The Winners And Losers Of The Proposed Teachers Contract.

The proposed teachers contract with the City will probably be ratified this week and that's a shame since this contract has some "winners and losers".  No union should ever have agreed to a contract that treats their members differently but our union did.

The winners:

Retiring Teachers:
Teachers retiring by June 30th.  These retiring teachers will get their full retroactive pay and have it included in their pension checks.  No worries about Danielson, junk science, or abusive administrators.

Recently retired teachers:
They will get their full retroactive pay and a pension bump to reflect the retroactive pay.

Teachers who retire after 2018:
These teachers will receive all the raises which are back loaded to the end of the contract, if they can last that long.

The losers:

Teachers who resign, terminated, or die:
Teachers who leave the DOE before they reach retirement age, or are terminated, and who die will not get one penny of their retroactive raises or lump sum payments even if they worked in the 2009-11 school years. This includes untenured teachers who were discontinued.

Teachers on unpaid leave:
Teachers who are on unpaid leave on the date of the contract ratification will not receive the $1,000 bribe bonus.  This group includes teachers on maternity leave, family medical leave, and taking time off to care for a loved one.

Absent Teacher Reserve:
The ATRs will have diminished "due process rights" and have no say in placements.  Moreover, for middle and elementary school ATRs, will now be forced to take positions outside their Districts in their Borough.  Moreover, for ATRs who won their 3020-a termination hearings or took a stipulation, the DOE will not offer them interviews and keep them in rotation.

Teachers Who Retire After June 30th:
Unlike the recent retirees, this group of retirees will get their retroactive pay in drips and drabs like active members will.  Furthermore, their pension bumps will also be gradual and reflect the deferred payout scheme for the retroactive raises and payments.  Of course, if they retire before May of 2018 they will not receive the back-loaded raises.

Its a pity that our union allowed the City and the DOE to target a group of teachers to different rules and didn't significantly change the termination process for alleged"ineffective teachers".  Moreover, no union should agree to a contract that has "winners" and "losers".  That's not union solidarity.