Wednesday, May 7, 2014

No Surprises: UFT Delegates Assembly "Overwhelmingly Approves" Contract Proposal


Not a surprise, of course - the DA is rigged with Unity caucus votes.

Whatever Mulgrew wants, the DA gives him.

And so now the only thing that will stop the contract proposal from becoming the contract is if the rank-and-file vote it down - a long shot at best.

Remember, even the odious '05 contract passed 63%-37%.

That said, there are some big differences between now and the '05 contract vote.

Most teachers are on social media these days and that changes how news gets passed on.

In '05, we had the blogs, but Facebook and Twitter were not the force they are now in the education world, not that I remember at any rate.

So it will be interesting to see if the opposition to the contract that is rifling around on social media makes any difference in this year's vote or if the Unity cohort just shoves the contract through like they almost always have in the past.

31 comments:

  1. The UFT should allow ballots to be sent to one of those fair election groups for the counting. Then the constituency will see a clear opinion on this crappy contract.

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  2. Question: What do those that oppose the contract really want to see in a different contract? Not my point of view, but curious to know what are folks looking for in a new contract other than money.

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    1. 1) 25% over 9 years instead of 18% over 9 years.
      since the cumulative compounded interest rate during the last 9 years was 25%. A full 25% increase will just keep pace with inflation over the longer term
      9 year average and would only return to income
      parity relative to the prior inflation rate.
      Pay us our retro NOW in one lump sum with 5% interest..
      2) Give us our 8% now with no delay. We have waited long enough. Delayed payment in itself is a giveback. Pay us full interest on the 5 years of delayed payments.
      3) No givebacks on making us work more time including additional parental conferences and many other additional givebacks hidden in the current contract proposal.
      4) Fully maintain equal ATR due process, and fair placement of ATRs back into classrooms.
      5) Restore fair funding formula for hiring teachers.
      6) Strong financial penalties for DOE contract violations.
      7) A joint resolution to end the NY state Taylor Law unconstitutional as it violates US labor treaties and it is in fact unconstitutional. End to the Taylor Law being applied to the teachers union strikes. It violates US treaties with other countries regarding fair labor practices. As such the Taylor Law is unconstitutional and should be challenged as unconstitutional .
      The United Nations declared the Taylor Law unconstitutional after the Transit Union strike.
      Truth and Justice , not the kangaroo style justice practiced in the US, demands nothing less than the unambiguous declaration of the unconstitutionality of the Taylor Law
      8 No givebacks. Not other Union gave givebacks

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    2. Well said snd good enough. Thsts what we wamt.

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  3. Anonymous 7:02
    1. Transparency for one.
    2. Not throwing the ATRs under the bus,
    3. Here's something: What is really up Mulgrew's sleeve with the health benefits? I do not want to be told where to go for medical care. What is the truth about the 2% of your income if your salary is $60,000. or more?
    4. True retroactive

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    Replies
    1. Did anyone ask about the health givebacks at the DA?

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  4. Are we voting by mail? How did we vote in 2005? I thought it was in the buildings, but I can't remember. If we vote by mail, I wonder how many of us will not even vote.

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  5. Of course the DA voted for the contract. They are just itching to get those cushy UFT jobs so they do not have to stay in the classroom. On another note, at my school today. 75% of the teachers are for the contract and 25% were against it. I asked why the 75% were for it and they all said they want money "now". They are going to be in for a big surprise when these mostly newbie teachers are done spending their 1000 bucks (really 500 bucks after taxes) that they are hardly going to see anything in their paychecks for a LONG TIME.

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    1. The really new people(last 2 years) are on tier 6, they pay 6% of their salary and soon 2% more for healthcare! And can't retire till 63!

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  6. Anybody know what they official DA tally was for the vote?

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    1. There was no count. I would say it was probably 75% for and 25% opposed (maybe 80/20.. who knows) But remember, the vote was not for or against the contract, it was for allowing the membership to vote on it. I voted No, but in reality I am not opposed to that. It should be up to the members, not the DA to decide.

