Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Two Per Cent Solution

We have passed the two year mark in waiting for a contract. PERB is nowhere to be found, and the UFT has apparently decided to enter radio silence mode as not a single article in NY Teacher talks about our lack of a contract.

The UFT has apparently decided to "wait out" this mayor on the theory that we will get a better deal from whoever takes the reins when Mayor4life's 12 year siege on the public schools finally comes to an end in 2013.

Bad idea.

First of all, the union has often said that we should wait for a new mayor to get a better deal. We waited out Koch for 12 years, Dinkins did little for us for another 4, and Giuliani screwed us for 8. Now, ten years into the Bloomberg administration, we are supposed to wait another two years for our shining knight to come through and shower us with the money we deserve.

It's not gonna happen. We can't afford to wait this mayor out.

Let's do the math. We rightly want the 4% per year that other unions got in the last round of contracts. Let's assume that unions get the measly 1.25% that's been budgeted for unions over the next two years. That would mean that if we wait for Bloomberg to leave office before we negotiate, we will be 10.5% behind where we should be. Does anyone really think that any new mayor will give us a 10.5% raise as soon as he or she walks through the doors of City Hall? Do you believe that in 2013, we will receive all that money retroactive to 2009? No way in hell that will happen, even if Michael Mulgrew is elected mayor.


Apart from all that, can you wait another two or three years for a raise? I know my family is feeling the pinch right now.

I have a solution that might work--a two percent solution. Let's forget the 4% that we are never going to get no matter what. Let the mayor break the pattern, and we can once and for all break the bonds of pattern bargaining that has suppressed teacher salaries for too long. Let's ask for 2% retroactive for each year to 2009, and 2% for this year and next. That would be a total of 8% by 2012 when this mayor is set to leave office. It's not 10.5%, but it is close.

Would the mayor go for this? I think so. It's a pretty easy sell. He can claim that he gave us half what other unions got. In addition, we give him the Danielson framework that he wants and is going to get anyway eventually. He can then claim that his shrewd negotiating is what led to him being able to claim all that Race to the Top money, which he can't get without union support. In return, we get 8 of the 10.5% we deserve. Not perfect, but a hell of a lot more than we have now.

In 2013, we can start fresh with a new mayor and 8% in our pockets.

Any thoughts?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Danielson Framework is a punitive tool to eliminate senior teachers. Every time the union bends over for the little bastard, we get what we richly deserve.

I for one want no further negotiations with the petty little megalomaniac. May he contract an extremely painful terminal disease. Its prudent to agree to nothing with the little tyrant.

Look at what our prior negotiations have done for us. The cretins at the uft have crippled us as teachers.
Fad of the season is no longer cutting it. From the insipid workshop models to the cretinous danielson rubric, we have repeatedly been shafted by both the doe and the united federation of turds. It seems that if we negotiate with this monster we are going to take the drubbing we truly deserve for trying to do business with such a piece of garbage.

The bald pimp and his unity parasites need to go. The union will only bargain away our rights while living off our labor. Screw both the Doe and the UFT.

Rank and file rise up!

Angry Nog

chaz said...

Mr. Talk:

My understanding is that the City has demanded " massive givebacks" and negotiations are at an impasse.

Compromising with the Mayor is out of the question and your idea of 2% raises without the "givebacks" is a non-starter.

Remember, if this impasse actually goes to PERB, neither side is bound by the agreement and the Mayor will never agree tp the "City pattern". I agree with Angry Nog, it is best to wait out the Mayor. Nobody wants a repeat of 2005.

Anonymous said...

2% in return for more givebacks,

People who are ranting for a new contract, don't want a contract, they want to see the money. We did that in '05 and lost a lot.

2% is NOTHING!! And if 2% is all you need to meet your bills, then you, your wife, your family members over the age of 16 are better off finding part-time work.

People wanted the extra money in '05 and they are now sick to their stomachs with what is being forced down their throat. This union is weak when it comes to this mayor. They bend over backwards and then have no idea why the rank and file feel the knife turning in their backs.

Get over it!!

bookworm said...

I agree - NO to the Danielson model, which is surely to be used to circumvent tenure and to eliminate senior teachers. There is much buzz about Domain 3 (Instruction), but I find Domain 4 (Professional Responsibilities and Growth) to be the most subjective and scary - where to be "Distinguished", you must practically go home with the child and make his dinner, check homework, make sure the brushes his teeth and gets to bed at a reasonable hour.

On the Professional Development page, you must prove that you "actively seek out" PD opportunities even if they are not convenient. This is the one they will use to get rid of those of u who are working parents or caring for aging relatives, since it is difficult to attend outside PD sessions (and expensive if you need sitters).

Anonymous said...

I agree with Mr. Talk, but I don't think that the doe/mayor will go along with it. It would be really stupid of us if we didn't jump at a deal like the one Mr. Talk threw out there. We won't be getting a better offer. And if it's not the Danielson Framework, then it will be some other lame idea. If they want to go after you, they can do it now with the system they have presently. He's right, the mayor is so hot for the race to the top money that he might go along with AT's plan. Let's hope Mulgrew reads this blog; he can benefit from some smart thinking.

ed notes online said...

Wait out the mayor? Like we waited out Giuliani? What makes anyone think the mayor won't control the next mayor? And let's remind everyone that the 2005 contract was not forced on us by the mayor but by the UFT. SO even if the mayor is gone Unity is still there.