The Parent Trap: How Long Should UFT Members Returning from Leave Go Without Pay? 

I should start out with gratitude, considering I’m writing this on Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for the six weeks of Paid Parental Leave (PPL) I was able to enjoy, thanks to the advocacy of the UFT and other unions. I cannot imagine not having those six weeks. They were truly the best six weeks of my life. I wish every American had the same time with their new children. There can be no doubt, life is better in a union. However, what should have been the celebration of a new child, quickly turned into a calamity of bureaucracies. I returned to work from my leave, a happy and tired new parent, on October 11th. As I write this on Thanksgiving Day, November 28th, I have still not been paid for the work I have done. That is 49 days, three pay periods, or 29 school days without compensation. That is unacceptable. Being a new parent is hard enough. 

The good news up front, my natural fear of the DOE’s Human Resources system mitigated much of the serious financial damage this could have done. We prepared our finances for this occurrence, fearing the worst. Spoiler alert, we did not miss rent. We were lucky. 37% of Americans cannot afford an emergency over $400. 21% have no emergency savings at all. Yet, the DOE put me through a serious financial stress-test at the worst possible time. Perhaps worse, there is no real mechanism in place for our union to hold them accountable. In fact, our union is a partner in this leave that often results in significant delays in payment to their members. 

On October 29th, I requested to know when I would next be paid by the DOE’s HR department. 10 days later, I was told it wouldn’t be until the November 29th paycheck. They informed me nothing could be done to expedite the process. I reached out to the UFT leave specialists that day. They told me the specialist who does PPL was out… on PPL. They gave me an alternative specialist to reach out to. I did so. I waited. I waited 6 days without response from the UFT. Finally, in my frustration, I included LeRoy Barr in a request for help. They finally responded. Their response was… you’ll get paid on the 29th of November. I told them that getting paid 50 days after returning cannot be acceptable. I asked if this was typical? They responded, it’s not typical, but it’s not atypical. 

Since then, I have reached out to other UFT members who recently used a UFT Paid Parental Leave. Everyone I have talked to has reported delays in payment upon returning. Most reported delays in payment exceeding one month. Some reported delays closer to two months. I spoke to a payroll secretary, who informed me this is in fact the norm. Neither the DOE nor the UFT warned me of the potential financial hardship prior to applying for the Paid Parental Leave. 

We have to do better. The first step, as teachers well know, is data. What is the average time it takes to receive your first paycheck when returning from a leave? How many people are affected by this, and what are the financial repercussions they have felt? This seems like important information for members to know when planning their finances before a leave. The second step is finding remedial actions. How can we as union members help, or force if necessary, the employer to solve this issue? I do not want any of my co-unionists to suffer as a result of this broken system. Please use the comments section of this post to share your leave stories! 

By David N. Firestone