Dispute with DOE over vacation days

Vacation days appeared in UFT members' accounts on Feb. 1 as ordered by the independent arbitrator in our spring break grievance. UFT members who worked the full seven days (April 9-17) of the spring break should have had four CAR days converted to four vacation days and an additional three more vacation days. However, members who currently have fewer than four CAR days in their banks only received three vacation days because the DOE claims these members do not have enough CAR days to complete the conversion to vacation days. We disagree with the DOE’s interpretation of the arbitrator’s decision. Our position is that according to the arbitration ruling, members are owed a vacation day for each day they worked during the 2020 spring break and should not be penalized for having a lower CAR day balance due to maternity leave or illness. We are fighting to get those members the full value of the time worked and have asked the arbitrator to intervene in the dispute.

Arbitration victory in union-animus case against principal

A UFT school chapter in Queens stood up to — and stood together against — a hostile principal and won. An independent arbitrator on Jan. 19 ordered Melissa Haidary, the principal at PS 186 in Bellerose, Queens, to “cease and desist any discrimination” of UFT members on the basis of their association with the union and their participation in union activities. “It was a long and arduous journey, but it was worthwhile,” said special education teacher Patricia Mahalko, one of the 39 teachers who came together to file the union-animus grievance in 2018. The 41-page decision was the culmination of a years-long battle and resolution process. “It’s an important lesson,” said UFT Queens Borough Representative Amy Arundell. “The language in the collective bargaining agreements doesn’t live on its own. When members enact them, these rights become more powerful.” Watch the video on the UFT website.

Mulgrew spells out the union’s state budget priorities

UFT President Michael Mulgrew applauded Gov. Kathy Hochul's commitment to fully fund our public schools when he testified on her executive budget on Jan. 26. “We are pleased to see that the promise to fulfill the needs espoused in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity has been kept, and we are no longer playing political football with our state’s school aid,” he said. The UFT called for a $100 million investment for community schools across the state, additional funding earmarked for the union’s United Community Schools initiative and greater transparency and accountability for charter schools. The governor proposed a four-year extension of the current form of mayoral control in her executive budget. Mulgrew testified that the current version of mayoral control does not work for school communities, and he called for the restoration of more checks and balances in school governance.

Read the full testimony

Federation of Nurses/UFT chapter ratifies new contract

Federation of Nurses/UFT members who work as registered nurses at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York on Jan. 27 overwhelmingly ratified a two-year contract that preserves all their previous benefits and provides a minimum 7.62% pay raise over the next 14.5 months for full-time nurses. "In an incredibly difficult time, you have been extraordinary," UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, who leads the federation, told the nurses who joined an informational Zoom call before the vote. Under the approved contract, all full-time base rates will increase by $1,500 as of March 1, followed by a 3% pay increase on April 1 and another 3% hike on April, 1, 2023. "The best thing we were able to achieve was a more competitive salary," said Raquel Webb-Geddes, the chapter chair. During the pandemic, other institutions have given their front-line workers a one-time "hazard pay" bonus. The Visiting Nurse Service of New York instead acknowledged what workers have done during this difficult time by adding money to each member's base pay, said Webb-Geddes, "which has more value and longevity than a one-time bonus."