Randi is in trouble, and we all need to rally round more than ever. You see, Mayor Bloomberg has decided that he doesn't have the support to ask city workers to pay 10% of our health care, as he had planned. He also says that he won't layoff any teachers.
So what, exactly, does Randi have left to give back in the next contract? She has said that tenure is off the table, and she's already given away everything else. A 4% increase is a virtual lock, thanks to other actual unions who set the pattern. So what's left?
I sure can't think of anything. But I do have faith in Randi. I bet she'll think of something.
3 comments:
I don't want their stinkin' 4% raise. Give me back:
1) the right to grieve LIF;
2) return of seniority rights;
3) back to school AFTER Labor Day;
4) a set number of days in the school calendar;
5) NO contribution to health benefits with GHI as the basic plan (NOT HIP).
That all adds up to a lot more than 4 %
Pardon me, but I believe Ms. Weingarten stated that vouchers were the only thing off the table, and I believe that was in the context of DC teachers. As we speak she's embroiled in negotiations with Green Dot Schools, which has already eliminated not only tenure but also seniority. Her website is actively recruiting for the NY branch that hasn't yet even got a contract.
Is it 4%, or 4 year one then another 4 year two? As someone who remembers the zeroes Ms. Weingarten cannily negotiated during boom times, I'm not altogether sympathetic to Mayor Bloomberg's cries of poverty.
Well, it's good to know that Randi isn't walking into the negotiations empty handed. How would it look if she ended up giving away nothing? Us lowly dues payers might actually expect progress with each and every contract.
In any case, I wouldn't worry. I'm fully confident that Randi can negotiate us a few more zeroes even if she has nothing left to give away.
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