WHEREAS, DOE Occupational and Physical Therapists democratically voted to reject the recently negotiated contract after the city denied financial demands that would lessen the gap between therapists and others with commensurate education and graduate degrees; and

WHEREAS, OTs and PTs continue to work additional jobs in order to supplement their DOE salary to ameliorate the high cost of living in New York City; and

WHEREAS, our union values special education and understands it is a priority for special education students to receive their IEP mandated services; and

WHEREAS, Occupational and Physical Therapists provide federally mandated, vital services that allow students with disabilities to receive a free and appropriate education; and

WHEREAS, according to the New York City DOE Data at a Glance website, as of September 2017, 19.7% of students in the New York City school system have disabilities; and

WHEREAS, since 2015, the services that Occupational and Physical Therapists deliver allow the City of New York to recoup tax dollars and secure Medicaid reimbursement through the use of therapists’ NPI (National Provider Identifier) numbers; and

WHEREAS, Occupational and Physical Therapists retire with lower pensions than others with commensurate education and graduate degrees; and

WHEREAS, Occupational and Physical Therapists respect and support all other UFT represented groups who ratified their own chapter’s contracts; be it

RESOLVED, that the UFT urges its members to unequivocally support Occupational and Physical Therapists in schools and at union events as we embark on the renegotiation of an equitable contract; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the UFT, in the shadow of Janus, take steps to protect our members by reaching out and educating therapists about the value of sticking with our union and continuing to pay union dues.