Retirement systems

New TRS member are enrolled in Tier VI because any member who became a member of TRS on April 1, 2012 or after, belongs in Tier VI.

However, if you had a previous membership in an eligible New York City or New York State public retirement system (such as the Board of Education Retirement System), your membership date and tier status may be adjusted if you transfer your membership from another system to TRS.

Once that membership is transferred and processed by TRS, you can call TRS to ask about membership/tier reinstatement. Your date of membership in TRS will be the date of membership in your prior system (such as BERS).

To initiate a membership transfer from BERS to TRS, you should notify BERS by calling 718-935-5400.

Download the BERS Transfer Application.

The tier you held in your previous retirement system would usually transfer to TRS with your membership. However, you will be enrolled in the current TRS tier until the transfer is completed. TRS will make any necessary adjustments to your tier status and your contribution rate after your transfer is completed.

Additional duties without pay

Some of you have told me that you have been assigned additional responsibilities and duties without receiving additional compensation. I need to gather as much information as possible about this situation to bring it to the attention of the DOE. If you have been given additional responsibilities without additional pay, please email Emma Mendez at emendez@uft.org.

Negotiations

In March, the city responded to the bargaining demands that the union had presented at the previous bargaining session. While there are some general areas of agreement, specific issues still require further discussion. A conference call with your colleagues on our bargaining committee was held to review the city’s response. Based on the committee’s feedback during that call, we are working to develop an appropriate counter proposal and schedule the next negotiating session.

Political action

UFT Political Director Paul Egan spoke to us about the union’s political agenda this year. First and foremost, he urged members to vote "no" on Nov. 7 on whether New York State should hold a constitutional convention in 2018. Every 20 years, New York State’s voters are asked in a referendum if they wish to hold a constitutional convention.

He provided a number of reasons for the union’s opposition: enemies of unions and proponents of school privatization could wreak havoc on many of our rights and benefits as well as on workers’ compensation and the right to a free, public education. The state constitution establishes fundamental rights that UFT members enjoy as public employees, including a guaranteed defined-benefit pension, the right to collectively bargain and the right to join a union.

The state constitution also guarantees social welfare programs, prohibits the state from spending public funds to assist private schools and protects state land.

Paul spoke about the importance of UFT/COPE funds in the fight against billionaires, privatization advocates and anti-unionists, and urged members to contribute or increase their contributions. COPE is funded by voluntary contributions; no union dues are used in political action. To read more about COPE and to download a brochure, visit the UFT website.

Union membership

Members generally receive a welcome letter and a UFT Welfare Fund benefit card within a few weeks of enrolling. Members usually receive a membership card from the state affiliate, New York State United Teachers, in four to six weeks.

Read about your NYSUT member benefits

Read about your American Federation of Teachers member benefits

Next membership meeting

I hope to see many of you at our next meeting on Wednesday, April 26, at UFT central, 52 Broadway, Manhattan. I'll bring you up to date on negotiations and other business. If you plan to attend, please email me at emendez@uft.org.