to imagine that UFT decides to dig in demanding salary increase and no givebacks.
Teachers, step up or be left behind!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/opinion/24mon3.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1295954637-cfu5kWX1tk9t2RMlmBee8A
Let's get something perfectly clear here. I am pro union and not pro "Unity". Our union can be an effective advocate for the members when the leadership does their job. However, time and again "Unity" has negotiated with the City and Tweed and have come out looking like the loser. Need I remind you of the terrible 2005 contract, the ATR and rubber room agreements that the DOE reneged on or how about the t6eacher evaluation project that just screwed those teachers. There are many more but you get the message.
Me being pro-"Unity" that is a laugh.
Although "the union" has often stated that "they'll NEVER give up the ATRs", their capitulation history on just about every issue is QUITE ALARMING...I think we'll know if the mean it on the ATRs in the next year...
Chaz,
It's not relevant whether you support unity or not. The fact is that they have a death grip on the union through their fascist political tactics and the truly undemocratic nature of the union. Chicago got a change in leadership. The sad thing is that it happened after the disaster that was created by the ed deformers. Notably, Arne Horseface Duncan.
The same thing has happened in D.C. and that change is not like the people who took over in Chicago. Public education is doomed as are the unions. It seems that a political evaluation of the past decade would be some kind of horrendous cross between the 19th century robber barons and the fascism that took place in the 30's in Europe.
If the unions have the mafia curse, which they in fact do, then they only serve as dues harvesting operations that only benefit the leadership and screw the members. The reason that teachers now represent only 30% of the union membership signifies the fact that they are planning to trade the teachers for their ridiculous salaries. Salaries that are stolen from hard working people who are punished for having these clowns pupport to represent our interests.
The union is no more than the enforcement arm of the doe and we pay dearly for this malfeasance.
The change has to come from the grassroots. Knowing the compliant nature of teachers, I fear that we will cease to have public education in the near future. If the last decade taught us anything, it's that the wholesale theft of public dollars has been increasing.
The future is depressing. We are going to lose our jobs and the next generation will suffer so much more than the victims of the ed deform, who are our charges now.
Cheers,
Angry Nog
If the UFT leadership allowed there to be a time limit on the ATR's, and if after a specified time the atr's could be fired, I believe that such action would be the beginning of the end of Unity's grip on the local. Why, because even the biggest apologist would have to concede that many more teachers would end up in the atr pool as a result of more and more school closings. The problem teachers have is that they are no longer the great majority of UFT members. Randi saw to that when she brought the day care workers into the union. They along with retirees make it impossible even with 100% of teachers voting against unity that they would loose. I suspect and hope that if agreement is made regarding the atr's that it would be their option to take the incentive with no mechanism to fire them. BUT, the leadership that assured us that there would be no Tier IV pension, did exactly that with the last cave in to Bloomberg along with the reduction of the fixed portion of the TDA to 7 from 8.25%.If they cave in on the atr's Unity would loose most of the teacher support in schools then even if they control the union their grip will be severely weakened.
The ATR hiring incentive has expired? Have they renewed it?
ATRs have been set up to drop off the payroll, and have limited impact. DC contract set a model how the ATRS have been handled on one of three options (severance pay, time limit for one year, and retirement buyout). Something will be done about Bloomberg's demands (tenure, lifo, and atrs). ATRS are least painful and localized of the three.
The ATR agreement has expire3d. However, there cannot be an ATR time limit without union approval.
Guess what? The union will approve!
I hope you are wrong about the union caving.
History will repeat itself, which means that if the fat Unity hacks care about their plushy positions, they will see what happened in Chicago and also DC and see that it is not convenient for them to force the membership to drink to its own end.
The key participants are the primary and middle school teachers many of which just saw the $$$$$ in the 2005 contract and allowed the Fox unfettered access to the Union Chickecoop.
But with the very obvious educational character assassination with the release of the scores, perhaps that will sober their wake up call before choosing to press "slaughter" in the edu slaughter house that will be NYC schools without a somewhat autonomous/powerful union.
The union will capitulate on the ATRs. If it really cared so much on the ATR issue, a-it wouldn't have agreed to the creation of the mess, b-it would have opposed the school bust-up process that has been going on full-speed since early in Klein's tenure.
The union is itself falling into the assumption that every ATR is unemployable, when the reality is that many fine (but unfortunately veteran, with high salary) teachers will be dumped into the ATR pool when the endless closure tsunami hits their school next.
What will be left? A very, very timid cohort of UFT members, young and untenured. The UFT will lose a giant amount of dues since the union teachers will be replaced by charter school teacher-victims.
It is amazing how short sighted the UFT press is.
I haven't read Labor Notes, Monthly Review or New Politics lately. I wonder what the progressive labor press is saying, if anything, about this mind-bending disaster.
This is the end of a profession and the end of a union, and only the dissidents of New York seem to be noticing.
PS, only an imbecile would think that Chaz is pro-Unity.
New York City Eye
NY_i, your post is quite sobering. If the Unity leadership pushes the membership down the slaughterhouse, then let it be the end of the Union and their cushy jobs as we know it. They deserve a nary cent the hard working teacher dues.
In retrospect, while Weingarten looks quite amateurish in her assumptions about the 2005 contract, I believe that they did not think the Supreme Leader and his secret police would have been able to buy a 3rd term. They calculated disastrously wrong and there is hell to pay.
I like to be an eternal optimist and that the pendulum is turning back to the favor of the teachers and away from the Deformers. You notice even the cr-ppy new media that was in the pocket of the Supreme leader is beginning to publish bad articles about him, the school policies and BLACK.
NY I. Your very wrong. Unity is in the process of organizing Charter Schools and I understand that they have been doing quite well. Unity membership has been increasing-not decreasing.
Wake up folks; Look around you. ATR's will be given a time limit and then they will be out. Instead of 3020-a, teachers will be dumped into ATR pool. That will save Unity from hiring outside lawyers and it will save the DOE from prosecuting cases and help assure that there will never be a backlog again.
Many younger teachers do not think they need tenure and are against LIFO. So, Unity is a relection of the members. Wake up. Unless the teachers organize outside the UFT to fight this (and few will spend their own money on lawyers), then this is the new normal.
Totally agree with anon 10:38, 3020a is a messy and dirty business even for DOE scumbags due to its trial and evidencing rules. In addition, DOE never has overwhelming control over the arbitrators. ATR is a much easier, efficient, and clean way to kill senior teachers.
ATR was precisely created to be what it meant to be, mass layoffs.
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