A Message from Rich

December 2015

Dear Colleagues,

On Jan. 11, 2016, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that will have major implications for EVERY union member in this nation. The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, challenges the current law that all public employees are required to pay union dues, whether or not they are full-fledged members.

This is known as a “fair share” payment whereby unionized public sector workers who are not rank-and-file union members must still pay dues. These members, who do not join the union but still pay dues, are referred to as “agency fee payers.” The dues from these agency fee payers represent their “fair share” of the cost of union representation, services, contracts, salary, rights and benefits.

Rebecca Friedrichs and nine other teachers believe that the California state law requiring public employees to pay annual union dues is a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech. Unions, according to the plaintiffs, use dues money for political activities. The plaintiffs say that they oppose some of their union’s political activities. Via this circular reasoning, money is equated with speech and therefore, they argue, paying unions dues is a violation of their right to free speech, guaranteed by the First Amendment. 

In New York, unions may not use dues money for political purposes. Rather, all money used for political purposes must come from a separate, voluntary method of collection. At the UFT, we ask members to give contributions to the Vote/Committee on Political Education (COPE), which is our political action fund. The fund covers the expense of meeting with and educating legislators, and helps elect candidates who respect our members, support education and are pro-labor.

The lawsuit’s intent is to strike down compulsory union dues laws in 25 states and to create a national public right-to-work law through the judiciary. Many people misinterpret the true meaning of “right to work.” It is actually a perfect misnomer. Right-to-work does not, in any way, guarantee anyone a job, let alone a job for life. Simply put, “right-to-work” laws prevent labor unions from collecting dues or fees from all workers in a “shop,” a workplace. But, under such a law, unions must represent every eligible employee, even non-dues payers.  In other words, “right-to-work” laws allow workers to pay nothing and still get all the benefits of union membership. Right-to-work laws can cripple organized labor.

As some workers bow out of paying union fees, the remaining workers must bear a larger share of the costs associated with representation and organizing. What unions then experience is this: As the union becomes less effective because it has fewer employees and resources, workers have even more reason to leave, creating a downward spiral. The intention of the Friedrich’s case is to do just that – weaken unions and create a freefall from which labor cannot recover. This is the method to the far right’s agenda – pass legislation to eradicate those who have historically, and effectively, championed the cause of the working class.

This suit is about the rich wanting to get even richer and about strengthening those who oppose unions. The Center for Individual Rights (CIR), the right-wing pro-bono law group that is representing the plaintiffs, is funded by anti-union, anti-civil rights organizations. It is an attempt to destroy what is probably the last bastion of the working class in this country – unions and the rights they provide workers. Read The American Prospect story.

In 1960, President John F. Kennedy said, “Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor.” 

Today, we face a different school of thought when it comes to labor unions, and surprisingly, many working class folk have been persuaded by very rich people that unions are the source of their problems. Honestly, I find this shift to be mind boggling. But if the history of the labor movement has taught us anything, it is that solidarity is the best way to counter such madness. Stay strong.  

Have a great holiday season and a happy and healthy New Year!

In solidarity,

Rich Mantell
UFT Vice President for Middle Schools

Thank you

Richard Mantell, (center), the UFT vice president for middle schools, and staff present a brand-new winter coat to one of the children at the Thanksgiving luncheon on Nov. 21.

Sincere thanks to those of you who helped make the Middle School Division’s Thanksgiving Luncheon/Winter Clothing Drive a success. Your donations enabled us to give a new winter coat, hat, gloves and scarf to each of the 150 children who attended the event.

We also served everyone a traditional Thanksgiving meal including turkey (OK – chicken) fingers and sweet potato, “French” fries. After the main course, the children made their own sundaes.

It was a festive day with activities, food, fun and prizes. It is difficult to find the words to express all the excitement that accompanied this day, but suffice it to say that events like this are one of the rewards of our profession.

See more pictures and read the New York Teacher story on the UFT website »

In the News

Common Core “do over”

On Dec. 10, Gov. Cuomo’s Common Core task force released a report calling for a “do over” of sorts of the common core standards, curriculum and accompanying standardized testing. The task force made these recommendations for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, the disastrous Common Core implementation across the state with which we are all too familiar.

