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UFT members at ADAPT ratify new contract

New York Teacher
Red hexagon with seal of approval symbol

UFT members employed by the ADAPT Community Network overwhelmingly ratified a two-year contract on Nov. 22 that provides solid wage increases and creates a new process to resolve health and safety issues at the worksites.

“It was a tough negotiation, but we were able to negotiate things in this contract that we have been trying to get for ADAPT members for years,” said UFT Special Representative Ilene Weinerman, the UFT liaison for ADAPT.

The UFT represents more than 1,000 employees at ADAPT schools, adult day programs and residential facilities in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and on Staten Island. These programs service children and adults with complex physical, cognitive and behavioral challenges.

The contract includes a pay increase ranging from 4% to 11%, depending upon job title, for the first year, retroactive to July 1, 2022. ADAPT preschool teachers who were earning less than their Department of Education counterparts were first brought to parity (as a result of funds included in the city budget) and then they received an 11% raise on top of that. There is a contract reopener for the school employees in the second year. The day program and residences will receive either a 3% or 7% increase in the second year of the contract, depending on state funding.

The agreement also includes a new mediation process for resolving health and safety issues at the worksites.

Ryan McGovern, the chapter leader at the ADAPT Greenpoint School, said her members were happy with the wage increases. ADAPT schools have long struggled with staffing shortages, and the higher salaries should help with recruitment, she added.

“I’ve been teaching at ADAPT for eight years now, and we are finally getting matching salaries to DOE teachers,” McGovern said. “It’s great to have that parity and recognition for doing the same amount of work.”

In ADAPT schools, the UFT represents teachers, teacher assistants, teacher aides, clinicians (speech therapists, occupational and physical therapists, social workers and psychologists), nurses and office workers. In the day programs and residences, the union represents direct support professionals who provide care and support to people who require assistance with mobility, daily living skills and social interaction.

Negotiations for the new contract, which runs from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024, took a year and a half and were often contentious. The key issues were wages, and health and safety.