      Mary

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  7. It is a sad city when teachers can so easily give in to such corruption. We all know this contract is bogus and unfair. Yet most will vote yes. Why? What message/or lesson are we sending to the students about teachers? The message is clear- We can be walk on, stump on and yes even crushed because we don't even stand up together and fight for what is right for ourselves. This contract needs to be voted down. Vote no and teach a lesson to Mulgrew and the city!

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    1. "But the men who had gone up with him said, 'We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there were of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.'"
      — Numbers, 13:31-33

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  8. We all need to get as many other UFT members to vote no. We need to educate those who are unaware or ill -informed. This contract can be voted down. We have avenues in this computer tech internet savy world to reach out to UFT members. We need to spread the word. Everyone must talk it up at work. Vote no!

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  9. We must fight the good fight! There is so much to hate, so much ambiguity!

    https://www.facebook.com/Flushtheuftdeal?ref=hl

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  10. I have the contract from tonight's meeting. A lot to absorb but one thing is interesting, the rules regarding measures if student learning. It seems that if you obtain a Highly Effective or Effective, but your MOSL for the Fir the school are poor, your final rating will be adjusted by the DOE. So if your kids bomb out in the local and state measures BUT you have great observations, your final rating will be averaged between. An Ineffective will become an Effective (skipping over Developing) if your ratings are high but your schools are low.

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  11. Will retirees have their pensions recalculated to reflect the raises?

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    Replies
    1. Mulgrew said yes to this.

      Mary

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  12. In regard to anon 9:01 - this is something that I saw in the MOA. My only question is does this apply to all teachers in the system. For example: I teach high school ELA in the Bronx. I have freshman so my students do not take the ELA Regents but they like all students in my school do take the MOSL pre assessment and post assessment. Would teachers such as myself and countless others in this situation fit into this?

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  13. Do you think that Unity ever bothers to tally the vote?

    Please please, is the UFT going to provide honest and complete information about the health benefits and where they are headed with this? For both in service and retirees!!!


    Mulgrew lies!

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  14. still zero from my union rep and contract stance. for the veteran mid year teachers 8-15, this contract is doom. who is a master teacher? the ones that act as minions and throw other members under the bus for 20g. Unions dead, been dead since late 90's

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    1. it will be the newbies who get their $1000 drinking money and the ones who FEAR their job. imagine a 2nd/3rd year newbie making $75-80 grand in "incentives" while mid scale teachers bust their ass to get to 80 for 10 years? wow! this is corruption....

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  15. We deserve better!

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  16. Whoa, did I just read that we have to stay an additional 80 minutes every Monday (every Monday)? And an additional 75 minutes every Tuesday (every single Monday and Tuesday)????? Is this correct??? Ohhhh shhhhitttt!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. It's true. It's about 2 1/2 hours extra per week which is about 10 hours a month. Multiply that by the per session rate and it's about $420.00 a month. That's $210.00 per check which is basically your raise (5 years from now). Ah haha haa haaa haha!!!!!! Ah ha ahh hahaaa!!!!!!! Oh, you thought you were getting a raise?

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    2. No, it' snot an additional 80 and 75 minutes. It's a reconfiguration of the 150 minutes per week that is being used for extended day. No more extended day for students (unless your school does an SBO for that). If there's no SBO then the 80 minutes Monday and 75 minutes Tuesday is the default. Also, no more extra time for monthly faculty conferences but 2 extra Parent Teacher Conferences per year.

      Mary

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  17. Put signs up in your school, every school...Vote No.

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  18. Mulgrew said the vote will be conducted by AAA (which I assume is not the American Automobile Association but the American Arbitration Association or whatever). Ballots will go out soon. I think they said they want to have them returned by May 19th so that the final count can be completed by June 3rd. Something like that.

    Mary

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    1. Correction, it says on the UFT Facebook site members will vote by secret ballot in their schools. So I guess they won't be mailed out so maybe AAA will just count them.

      Mary

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  19. If the voting is in schools how will the ATRs vote?

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  20. you can hear the oooooooooooooooooo weeeeeeeeeeeee ooooooooooooooooo, ooooooooooooooooooooo OH!

    We are trapped like fish in a barrel. This is a true wool over the eyes contract that sweetens the deal for retirees and newbies.

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