Additionally, the report concluded that we must conduct a thorough review of the current standards, curriculum and testing and set up a transition period from now until the 2019–20 school year. That’s when we’ll implement a new system. This will include a curriculum aligned to new, updated standards and new, as well as fewer, assessments. The task force also stressed that educators need to be involved at every stage.

Until that time, the task force recommended that school districts no longer use scores resulting from Common Core standardized tests to evaluate “the performance of specific teachers or students.”

A state Board of Regents sub-committee overwhelmingly voted on Dec. 14 to adopt the task force’s recommendation for this four-year moratorium on use of state standardized test scores to rate the job performance of teachers and principals. The full Board of Regents is expected to adopt them as emergency regulations. This should finally end the disastrous and tumultuous education policies implemented across the state that began in 2010. 

Read the article in the New York Teacher »

A Christmas miracle

Dec. 10 will be a memorable date for education in New York City and state. Hours before Gov. Cuomo’s Common Core Task Force released its findings, President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which greatly alters the landscape created by previous national education policies. While signing this bill, which had strong (and unusual bipartisan support), the president called it a “Christmas miracle.”

Every Student Succeeds limits the federal government's influence and current role in education. While some of the testing requirements of No Child Left Behind remain intact, it nevertheless eliminates most, if not all, of the high stakes that had been attached to student scores. In particular, we are pleased that Congress eliminated this Race to the Top requirement: States that accepted federal funds for public education had to link test score results with teacher evaluations/ratings.

The UFT Contract, Article 7N, as it pertains to IS/MS teachers

• Every school should create a voluntary coverage pool consisting of teachers who volunteer to give up his/her preparation period or professional activity periods to cover a class, for example when a teacher is absent.

• If you teach in a middle/junior or intermediate school, you can be assigned class coverage during your preparation or professional period. However, the principal must seek volunteers before assigning someone involuntarily.

• If no volunteers are available then the rotation takes place among non-volunteers; class coverage is assigned on a rotating basis.

• You do not get paid for your first class coverage per term, but you will be paid for each additional coverage — whether assigned voluntarily or involuntarily — at the contractual rate of pay (currently $37.09).

• You must be compensated whether the coverage is on your preparation period or your professional period.

• Teachers should NOT be assigned to cover classes during their lunch periods.

• Teachers providing homeroom coverage will be paid when the amount of time covered is equivalent to one full period.

• When the normal school schedule is changed for either parent/teacher conferences, a clerical half-day, or a standardized testing day — ELA or Math only — no other subjects nor practice exams), then if you perform such duties when you are regularly scheduled to have a preparation period, you will not have this preparation period and will not be compensated.

Upcoming events

Middle School Committee Meeting - Jan. 14, 2016

Please join Rich Mantell, UFT vice president for Middle Schools, and other middle school staff, for our next Middle School Committee meeting on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 from 4–6 p.m. The meeting will be held at UFT headquarters at 50 Broadway on the 2nd floor in room B. The topic will be the Annual Professional Performance Review. Please RSVP to Adelina Santiago at asantiago@uft.org or 212-598-6839.

Third Annual Middle School Conference – March 19, 2016

We’ll offer 14 workshops geared toward helping you provide your students with positive opportunities to pique their curiosity and interest. Topics will include social and emotional learning, CTE in the classroom, arts integration and how to help middle school students better achieve in ELA, math and science.

We will provide breakfast and lunch, wonderful guest speakers, prizes and raffles. Participants will receive a certificate for five completed professional development hours, which can be used towards NYS certification requirements. We will send you more information after the holiday break.

MS Division’s UFT 5K Family Fun Run/Walk

Save the date – We will hold our third annual UFT 5K Family Fun Run/Walk on April 16, at MCU Park (Cyclone Stadium) in Coney Island to benefit the UFT Disaster Relief Fund. More information to follow.

Please feel free to reproduce and distribute this newsletter.

Happy holidays from the UFT MS/IS Division!