” Whereas since its founding, the UFT has become one of our nation’s greatest unions with 200,000 members and a history of outstanding accomplishments be it therefore

Resolved, that on this 48th anniversary we pay tribute to our founders and to our members who through the years, as a result of their loyalty and dedication, have made it possible for us today to proudly say we are members of the Untied Federation of Teachers.”

I sincerely believe this resolution will pass on April 16, 2008 in the UFT Delegate Assembly. And I will say it again, we owe the UFT and all its leaders and the members who “walked the walk” a debt of gratitude for a job well done on our behalf. Surely, these UFTers were problem solvers and activists. We must “grow” another generation of “loyal and dedicated” UFT members. Our life as a union depends on it.

Phyllis C. Murray,
Chapter Leader/Delegate

In 1964 Martin Luther King said, the following: “The richest nation on earth has never allocated enough of its abundant resources to build sufficient schools, to compensate adequately its teachers and surround them with the prestige their worked justifies.” Certainly, he was correct. In 1964, lest we forget, a teacher (M.S. and 2yrs teaching) earned $ 8,600.00 per annum.

Leo Casey is also correct when he writes: “First, the significant pay increases in New York City over the last three contracts — a minimum of 43% for all teachers, and a maximum salary that will break the $100,000 ceiling in May — are all the more significant, given that they run directly against the grain of the national trends.”

The improvements in our members benefits, salaries, and working conditions were won in the past… one strike at a time. We are still standing on the shoulders of those who walked and marched before we were able or even willing to pick up the mantle and march. Therefore, we owe the UFT and all its leaders and the members who “walked the walk” a debt of gratitude for a job well done on our behalf.

Casey said:” for these increases to be sustained here in NYC and spread throughout K-12 education, it will be crucial to build the power of teacher unions across the nation. ” I agree!

We know what our union has done for us…so it is time to ask: What can we do for our union? What can we do to ensure that we keep the power of our union strong?
Phyllis C. Murray
UFT Chapter Leader

I spoke about the last three contracts — the 2005 contract was the second of three.

I think it is fair to say that it is common knowledge that the 43% increases over the last three contracts were a combination of pure raise and time for money swaps. [I don't know why you call the 43% into question the way you do; if you doubt it, you can certainly do the math for yourself, and see if it is correct.]

I think it is appropriate to note that the suburban districts with which you are comparing NYC worked a longer day, and that most still do — 7 hours [and more, in some cases] to our 6 hours and 50 minutes, much less the 6 hours and 20 minute day we had before these contracts. It seems to also be the case that you have taken for your comparison the wealthiest suburban school districts, rather than looked at the average salaries for Nassau County and Westchester County which are readily available from the NYSED.

Finally, I think it is clear that we have made up considerable salary ground with the surrounding districts over the last three contracts. Our members certainly appreciate these increases, recognize the importance of breaking the $100,000 ceiling, and understand just how important it was that we negotiated the last contract — which you called “mediocre” at the time — as we look forward to a significant raise scheduled for May, in this increasingly grim economic downturn.

What is important about the EPI study is that they show the general circumstances under which we accomplished what we did with salaries.

You can relitigate these issues if you want, but I think it is more important to have the forward looking strategic outlook I laid out in the post.

We wouldn’t be rehashing the dispute over the 2005 contract if you weren’t raising it. But there you go, making claims about raises stripped of crucial context.

The raises were paid for, in part, by surrendering time, including part of the summer.

And the increases were in the context of having lagged badly behind other districts in the region for 15 years. S badly, in fact, that 43% (if that’s calculated correctly) brings us even only with the nearby districts with lower pay schedules. We still lag badly, as far as I can tell, behind most of Westchester and Nassau.

I have made some NY region teacher salary schedules available so that teachers can check out the numbers for themselves.

Jonathan