Mayor Eric Adams and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the union that represents about 120,000 municipal employees, reached a tentative five-plus-year contract agreement last week. The Amsterdam News reached out to a few teachers to get their honest opinions ahead of the official vote.
The agreement as it is now includes wage increases of 3% for each of the first three years of the contract, 3.25% in the fourth year, and 3.5% in the fifth year. In an attempt to keep more teachers on, there’s a $3,000 lump sum ratification bonus for all UFT members and an annual retention payment. The agreement is retroactive as of September 14, 2022, and expires on November 28, 2027.
“I’m a blue-collar mayor—I made it clear that we were going to ensure that our city employees receive the salaries and benefits that they deserve because I am one of them,” said Adams at the announcement. “I know what it is to go and fight for a contract, to fight for the proper healthcare.”
UFT President Michael Mulgrew said that New York City is the hardest and most diverse place to teach in. “They take that challenge on. They wear that badge proudly,” said Mulgrew at the announcement. “We said to them in this contract that we heard you loud and clear.”
The tentative agreement must be ratified or voted through this month by UFT’s 500-member Negotiating Committee, the Executive Board, and the Delegate Assembly. Since 1991, contracts have been approved at rates ranging from 63% to 94%. A majority is needed for the contract to be official.
Phillip Chapman, an English as a Second Language (ESL) adult education teacher in the Bronx who comes from a family of teachers and was previously a high school teacher, said he voted yes during the last round of contract negotiations despite not being in total agreement with that contract. Most of his students are immigrants and newly arrived migrants from various countries like Ukraine and Mexico. This time around, he has not reviewed much information about it outside of the salary schedule, his friends in other schools, and teacher Facebook groups.
“I was a little disappointed, I would say,” said Chapman. “Inflation has been a big problem and I think a lot of teachers feel underpaid.”
Chapman said that despite UFT’s size as a union, they don’t have the same leverage as the police union. He noticed a lot of resentment about the pay that has to do with the turnover rate among new hires. Chapman is leaning more toward voting “yes” on this contract because he doesn’t believe Adams will prioritize negotiations again, so the union might not get another chance for a contract until there is a new mayor in office.
A 20-year veteran teacher who teaches at a high school in Queens and preferred to remain anonymous said she is against the tentative contract. “While there are a lot of opportunities for modernization and change with this new contract, I will be voting against approval of this initial contract,” she said. “My issues deal with money and retention. I feel the raise does not cover the cost of inflation and is unfavorably balanced, with more money awarded to newer teachers. The UFT is arguing that this and the other bonuses have been negotiated to try to retain teachers, but I feel that they have missed the mark.”
The veteran teacher said that the turnover among teachers has more to do with the “subjective nature of the teacher evaluation system” than with money. She said it causes unnecessary stress and can sometimes be used to harass and bully teachers into submission.
“While I know the evaluation system is state-mandated,” continued the teacher, “the city needs to revisit [the] Danielson [rubric] and the UFT needs to fight for teachers to get back the right to [grievances in] evaluations.”
New York City Office of Labor Relations Commissioner Renee Campion broke down teacher salaries, explaining how much money they will be making with the new contract proposals and gradual wage increases by the end of the contract term: The minimum salary with a bachelor’s degree of $61,070 goes up to $72,349; with a master’s, $68,652 to $81,201; and for most-experienced teachers, $128,657 to $151,271. The time to reach maximum salary has been reduced from 16 to eight years with the tentative agreement.
Department of Education Chancellor David C. Banks added that he was excited about the expansive virtual learning element for students and teachers. High schools and 6–12 grade schools may offer virtual after-school and on weekend classes, with some UFT members eligible to work remotely up to two days a week. This program stands to provide equal opportunities for all students, transcending traditional barriers and making education more accessible, said Banks.
“Every one of our kids can win,” said Banks at the announcement. “But we have to work together to make that happen.”
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
‘The time to reach maximum salary has been reduced from 16 to eight years with the tentative agreement.’
There is no truth to this statement. Who factchecks this?
You need 22 years of service to reach maximum salary. That was the case in the old contract and it is still the case with this new contract.