UFT Contract Committee Votes Up MOA Without Even Looking at It
James Eterno reports that the contract committee held a vote, and that there was only one official abstention announced. James reports he abstained, and that he doesn't vote for anything until he sees it. Go figure.Though there was no memorandum of agreement, the committee, consisting overwhelmingly of oath-obeying Unity members, voted in favor of recommending it to the Municipal Labor Committee,
Mr. Mulgrew Writes Me a Letter About the Contract
There is an agreement on a new teacher contract between the city and the UFT, one that gets us the 8% that's eluded us all these years, and establishes some crap pattern for the following years. Having gone so very long without a raise, it's hard to imagine UFT voting against it. There are, as always, concerns. There is the slippery slope of saving money on health care, and it appears our uniformed brothers and sisters have concerns about that they may be funding teacher raises with health givebacks.Then there's the problem of ATR teachers, which, if this is to be believed, have something less than a rosy future:
The deal also includes reforms to various rules, including changes to the “Absent Teacher Reserve pool,” where teachers are sent if they can’t find work in city classrooms. The new contract will include rules that allow the city to permanently fire teachers if, for instance, they are twice returning to the pool for poor performance by principals.
The fact is, we are all ATRs, or on the verge of becoming ATRs. Though Bill de Blasio does not appear to be insane, that doesn't mean he will be mayor forever, and who's to say another Bloomberg won't buy his way in? Firing people for no good reason has not worked well in Chicago, and will not likely work well anywhere. If this proves to be true I will not support this contract.
And there's a hat tip to legal expert Campbell Brown.
The rules also expand the definition of sexual misconduct, which will make it easier for the city to fire teachers for actions like inappropriate touching or texting, officials said.
Once again we are solving a non-existent emergency. Every time we concede to reformy types for no reason it lends credence to their causes and degrades our profession.
There are other things, right from Mulgrew's email, that have me shaking my head.
The union won major changes, including a focus on eight instead of 22 Danielson components and a better system for rating teachers in non-tested subjects.
I have heard directly from union sources that they'd insisted on focusing on all of Danielson, and that making them focus on all aspects was a great victory. Apparently making them focus on fewer factors is also a victory. We shall see what happens with non-tested subjects. And I'm NYC Educator: Mr. Mulgrew Writes Me a Letter About the Contract: