UFT Terms: Collaborative Nature And Mutual Respect Serve as Bottom Line (Free Article)

It was notable that during the Oct. 11 City Hall press conference announcing a contract deal with the United Federation of Teachers, none of the participants on either side detailed the bottom line: 7.5 percent in raises over a 43-month period that begins next Feb. 14 and runs through Sept. 13, 2022.

The pay hikes—2 percent on the first day of the pact, 2.5 percent effective May 14, 2020 and 3 percent May 14, 2021—have an average annual value of just over 2 percent.

Doesn’t Warm PBA’s Heart

That conforms to the pattern established in June by the de Blasio administration’s contract with District Council 37, giving the city further ammunition in its bid in a recently begun arbitration process with the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association to thwart far-more-ambitious wage demands for 25,000 Police Officers. (That union, not surprisingly, issued a statement midway through the 90-minute press conference in the City Hall Blue Room congratulating the UFT but reiterating that “none of the city’s offers to the PBA have met our members’ needs, including closing their pay gap of upwards of 30% in comparison to other law-enforcement officers who work side-by-side with our members in New York City.”)

UFT President Michael Mulgrew was asked about the relatively modest wage hikes, which still must be ratified by his union’s 129,000 members, 79,000 of whom are Teachers. Not quite 4½ years ago, the union settled a contract that was overdue by that much—the result of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg having refused to give UFT members the same pair of 4-percent raises his administration had previously negotiated with two-thirds of the city’s workforce, effectively shutting down contract bargaining for his entire final term.

The long stall meant that when Mr. de Blasio, four months after taking office, agreed to honor the bargaining pattern, the retroactive money owed to UFT members totaled in the billions of dollars. To limit the short-term toll the back pay would take on the city budget, Labor Commissioner Robert W. Linn got Mr. Mulgrew to agree to two conditions that softened the impact.

One was a significant delay in when the retro money had to be paid, with 75 percent of it to be distributed in three installments beginning this October and concluding in October 2020. The other was raises totaling just 10 percent over the final seven years of a nine-year contract, a municipal record for duration. (The length of that pact was stretched twice subsequently: once to cover a shortfall in retro money due to UFT members who retired, and more recently as part of a deal under which the union gained paid parental leave for its rank and file, bringing it to nine years, 3 ½ months.)

Not a Catch-Up Deal

Given that the raises for most of the pact didn’t keep up with inflation, it seemed possible that some union members were counting on raises this time that made up some of that lost ground, rather than merely tracking the current 2.2-percent rise in the cost of living in the metropolitan area.

But Mr. Mulgrew, while prefacing his response by saying he knew the terms wouldn’t satisfy some union members, pointed to one sign of his confidence in what had been gained under the deal.

“I cannot stress the significance—we are here four months early,” he said, referring to the meter still running on the old contract. He noted the contrast when members had to wait until 55 months after their 2009 pact ran out, while engaged for most of that period in “one of the bitterest street fights” with the Bloomberg administration, compared to the tenor of these talks and the collaborative nature of key portions of the deal from an education standpoint.

It didn’t hurt, he added, that on that same day, sizable retroactive checks (for UFT members at top salary when the 2014 terms were reached, the back pay over the next three Octobers will total a bit more than $40,000 before taxes) were due to be mailed out.

‘Members Get It’

But beyond that, he said, obtaining raises consistent with inflation ahead of a contract’s expiration at a time when some affiliates of the UFT’s national union, the American Federation of Teachers, had been forced to strike earlier this year to get overdue raises of lesser amounts was a symbol of labor/management cooperation and mutual respect.

“I think the majority of the membership understands that that’s what this is,” Mr. Mulgrew said.

Mr. de Blasio put in, “They appreciate the respect for the profession; they appreciate the investment being made in the schools. Of course people care about the bottom line. But they also care about the quality of life.”

Both men, along with Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, said that some of the key education initiatives included in the pact would feature attempts to give parents and communities a greater say. The Chancellor contrasted a national climate in which “it seems Teachers have become the piñata of public discourse” with the atmosphere here, stating, “The Mayor has set a vision in this city which we can all rally around.”

