Five years of no alarm clocks. Five years of no longer contributing into your pension fund but getting to instead collect your well-deserved retirement savings. Five years closer to bringing Tier 6 in line with New York State’s other pension tiers. That is what we did together.
It was members across all tiers, in-service and retirees, from every borough in the city, who stood collectively to fight for change.
Every Day of Action you joined made the press and the legislators take note. Union members, 15,000 strong, shouting as one in Albany on March 8 drove the point home: Tier 6 needs to change.
After it was announced that UFT members could retire at age 58 without penalty after 30 years of service, down from 63, we heard a lot from other unions: Why did only the educators get this? What about everyone else?
Let’s be clear: UFT members fought for what we knew would be worth the most. We did not fight for only ourselves, but we were loud, direct and firm about what we wanted. When it got close to decision time, the governor decided to give each union part of what they asked for. And we made the right choice.
We deserve everything we got.
Look back at this year: What union shouted the loudest? What union organized by the hundreds and thousands, both in and outside of their schools? What union came up with the most creative social media content of any campaign ever? It was all member-driven. It was meaningful and powerful. And it led to a result.
No, we are not done yet. There is still more to do to fix Tier 6, but we can be proud that we were part of history by bringing about one of the largest single pension reforms to ever happen in New York State.
You have seen the articles and the comments on social media. There are plenty of people out there who are mad we got these changes. They don’t think we deserve it, and they want to complain about the costs, but this will just make us fight harder.
Nothing we have ever won as a union was handed to us. We fight for every single right, benefit or incentive we get. People will always be there to tell us why we can’t, and that’s why it’s so important to unite and tell them why we will.
As we celebrate this huge step forward for our Tier 6 members, we prepare for next year, when we will begin another fight: our contract negotiations. The outcome of our contract campaign will affect all our members, and it will be crucial that each and every one of us participates.
A survey will be going out to members in the fall, asking for your thoughts on the priorities we should be fighting for as a union. Be sure to exercise your voice and respond with what is important to you.
Our negotiating team, made up of members, will be hard at work next year in meetings with the city Department of Education, but it will take all of us getting loud to ensure our needs are met in the final contract.
Let’s take this momentum we have built around Tier 6 and let it continue to grow. Remember what we learned: Our members, with a little encouragement, will fight. And when we fight, it’s contagious. It invites more and more participation until suddenly we are standing in Albany with thousands of us chanting “U. F. T!” so loudly, it shakes the rafters of an entire arena.
You can go into your summer proud of what we have achieved and get some well-deserved rest, but let’s return in September hungry for more. We have seen time and time again that when we fight together we win, and next year will be no exception.