Archives For UFT Contract

Disappointment

June 3, 2014 — 25 Comments

For the first time in almost five years, UFT members finally have a contract. But almost one quarter of the membership (23%) voted against the deal. Most of the members with whom we spoke who approved this contract only did so because they felt it was the best our union could do. We disagree, this contract does not provide the same pay raises that other municipal labor unions received in 2009 and some of those unions are already stating they will reject these terms if offered. We believe our union can and should do much better than this.

Continue Reading…

When MORE members reached out to the union leadership about observing the count of the contract ratification ballots, Leroy Barr the UFT assistant secretary and chair of Unity Caucus (the caucus of Michael Mulgrew), offered one observer per caucus of the UFT contract vote.

You should not have to be in a caucus to observe the count. We demanded the vote be open to all UFT members. Members of MORE are not special, we are all UFT. Although the Unity and New Action caucuses both support Michael Mulgrew we see no reason why they should receive special treatment either. MORE refused to send a special representative. Anyone who attends from MORE does so a a UFT member, not a caucus member, Every UFT member must be allowed to observe this critical vote.

In response to our efforts, the UFT leadership has offered to allow as many members who wish to observe the count. See the details below.  We hope that they will advertise this information at UFT.org and in their weekly email to chapter leaders, as we requested. Continue Reading…

Vote No

By Kevin Prosen

Chapter Leader I.S.30

This letter first appeared here in Jacobin

A Letter to New York City’s School Teachers

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votenogeneral1As balloting on the tentative contract proposal begins in schools across the city, please make sure that you distribute the Vote No flyer to your colleagues. Encourage your colleagues to spread the word to as many schools as possible.

Download and print the flyer here.

 

votenogeneral1As balloting on the tentative contract proposal begins in schools across the city, please make sure that you distribute the Vote No flyer to your colleagues. Encourage your colleagues to spread the word to as many schools as possible.

Download and print the flyer here.

 

by Peter Lamphere, member of the UFT Negotiating Committee
Vote No[Click here for a one-page PDF version of this article to distribute to your coworkers]
One of the key questions facing rank and file UFT members at this moment is what happens if we decide to reject the contract proposal from Mayor de Blasio and our leadership.  Few educators are jumping up and down happy about the contract, and many are downright upset, but everyone wants to know – What happens if we vote this down? Is it possible to get something better? What about the leadership’s argument that we would have to “go to the back of the line” and wait for all 150 other city unions to settle?

 

First off, the money is clearly there for something better. Continue Reading…

 

"MEMO to UFT President Michael Mulgrew from Movement of Rank and FIle Educators MERIT PAY ≠ Solidarity"

By James Eterno

Jamaica High School Chapter Leader

Report from UFT’s 5/7/14 Delegate Assemebly

I am going to dispense with my usual lengthy summary of what President Mulgrew said because you’ve already seen most of it in the UFT propaganda literature or you will hear it when union representatives come to your schools.

“Up until two months ago at the DA, Mulgrew was telling us that the city has money but they always say they are broke.  I keep reading in the papers that the city surplus is growing.”

(Mulgrew in February)
“We look at the city’s fiscal numbers all the time; it is clear to us that there is money out there. We need our teachers to be paid at least at the level of the school districts around us, which we are not.”)

I continued: “The city is not in bad shape financially so why are we settling for so little.  If we take out the 4% + 4% for the first two years that just equals the last pattern (and we won’t see until between 2015 and 2020), the pattern we set for the rest of municipal labor is 10% total over 7 years.”  That is the worst pattern in municipal labor history (at least as long as I have been around).”  Continue Reading…

"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? john lydon vote no on the uft contract"

UFT CONTRACT: NOT A DONE DEAL UNTIL THE MEMBERSHIP VOTES

NYC Public School Educators to UFT Leaders: “Go Back to the Bargaining Table!”

 

MORE –  A UFT Caucus — Calls for Educators to Vote No

Launches grassroots campaign for “Contract NYC Educators Deserve”

 WHEN: Wednesday, May 7 2014, approximately 6:15pm (After UFT Delegate Assembly)

WHERE: SW Corner of 6th Ave and 54th St, in front of Hilton (1335 Ave of Americas, NYC)

WHAT: MORE-UFT (Movement of Rank and File Educators) calls for UFT members to vote “no” on the leadership’s contract proposal. The bargain under consideration: Continue Reading…

"Does anyone else sense a ghost in the room 2014 UFT contract vote no on the contract for education"
"Does anyone else sense a ghost in the room 2014 UFT contract vote no on the contract for education"
"MEMO to UFT President Michael Mulgrew from Movement of Rank and FIle Educators MERIT PAY ≠ Solidarity"

and a interest-free loan to the City is not retroactive pay