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The End of the Rubber Rooms

Published April 20, 2010 New York CIty Department of Education 1 Comment
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In September there will be no rubber rooms. The time-frame for adjudicating all cases, old and new, is greatly reduced. This is a victory!

This agreement directly benefits those members who are in the Temporary Reassignment Centers now and ultimately all UFT members. The threat to send teachers to the Rubber Room is eliminated. And one way of harassing chapter leaders and separating them from their members is gone.

Will the DoE Abuse this Agreement?

While the agreement is a giant step forward, we don’t trust the DoE and we will watch them closely. They could try to twist or pervert anything to use against our members. We cannot predict if they will, or what tricks they might try, but there are two areas we want to watch closely.

  1. This agreement makes the timelines enforceable by grievance – but the DoE might well test whether we are willing to grieve.
  2. And the new agreement’s faster timelines are designed to ensure that members are either charged or returned to the classroom more quickly. We should be ready in case the DoE uses the streamlined process to charge more members.

New Action’s eight members on the UFT Executive Board will work with President Mulgrew, to watch for and counter DoE “gaming” or violations, and to make sure that the provisions of this agreement are implemented to our members’ advantage.

We also know that there are serious problems with the disciplinary process and the 3020a’s, beyond the Rubber Rooms. The process is still stacked against our members, and still needs to be fixed. We pledge to continue to work to get our members fairer treatment and end abuses.

But for today we congratulate the membership on closing the Rubber Rooms for good.

Jonathan Halabi, David Kaufman, Michael Shulman,
Co-Chairs, New Action/UFT

UFT suit against school closings successful

Published March 26, 2010 New York CIty Department of Education 1 Comment
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The UFT suit blocking Chancellor Klein’s 19 school closings next year received a favorable decision today. The judge ruled that the PEP votes were null and void, and that the DoE could not close Jamaica, Columbus, Robeson, Norman Thomas, New Day, Metropolitan, SCRL, MABL, Beach Channel, Maxwell, and 9 other schools.

Teachers have reason to applaud the decision. It is a victory for the teachers and students in those schools. It is a victory for the thousands who attended CEC meetings, PEP meetings, and rallies and demonstrations. It is a victory for the neighborhoods. It is a victory for all of us.

But it is only a first step. The DoE may appeal, or may try again next year. Our suit won because Klein violated his own procedures. Next year may be tougher.

Let’s savor the victory over this break, but let’s return ready to think about how to continue the struggle into next year.

New Action condemns school closings/ calls for citywide response

Published December 16, 2009 New York CIty Department of Education , NYC 1 Comment
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WE NEED A CITYWIDE RESPONSE TO SCHOOL CLOSINGS!
Unprecedented NYC DOE attack on public schools in New York City

The New York City Department of Education announced over the last few days plans to close twenty schools, including large or CTE (vocational) high schools, including:  Norman Thomas, Alfred E Smith, Columbus, Maxwell, Paul Robeson, Beach Channel, and Jamaica. Of the others, nine are schools that Bloomberg and Klein themselves opened.

The UFT has for several years called for a moratorium on closing schools, unless and until the DOE demonstrated that the results of reorganizing and opening new schools worked, a result we do not think they can show.

Closing schools disrupt neighborhoods, disrupt families, disrupt teachers’ lives, disrupt students’ education. … Schools traditionally have been stable institutions in our neighborhoods, and in that sense, the multiple openings and closings can be devastating. And critically for us as teachers, closing schools forces senior teachers, long out of the job market, onto the Open Market, where they continue to face system-wide discrimination and the danger of becoming an ATR…

Most of the schools have decided they will fight the proposed closings. Last week there was a demonstration at Maxwell. There will be demonstrations at most of the others. Campaigns are being launched from the schools themselves. And the schools are turning to the central union for assistance in organizing their struggle.

But there is much we as a union and we as teachers in unaffected schools can do to help. Those in targeted schools have a tremendous amount of work, and need our help.

New Action members on the UFT Action Committee proposed several actions including:
•    A Day of Solidarity organized in each borough, with rallies at each school
•    Joining rallies at neighboring schools slated for closing
•    Wearing buttons or wearing black in support of closing schools
…

This fight must be seen in a larger context….
1.    the burden at schools which had not been closed was increased threefold, causing these schools to be subsequently closed. One school reported that their student population went from 800 to 2000.
2.    the growth of ATRs who were subsequently scapegoated. Make no mistake about this: the goal of Bloomberg and Klein is to reduce the workforce of veteran teachers,
3.    the move to replace public schools with charters.

We cannot allow this to happen!

(click here for the complete text of this leaflet)

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