From the Chair

Dear Colleagues,

Well, we did it! After several bargaining sessions with the city and long discussions among the UFT negotiating team members, we have hammered out the terms of a two-year contract with the city/DOE. The fact that we have negotiated an agreement one year before the expiration of our present contract is unprecedented and a real testament to the skill and tenacity of UFT President Randi Weingarten. Her ability to create a coalition of 19 of the city’s unions that approached the bargaining table in unity played a huge role in pressuring the city to settle quickly. And, by expanding the UFT negotiating team to 300 members, all factions of our large union had a voice in shaping the terms of our new contract.

As the chair of our chapter, I sat on the executive committee of the negotiating team and was one of a small number of UFTers who sat in on the actual negotiating sessions with the city/DOE. It was a very interesting experience! As in all bargaining, we could not accept some of the city’s demands, such as terminating employees who are excessed who could not secure a position within one year. And they did not accept some of ours, such as eliminating the two work days before Labor Day. But, Randi and the negotiating team were determined to get the best possible agreement for our members, and we did.

In this contract, a long standing affront to our well-being has finally been made aright. Many years ago, our employer sought to take away our contractual right to take sabbaticals. At our member’s request, the secretaries’ chapter went to arbitration and lost. This decision was a hard pill to swallow, not only because it singled us out to be treated differently from our pedagogic co-workers, but because it hit at the heart of our dignity by denying us the means to heal when we were seriously ill. I am particularly proud to tell you that in this negotiation we were able to regain the right for secretaries to take health sabbaticals when seriously ill. This is a major victory for us and one that we rightfully deserve!

next >>