Archive Page 128

Per diems under the gun

Published June 27, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment

Carol Ruiz is a substitute teacher in Brooklyn.

There is no other group of members of the union I can think of that are more under-represented than substitute teachers.

We are called upon to serve the children of the city of New York on a moments notice, and to work in some of the worst conditions imaginable, yet our union fails to negotiate on our behalf to draft substantial objective due process protections within our contract.  The claim has been that they have no leverage to negotiate due process for per diems. Yet there are other states that have drafted contracts that at least provide some sort of “verbal warnings” or conferences with administrators before a substitute is placed on a “do not call” list or ineligible list.

In 2005 the UFT and the Department of Education agreed to implement a massive teacher recruitment system called “Sub Central”; which was implemented under the premise that there was a need for substitute teachers to work in districts that were “under-serviced”. Not one substitute was called in to the union to be informed about the implementation of this registry, nor were they told what affect it would have on their jobs.

There have been many abuses against substitute teachers by the substitute registry that I can discuss at another time.However, right now, as we speak, this same registry has sent a letter to all substitutes dated June 11, 2010 that has literally threatened our very livelihood.The letter states that if substitute teachers do not log onto a certain website and register to agree to certain conditions which are ambiguously stated, we will be terminated.

Strong language, and yet we are being asked to agree to teach under conditions yet to be clarified, or be terminated on or about June 28, 2010. That only gives us a few days to examine this and almost no time to think for fear of losing our jobs.

No one in their right mind would ever agree to do a job before being told what requirements they will be expected to fulfill. This is an absolute outrage! How could substitutes agree to such terms?

But, the only advice given by the UFT is to log on and agree and wait for the union to discuss the terms at a later date. The UFT has not expressed publicly its outrage, nor have they sent notices to the per diems about what they advise them to do. However, I was informed that the union had already known and agreed to “raise the standards” for substitute teachers in the coming school year, and yet failed to inform the members.

On the “renewal” website it also states that if a sub fails to respond to a call for work, they will be made ineligible.  The nature of a subs job is have the freedom to turn down jobs that they feel are inappropriate for them. To monitor subs in such a manner is nothing but control and harassment of substitute teachers.

These kind of tactics need to be squarely addressed and this abuse of power by the DOE against “itinerant workers” must come to an end.

Carol Ruiz
June 25, 2010

Rally against budget cuts at City Hall; Rally at Bloomberg’s house against administrative abuse at Bronx Science

Published June 5, 2010 New York CIty Department of Education , NYC , UFT , United Federation of Teachers Closed
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The news that Mayor Bloomberg has rescinded his layoffs is very welcome. His arbitrary pronouncement that teachers will forego a raise for the next two years is nothing more than maneuvering and playing to the media. UFT President Michael Mulgrew made it very clear, “There is no deal.” He welcomed the news about the layoffs but stated unequivocally that a contract must still be negotiated.

Meanwhile, the schools have already been told to make draconian cuts. The UFT, membership, and our allies in the communities and the labor movement are calling for your support at the June 16th rally at City Hall against these cuts.

We cannot be complacent. New Action is urging all of our supporters and all friends of education to make June 16 a massive turnout to protest these cuts.

We are also supporting the call of the teachers at Bronx High School of Science to stop the harassment of teachers and staff at that school. The announcement here makes it very clear why this is an important action to turn out for.

We urge you to attend both events.

New Tenure Plan

Published May 12, 2010 New York , New York CIty Department of Education , NYC , tenure , test scores , testing , UFT , United Federation of Teachers 2 Comments
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You Could Be Removed (after 2 years) before the Letters in Your File (after 3 years)

New Action opposes the teacher evaluation system just proposed by the Board of Regents, with support from the NYSUT and UFT leaderships.

The proposal would base a significant part of each teacher’s rating, up to 40%, on test scores. We do not believe that even the best test of student achievement can provide an accurate measure of teacher effectiveness. But in New York State, where we know, and our union has repeatedly told us, the tests are broken?  Or, in New York City, where the City tests and Acuity tests are even worse?  Basing ratings on any tests would be bad enough, but on these?

The proposal would invest even more importance in standardized tests than they already have.  There would be pressure on teachers to do additional test prep. There would be pressure on teachers to inflate grades. Principals are already pressured by the poorly named Progress Reports to inflate grades, to play with numbers, to cheat. This proposal would establish that as the norm, would create schools and districts where the test scores and how to inflate them become the common culture. Our children our already over-tested.

The UFT just passed a resolution against extending testing down to K – 2. We should not be giving the state or administrators more reason to test kids, more reason to push teachers to teach what’s on the test rather than teach what the kids really need.

The proposal would change satisfactory and unsatisfactory, S and U, to “ineffective,” “developing,” “effective,”  and “highly effective.” Two years in a row of “ineffective”  ratings could lead to a 60 day termination process – no matter how senior the teacher, no matter how experienced, no matter whether they have tenure.

Back in January, in the face of similar proposals, made by AFT President Randi Weingarten, Michael Mulgrew wrote:

[these] proposals would require a climate of collaboration and trust that simply does not exist here.

Hundreds of schools have abusive administrators who are making life hell for our members. We have witnessed the drive to harass and get rid of senior teachers. We have witnessed new teachers being pitted against our veterans. The Bloomberg/Klein push to fire last years U-rated teachers and all of our ATRs FIRST is part of the picture. Will these same administrators now be “fair minded? Collaborative? Will they craft a fair “corrective” plan for “ineffective” teachers.

If we, the UFT, fought these changes, and they were forced on us, that would be different. If we brought our strength to bear, and tried to back the Regents down, but did not succeed, that would be different.

We voted for the Michael Mulgrew who stood tough on school closings. For the Michael Mulgrew who drew a line in the sand to protect ATRs , who fought school closings, and who stood up to Bloomberg and Klein. We expect nothing less on teacher evaluation and tenure.

Our union must step back and withdraw support from this proposal.

  • Say yes to protecting tenure.
  • Say no to more testing for kids.
  • SAY NO TO RATING TEACHERS BASED ON TESTS!

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