One of its centerpieces is known as the “Bronx Plan,” which Mr. Carranza said would not be confined to that borough but “we know that a preponderance of schools that are going to be in this program are in The Bronx.” The schools selected will be those that have suffered from high rates of attrition among Teachers, with the Chancellor lamenting “the constant churn” in some.

‘Hard-to-Staff’ Incentive

Over the next three years, he said, it would combine resources and new innovations to try to transform 180 “historically underserved schools.” It will—assuming the deal is ratified—expand the roles of Lead Teachers in the professional development of other instructors at those schools, and alter requirements for earning credits beyond a master’s degree that increase Teacher salaries to make courses more relevant to Teachers’ classroom work. The deal also includes a “hard-to-staff differential” of between $5,000 and $8,000 to Teachers and Guidance Counselors who agree to work at designated schools for at least three years.

“It’s both about retaining Teachers where they are needed most and attracting new ones where they are needed most,” the Mayor said. Although key details in the selection process have to be worked out, Lawrence Becker, a top Department of Education official, told reporters that staff members would have to stay at the schools for at least three years to be eligible for the full differential. They would receive the money in three increments, he said.

Of the Bronx Plan schools, 120 will participate in the Collaborative Schools Model, with Teachers and community members given a substantial voice in how they are run.

“We’re gonna move education by listening not only to Teachers but parents and the educational community,” Mr. Mulgrew said. He then addressed Mr. Carranza directly, remarking that “the UFT really has a partner at this point in time. I can’t thank you enough.”

Revised Evaluations

Under a revised Teacher evaluation system that will be implemented next September, Teachers rated “ineffective” or “developing” will be observed more frequently than those graded higher, as will those who have not yet gained tenure. The observations will be conducted in cycles over the course of the school year to provide help where needed both earlier and more often.

“The feedback [they will receive] is formative,” the Chancellor said. “It actually contributes to the Teacher developing their skills” over the course of the school year.

Earlier in the press conference, he lamented, “The vocabulary around evaluation is steeped in, ‘Let’s get the bad Teachers.’” That should not be the objective, he said, adding, “We’re trying to change the culture. If you don’t change it, culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Mr. Mulgrew said the evaluation system wasn’t dealt with in the 2014 contract talks because there had been so much unfinished business to clean up from the Bloomberg administration, much of it tied to the unusual structure for distributing the retroactive pay, which in normal circumstances for municipal unions has been disbursed in full in the first employee checks after the initial pay raise under a contract is implemented. He said he was confident that under the accord, the evaluation process would not turn into “a gotcha system.”

Credits Mayor for Trying

He credited the Mayor with the ambitious effort to upgrade the system in areas which have long proved resistant to improvement, saying, “We have some of the greatest challenges. Most politicians would never try to tackle this.”

Mr. Carranza contended the UFT leader deserved plaudits for his willingness to collaborate on the educational innovations, noting, “Michael could have just said, ‘It’s your issue. We’re about working conditions.’ What they’ve said is, ‘We’re gonna be at the table; we’ve got skin in the game.’“

The success of the initiatives will depend significantly on Principals’ involvement, and Mr. Carranza said that during his time in that role, “It was impossible for me to lead a school where I didn’t have a working relationship with the Teachers, the parents.”

But asked to what degree city officials had kept the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators abreast of the UFT negotiations, Mr. Linn said, “We’ve chatted generally, but the discussions will begin in earnest soon.”

‘Start of a Dialogue’

He and Mr. Mulgrew had not finalized the deal until after 3:30 that morning, but the Labor Commissioner said that rather than feeling exhausted, “Everyone looks excited.” Noting the labor/management groups that will continue working on aspects of the changes, he added, “This is the beginning of a conversation and a dialogue.”

Mr. Mulgrew seemed to share his elation, even as he began coordinating the mechanics of presenting the deal to the union’s board and delegate assembly before sending it to UFT members for final ratification, a process that could stretch past the end of the month.

Asked if he believed it would be approved by a comfortable margin, the UFT leader replied, “I would hope so. It’s something we’re quite proud of.”

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