Times article out on how union contract negotiations may go under de Blasio.
All I know is, not only did teachers not get the 8% raises all the other unions got under the last pattern, we gave up concessions via the APPR teacher evaluation law that include a loss of tenure, yearly ratings tied to test scores, and a lot more work under the Danielson rubric.
I blame my union leadership as much for that as I do Bloomberg, Cuomo, and Obama.
Nonetheless, the point is, when the papers start talking about how the unions have to give concessions on health care, pensions, work rules, etc. in order to get raises, teachers can truthfully say that we already gave concessions when the UFT signed off on RttT, we gave again when the UFT agreed with NYSUT's decision to drop the lawsuit against APPR back in in February 2012, and we gave one last time when the UFT leadership hailed NYSED Commissioner King as an independent arbitrator for the imposition of the ADVANCE teacher evaluation system on NYC teachers.
No concessions this time around - we gave plenty already.
Everyone needs to remember that WE, the rank and file, will get to vote on any potential contract drafted by the DOE/UFT. If it looks like crap, and sounds like crap, then it has to be crap. I suggest to all NYC teachers to vote against a contract that they do not like.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I agree. We'll see how the rest of the rank and file feel after a few more months of APPR. De Blasio's ascension to power may change some of the vibe a bit. We'll see.
DeleteThe only way Unity Caucus knows how to get raises is to sell off pieces of the contract.
ReplyDeleteBut what's left to sell?
Plenty - more days, more time, a sixth class for high school teachers, the ATR's, etc. They'll sell us out this time around, I am sure of it. But the rank and file are not as susceptible to their jive as they were in '05. In my school, an entire department got very, very angry at one of the UFT shills last week when he came for a meeting with them. Nobody in this dept - once a bastion of UFT loyalty - believes their bullshit anymore. Dunno if that means Unity could be knocked off - the elementary schools and middle schools remain problematic and there is that little thing with the retirees voting. But in my school, at least, people are blaming the union along with the mayor, the state, the DOE and the admin.
DeleteElementary school teacher here. I can assure you 100% that our staff is plenty pissed at the UFT.
DeleteSorry, I shouldn't generalize like that. I was just thinking back to the May elections when Unity got their biggest vote totals. But of course a lot has happened since then and perhaps some of those who voted for the current leadership are pissed now. And of course not every elementary and middle school teacher voted for the leadership.
DeleteSurely they will find something to sell off. The UFT dues have already been raised. And they are were almost double the dues in Westchester county before they were raised. Why would full time UFT staff give a hoot. They already have their salary and a $50,000. stipend plus expense account that includes cell phone. As long as their gravy train is still running, doesn't matter what happens to the rank and file. As a matter of fact, for every senior, top salary teacher that leaves, the UFT can get two newbies to pay twice the dues that the senior teacher paid. It's a win win for them.
ReplyDeleteLose Lose for the rank and file.
Good point - selling out vets means double the dues. They're probably doing it on purpose - it's a win/win for the city and the UFT leadership.
DeleteTrue words indeed. However, I totally predict that in a few years, NYC is going to face a massive teacher shortage like back in the 1990's. However, this time it will not be because the economy will get better. (It will) The shortage will be due to the fact that nobody in their right mind will be wanting to work as teacher under the draconian working conditions that the UFT helped to foster. As a matter of fact, just the other day a friend of mine asked me for advice about becoming a teacher and I told her flat out to not even think of it. The teaching profession is being flushed down the toilet and the UFT is many times the one pulling the handle.
ReplyDeleteI tell that to seniors who talk about wanting to study education at college. I tell them that the system has decided teachers are not to be valued and they should adjust accordingly and go study something else. If they go to become teachers, they'll just get dinged by Danielson or APPR and be gone in a few years - and that's assuming they want to stay around. Half my department is looking for something else to do these days.
DeleteUFT sold us out. I am so upset with the lack of support for the teachers. Every time you ask a union rep the reply is " We are working on it". Well I have hear the same reply for the past 4 and 1/2 years. " We are working on it!!!!" I read an article the other day where Bloomberg thanked Randi Weingarten and the UFT for not accepting the 4and 4% raise offered to us because they were waiting for something better. Well, 4 years later we are "Still working on it", I have worked so hard, stayed late, put up with plenty and still no raise and it seems not retro, not anything. "We are working on it"./........
ReplyDelete