Decision on mask mandate expected on Friday

After Gov. Hochul lifted the statewide mask mandate for schools on Feb. 27, Mayor Adams announced the possibility of making masks optional in city schools beginning Monday, March 7, due to the CDC’s categorization of New York City as low risk. He said the decision will be made after evaluating the positivity rate from in-school and at-home testing during this school week. According to newly released data, the positivity rate on in-school tests was 0.14% on Monday and Tuesday, down from 0.26% the week before the February break. Throughout this pandemic, we have been led by science and our doctors, and this decision should be no different. We are optimistic about the declining COVID numbers, but it’s important to make sure that our risk remains low before the city changes its school mask policy. As a reminder, any change in policy would still allow for those staff and students who wish to continue wearing masks to do so, and we hope that those who choose to continue masking and those who unmask will be respectful of each other’s decisions. There will be no change in supplies of KN95 masks and at-home test-kits availability, and in-school testing will continue to take place at the same rate so we can continue to monitor the situation in our schools. 

Start to discuss SBOs with your members

You should begin discussing with your chapter and your principal possible school-based options (SBOs) for next school year now. If your chapter would like to renew an SBO or implement a new SBO, you can begin to discuss options at your March chapter meeting. An SBO allows staff at a school the opportunity to collaboratively modify contractual articles or to create positions not automatically allowed under the contract. You can use the SBO process to change your school schedule, including when members engage in professional development, parent engagement and Other Professional Work; change the dates for parent-teacher conferences; and create comp-time positions. An SBO can be proposed by either the principal or the chapter leader on behalf of the chapter. However, a principal cannot force the chapter to hold a vote on any SBO, and an SBO cannot be adopted unless at least 55 percent of the UFT members voting support the modification. All SBO voting will be conducted through the secure Election Buddy online voting system. Find comprehensive information about the SBO process on the UFT website. If you have questions, please contact your district representative. 

Celebrate the UFT’s 62nd birthday on March 16

Wednesday, March 16, will mark the 62nd anniversary of the union’s formation. Dignity and respect, professionalism, due process, competitive wages, and health and pension benefits: Sixty-two years ago, those things didn’t exist for New York City public school educators. Throughout this pandemic, our union fought for the safety of school communities and its rank-and-file negotiating committee of unprecedented size will work hard to bargain a strong new contract. Our progress was hard-fought, and our rights and benefits earned. The UFT’s anniversary presents an opportunity for chapter leaders to remind UFT members how far we’ve come. You can show this two-minute video about the UFT’s founding to set the tone at this month’s chapter meeting. 

Nominate your chapter for a Trachtenberg Award

Are you proud of your union chapter? Nominate it for an Ely Trachtenberg Award. Hallmarks of award-winning chapters include holding regularly scheduled chapter meetings, having a consultation committee that meets regularly with administration and having a high or growing proportion of members who contribute to COPE. Winning chapters will be honored and given their Trachtenberg plaque at the 2022 Teacher Union Day ceremony. See the online nomination form for more information about the selection criteria. Please note that chapters that have received a Trachtenberg Award in the past three years are not eligible this year. 

Federation of Nurses/UFT contract with NYU Langone tackles nurse staffing shortages

Federation of Nurses/UFT members employed by NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn on Feb. 24 overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract that provides solid salary increases while making inroads in addressing the universal problem of staffing shortages. The contract includes a 4% pay hike effective March 1, 2022, a 3% increase effective March 1, 2023, and another 3% hike on March 1, 2024. The agreement also provides for an increase in staffing, with more than 100 positions for registered nurses to be posted by March 1, 2022, along with an expedited hiring and recruiting process. It strengthens a staffing subcommittee to better hold the hospital accountable to posting and selection timelines and to overall staffing commitments. In addition, the contract creates a panel of three arbitrators to hear staffing shortage cases once a month, streamlining an often arduous process.“Nowhere in the country has anyone done more than we have,” said UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT. “But staffing is so bad that it’s a moral insult to our nurses, and we have really bargained hard to have the employer become part of the solution.”

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