Fact sheet on your contract
- New salaries: Raises of 2%, 2.5% and 3% produce a three-year compound rate of 7.7 percent, above expert predictions of inflation of 6.2 percent (Federal Reserve Bank) and 6.8 percent (International Monetary Fund).
- At the end of the contract period, new teachers will earn $61,070; teachers with a master’s and 10 years of experience will earn $101,441; and the new top salary will be $128,657. The new contract raises are in addition to lump-sum payments negotiated as part of 2014 contract, including the payment this month and others payable in October of 2019 and 2020.
- Paid parental leave: No changes to the paid parental leave agreement won in June.
- Health care: While a national survey (Kaiser Employer Survey, 2017) showed that U.S. employees pay an average of more than $5,700 per year for family health care coverage, UFT-represented employees — thanks to the citywide agreement reached earlier this year with all municipal unions — continue to have access to premium-free health care coverage.
The contract breaks new ground in workplace improvements and the voice it gives educators:
- Reduces the number of principal observations for the vast majority of educators.
- Creates a faster process to resolve class size overages earlier in the school year. For schools that are not resolved quickly, arbitrators will have the authority to impose a remedy.
- Provides additional compensation for paraprofessionals and gives them much greater due process rights.
- Creates a way for chapter leaders to fight for improvements in safety, curriculum, workload, space and other working conditions.
- Protects UFT-represented employees from retaliation and harassment by administrators for highlighting school problems. If not resolved, an independent arbitrator will now make the final determination.
- ATR assignments will now be made at the beginning of the school year rather than after Oct. 15. An ATR’s salary will no longer affect the average salary calculation of a school that hires the ATR.