Posts tagged United Federation of Teachers
Drama in the Teachers’ Lounge
January 12, 2024 // Ed Calamia, an English teacher at a Bronx school, says he doesn’t support congestion pricing, but he still doesn’t think the leadership should be filing lawsuits on behalf of its members without consulting them first. The move by Mulgrew, he says, is not the first time UFT top brass has acted unilaterally. “Some people think the rank-and-file membership should be involved with decisions, and some people think once they’ve been elected, it’s a dictatorship,”
Teacher’s Union Sues to Stop New York Congestion Pricing Plan
January 7, 2024 // The United Federation of Teachers argues that the near-5,000 page environmental report on New York's congestion pricing plan isn't thorough enough.
Israel war: NYC school union head justifies Hamas attack in ‘private’ email to teachers
October 30, 2023 // The union chapter leader for a New York City school is under fire from teachers and members of Congress for sending an email to colleagues alleging "illegal Israeli colonialist occupation" is what "led to" the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks against the Jewish state. The Oct. 17 email by speech teacher Judi Cheng at M.S. 131 Dr. Sun Yat Sen, a middle school in New York City's Chinatown, is raising alarm bells among educators, many of whom have contacted the principal, Benjamin Geballe, to express concerns over antisemitism. Cheng, the school's representative for the United Federation of Teachers, sent it to union members and claimed she was "speaking only for myself, from a personal point of view, not as chapter Leader," according to communications obtained by the Washington Examiner.
UFT’s new contract reminds teachers of union’s past failures
June 27, 2023 // In 2014, UFT secured a complex contract with New York City that included retroactive back pay for teachers that would be paid out over several years. However, the contract excluded teachers who retired or left the profession before 2015. Over 4,000 teachers never received back pay, which for some could have been as much as an 8% pay bump. The affected teachers were outraged. In response, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten said, at the time, “Would UFT have liked it for all—of course; but not unprecedented practice [to not pay the teachers who retired].” UFT is an affiliate of AFT. Then, in 2020, after several years of payments, New York City informed UFT that it did not have enough money in its budget to finish the retroactive payments due to a pandemic-induced budget shortfall. UFT blamed New York City for delaying the payment for all teachers, and an arbitrator ruled the city must make the payments. UFT President Michael Mulgrew said, “This is far from a perfect solution for thousands of our members who are still owed deferred wages that can go back as far as years.” He explained, “The decision … makes it clear that the city must find a way to meet its financial obligations to its educators.”
Teachers and staff at Living School form union. 6th New Orleans public school to unionize.
April 4, 2023 // Living School joins Rooted School, International High School, Bricolage Academy, Morris Jeff Community School and Ben Franklin High School as organized collective bargaining units. Teachers in New Orleans who do not work at a unionized school can join United Teachers of New Orleans. A small percentage of New Orleans' 71 charter schools are unionized. After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of public school teachers were fired and schools were taken over by the Recovery School District or transformed into charters, ending the contract between the city and the union. Rooted School, International High School, Bricolage Academy, Morris Jeff Community School, Ben Franklin High School
NY Gov. Hochul and teachers union at odds
February 21, 2023 // The “Pay and Resolve” bill, which would require health insurers to pay hospital billing claims immediately without reviewing the medical necessity of the billing claims, was publicly opposed by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). The union claimed that the proposal could lead to a hike in costs for union members. UFT President Michael Mulgrew explained, “The added costs are passed along to us. That is silly and that has got to stop.” Other unions joined UFT’s opposition, such as Teamsters and SEIU Local 32 BJ. Her proposal, which is a part of the state budget proposal, would keep the current state cap of 460 charter schools but free up 85 more slots for new charter schools across the state by eliminating regional caps. The proposal would create more slots for charter schools in New York City, which currently has a cap of 275 charter schools. In a statement, Hochul said, “I believe every student deserves a quality education, and we are proposing to give New York families more options and opportunities to succeed.”
Outgoing New York Teachers Union Boss Leaves Behind an Organization Deep in the Red
February 20, 2023 // NYSUT and its allies pushed hard last year for a mandate that requires New York City’s public schools to phase in class-size limits over the course of five years. At least 20 percent of the city’s schools will need to reduce class sizes, requiring more classes and more classroom teachers. The union has also been fighting to stymie the growth of charters: Earlier this month, Governor Hochul in her most recent budget proposal moved toward increasing the number of charter schools in New York City. “If I was paying dues under the assumption that the union was using those dues to represent me with my employers, it would be a little concerning to me that so much of that is being used for other things,” the senior organizing director of Americans for Fair Treatment, Brigette Herbst, says. “Perhaps they should focus more on those representational activities.”
Union poll ignores reality about charter schools
February 20, 2023 // The controversial NYSUT/UFT poll was conducted by Hart Research Associates, which progressive jobs website Idealist called “one of the leading public opinion research firms in the U.S., specializing in political polling for Democratic candidates and survey research for progressive causes, public affairs, nonprofit organizations, foundations, variety of advocacy groups and media outlets.” The misrepresentation of the NYSUT/UFT poll points to a much deeper issue than just a poorly conducted survey. The vast majority of teachers unions’ revenue comes from traditional public school teachers’ dues payments. If those traditional public schools are forced to compete with charters, causing them to lose teachers (which is happening across the country), unions like NYSUT will take a financial hit. Ultimately, the NYSUT/UFT poll highlights the unions’ grip on the charter school narrative and the importance of maintaining a healthy skepticism of union-backed narratives in the public square.
City Workers Losing Patience With Slow Crawl to Union Contracts
January 31, 2023 // Most city employees are now working under expired labor contracts that lapsed as far back as 2020 — frustrating rank-and-file union members whose anticipated pay raises are tied up in an escalating battle over proposed changes to retired colleagues’ health coverage. Nearly all of the city’s roughly 300,000 unionized staff are working under expired collective bargaining agreements. They include members of the city’s largest public sector unions, District Council 37 (DC37) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). Administrative workers, school crossing guards, teachers, police detectives, sanitation workers and health technicians are among those eager to bargain for raises as well as potential new benefits, such as flexibility to work remotely.