Get ready for your contract teach-in on Jan. 30

More than a thousand chapter leaders and other Contract Action Team members have turned out for our three training sessions this week. Now, it’s time to gear up for the Day of Action ahead. Please get out the word to your chapter’s members that the teach-in is on Monday, Jan. 30. Before the teach-in:

• Identify other members of your CAT team — link up!
• Decide on a time to hold the teach-in at your school or worksite. 
• Publicize your teach-in by posting this flier on your UFT bulletin board or distributing it in mailboxes.
• Talk it up! High attendance will make this action much more powerful.

During the teach-in, discuss, engage and educate. Use the teach-in facilitator’s guide and this PowerPoint presentation. (The full digital toolkit will be sent to all Contract Action Team members in the coming days.) Don’t forget to take photos (or assign someone else to do it) of the teach-in. Share these photos on social media using the hashtag #UFTFairContractNow and tag #UFT on Facebook, @UFT on Twitter and @uftny on Instagram so we can amplify your message. Send your favorite photo to uftphotos [at] gmail [dot] com (UFTphotos[at]gmail[dot]com) with caption information.

Speak out against Success Academy co-locations

UFT members, principals, politicians and public school families from District 11 in the northeast Bronx rallied this Thursday afternoon outside the Richard R. Green Campus to protest the DOE’s proposal to co-locate a Success Academy charter school in a building that already houses two middle schools. It’s the latest in a number of angry protests by school communities this year against an effort by Eva Moskowitz and her Success Academy corporate charter school chain to elbow their way into school buildings across the city. Read the news article on the UFT website.

The citywide Panel on Educational Policy will vote on the proposed co-locations on Jan. 24 (in Queens) and Jan. 25 (in the Bronx).

UFT members can make their voices heard by:

1. Sending an email to the PEP members asking them to vote no and explaining how we use our classroom space, in addition to instruction, to serve students.
2. Coming to a PEP meeting, where members of the public are invited to comment before the panel votes.

See our Protest Charter Co-locations campaign on the UFT website for the details.

Get members excited about the new UFT Member Hub

The UFT launched its new Member Hub this month, and chapter leaders should encourage their members to check it out. Similar to the Chapter Leader Hub, the Member Hub places member-specific and other key information right at the member’s fingertips. Members can update their contact information, sign up for workshops, explore their benefits, view their claim status and do more in this personalized hub. The hub is accessed using the same username and password that you use to log in to the UFT website. If you have not yet explored the Member Hub, take a look. As a chapter leader, you can access both the Chapter Leader Hub and the Member Hub from the same main webpage.

Log in to the Member Hub

Hochul shows her support for public schools in State of the State speech

Gov. Kathy Hochul once again demonstrated her strong support for public schools in the State of the State address she delivered in Albany on Jan. 10. Hochul said she plans to include in her budget proposal a $2.7 billion increase in state school aid under the Foundation Aid formula, which prioritizes high-needs districts. “Gov. Hochul stands behind her commitment to invest in public education by proposing to fully fund Foundation Aid,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “Our students and educators deserve no less.” Hochul plans to invest $250 million of foundation aid to create high-impact tutoring programs through which students are tutored multiple times a week. The UFT has long championed investing in mental health services in public schools and school-based health clinics, both core components of the union’s United Community Schools, so it’s good news that Hochul proposes increasing the rate at which Medicaid reimburses school-based clinics and providing more aid for school-based mental health services for students. Hochul also plans to establish a grant pipeline to provide seed funding for school-based health center projects. The governor will invest $10 million over two years in competitive funding for school districts and others — working in collaboration with local industry — to develop strategic workforce plans that promote job readiness in their local economies.

In-service RFP program is moving along

The negotiated acquisition RFP process for a new health plan for the city’s 300,000-plus workers is moving forward. Our goal is to keep health care insurance premium-free while providing the same or better benefits for members. The city and the Municipal Labor Committee have entered Phase 2 of the bidding process. Bidding has closed, and the city and the MLC have identified several qualified applicants. The city and the MLC will interview each of these insurance companies and narrow the field further. This process allows for lots of back-and-forth between the insurance provider and the city and the unions to ensure the new in-service health plan will achieve the necessary health care savings while preserving the same high standard of health care.