The union contract empowers us as educators to do our jobs well. It includes articles and rights whose sole aim is to ensure that we have the resources, support and structures in place to do our best to educate our students. It gives us an important voice in the workplace and a mechanism for addressing problems.
The contract provides us with preparation time, gives us a say in our own professional development, provides a time for parent communication, includes vital whistleblower protections in relation to special education referrals, and much more.
But, inevitably, in the real world, issues come up. If you feel your contractual rights have been violated, it’s time to speak up and seek a fair resolution.
In general, you should first confer with your chapter leader. Your chapter leader can explain the grievance process to you and the possible ways to resolve your complaint without having to resort to a grievance. If informal measures don’t fix your issue, your chapter leader can assist you in preparing and filing a grievance. If you cannot reach your chapter leader, you can speak to your UFT district representative or contact your UFT borough office.
Filing a grievance is the formal way that members object to the Department of Education’s violation of the DOE-UFT contract or of established DOE policy and practice as embodied in bylaws, circulars, personnel memoranda or Chancellor’s Regulations.
Don’t delay. While time frames to file grievances vary, most grievances must be filed within 30 school days of the incident. Be aware that some grievances, such as those regarding per-session and reorganization issues, have a much shorter time frame.
Common grievances
Salary grievances can be filed when UFT members are paid the wrong rate, such as a per-diem substitute filling a school vacancy for the year being paid too little or an educator not being paid their proper salary step or differential.
Reorganization grievances concern issues such as teacher program assignments, comp time positions and other programming issues.
Injury-in-line-of-duty grievances occur when a principal denies that an injury that occurred at the worksite was related to working conditions.
Class size grievances can be filed when your class size is not in compliance with the contract (these contractual limits are separate from the new lower limits in the state’s class size law).
Religious observance grievances can be filed if a school disapproves of time off for religious observance.
APPR complaint grievances deal with cases in which the evaluation process was not implemented correctly.
Paraprofessional discipline grievances provide an avenue for paraprofessionals to contest unfair discipline, including suspensions and firings.
Retaliation, union animus and harassment grievances deal with cases of unfair treatment by supervisors.
Union-initiated grievances are filed by the union on behalf of a group of union members who have all faced the same violation of the contract. The union, for instance, has won union-initiated grievances on behalf of all members of the Adult Education Teachers Chapter and all members who input data into the Special Education Student Information System (SESIS).
The power of the DOE-UFT contract resides in the willingness of members to take the initiative to formally object to a violation by filing a grievance.
UFT members enjoy a wide array of workplace rights. It is important that you learn about your contractual rights and then use your professional voice to ensure that those rights are respected.