UFT members are voting for the new UFT contract and while I will vote no. I can understand some people voting for it.
Let's look at the good:
- Paraprofessionals get teacher "due process".
- Paraprofessionals get a 5 and 15 year bonus.
- Teachers get less formal observations.
- Principals cannot retaliate (yeah right) against UFT members.
- Raises less than inflation. 2% annually vs.2.8% inflation.
- No increase in the TDA interest rate from 7% to 8.25%.
- Fair Student Funding still in effect.
- Charlotte Danielson still in force.
- Class size limits remain unchanged.
- Health care givebacks.
The ugly:
- No change in the ATR process
- The DOE will continue to waste $130 million dollars yearly.
17 comments:
What about the health care give backs that are on the way? We'll be making less than we are now at the end of this contract .
ALSO BAD: 1) Still no seniority based transfers. 2) Still no ability to grieve letter to file. 3) Still have lunch duty. 4) Class size still the same.
Anon 7:41
Thanks for reminding me.
This contract sounds about as useful as handing a drowning person a big rock instead of a lifesaver ring.
what whiners...
you forgot what stayed the same... the nyshitty teacher whining and complaining and never doing anything about it!
If we don't vote yes on the contract, the city will push us back to the end of the line because they need to negotiate other contracts with the city and we won't get a raise for 5 years.
There is no back of the line. There is no pattern.
These are mere inventions of the City to keep us from getting what we deserve. We can get anything we have the will to fight for.
10:36, That defeatist attitude is why we are totally disrespected by the DOE and the UFT. The logic you use is tantamount to, ‘You might as well jump off a bridge now because you’re going to die eventually anyway’.
anonymous 10:36 Your comment is fake news. It never happened when we voted down our last contract.
5:15 - You're 100% right. Chaz - it's very nice of you to write all these posts, but what is actually being accomplished through any of it? You've been doing it for years - has anything improved as a result of your work? Your articles are entirely accurate and spot on, but nothing will change unless people stand up and fight.
I know the inner workings of the DOE very well, and I can tell you this entire culture of fear is nothing more than illusion. I've been to many central offices,and the higher ups sit there and laugh about how easily teachers are frightened. People only have as much power as you give them. These people are not nearly as tough as you think they are.
How unfair is it to observe a teacher in a classroom of strangers, with no ownership of their grades, and no idea how much rigor to put into a lesson since the ATR has no idea of the students’ academic ability? ATRs should vote NO to this nonsense. We should be evaluated when we have our own classes,. and when we are evaluated under the same system like the rest of the teachers. They should stop giving blank checks to supervisors coming with an agenda. We are the ones paying UFT dues. It is time for the UFT to treat us with respect. It is time to end the apartheid system based on age. The UFT has no right to make secret deals behind our backs, and not negotiating in good faith. The proposed new contract continues with the same apartheid system.
6:48: I agree, but unfortunately there are not enough ATRs to have a voice. I went to the Queens ATR meeting 2 weeks ago at the UFT office and there were only about 50 ATRs that attended despite there being 100s in the borough. Also, we learned that the city would rather pay out the $ for the ATRs and have a surplus of teachers than do forced placement and eliminate the ATR pool. the other logical option would be to do a hiring freeze until the ATRa get positions, but like anything else with the DOE, that would be too easy.
They break our wills by endless, mindless PDs, ever increasing paperwork, pop-in observations that are tantamount to psychological warfare using a 'rubric' designed to criticize, and making constant threats of you losing your job because of this or that small infraction.
This is why we are weak as a union and as individuals in the face of abusive admins. They have the psy-ops techniques mastered. At my school they make it a point to fire or excess one untenured teacher per year to show how 'tough' they are.
They are corrupt, and covering corruption.
Contract pass by over 94% yes
This contract does not protect senior teachers against discrimination and targeting.
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