As expected, the union was able to convince three out of the four members to vote "yes" by employing "scare tactics" to pass the inferior contract negotiated in a backroom deal with the Bill de Blasio Administration. This deal showed that for the union leadership it was more important to help Mayor Bill de Blasio succeed as Mayor than doing what's right for the members.
The union sent out its entire office staff to the schools and scared the members by claiming that if they don't vote yes, the members would be sent to the back of the line and the City will not have the money to pay for our raises. Left unsaid is that if we let the police go first, we would not be getting eighteen months of "0" raises and we would certaionly have not made ATRs second class citizens.
The raises negotiated, 10% for 7 years, comes out to 1.43% a year or less than the Metropolitan area inflation rate of 2.31% for the last three years. That's right! Even if you add the retroactive raises, the 2% raises for the 9 year length of the contract is less than the inflation rate! Worse if a member resigns, is discontinued, gets terminated, or die, they do not receive the retroactive raises or lump sum payments. The members must make it to retirement age to realize the puny gains in the contract.
As bad as the inferior and deferred raises are, some not being paid until October 2020, the union leadership's agreement to a"caste system"for the ATRs is simply a betrayal to those members. No other Municipal union would agree to make some of its members a second class citizen as our union leadership did. In fact, the union leadership actually agreed to a "caste system" as ATRs, known as the"untouchables"who won their 3020-a termination hearings will be punished a second time by the DOE by not being offered interviews. For the ATRs who came from closing or closed schools or who were excessed by downsizing, will be subject to "forced placements" and a reduced"due process rights"by being subject to an expedited one day 3020-a hearing due to "problematic behavior". Now the DOE has eliminated the hiring freeze and with the continuation of "fair student funding"will any ATRs be hired if they are tenured and make $75,000+? I highly doubt it.
The union leadership betrayed all their members by agreeing to inferior and deferred raises, not getting full retroactivity, not paying the over 4,000 teachers who left the system, and agreeing to a DOE imposed "caste system" for ATRs. and allowing the ATRs who won their 3020-a termination hearings, now known as the"untouchables"to be punished a seond time by the DOE.
Shame on the union leadership who betrayed their members in their backroom deal with the City and cared more about appeasing the new Mayor and Chancellor and if that means an inferior contract and selling out the ATRs, so be it.