Teachers feel pitted against their students and parents after the mayor announced Thursday they could get lower raises or face staff cuts.
"He puts us on the chopping block and then we look bad to parents if we fight," said Tricia Gomes, a teacher at Public School 178 in Queens. "They should tighten Tweed's belts. Why tighten the middle-class' belts?"
The mayor wants to give educators a 2% raise this year on their first $70,000 of salary, instead of the 4% hike he'd scheduled. Otherwise, he said, he'd cut 2,500 teachers.
Union groups were outraged.
"This is a false choice, we're at the beginning of a budget process," said teachers union boss Michael Mulgrew.
Peter McNally of the principals union accused the mayor of "trying to negotiate our contract at a press conference."
Read more:http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/01/29/2010-01-29_teachers_fume_over_push_to_chop_pay_hikes.html#ixzz0e0dAcyT9