UFT Teacher Contract Passes 75-25, OT/PT, nurses, audiologists vote NO -

.... teachers overwhelmingly voted to ratify – albeit with a much smaller ‘yes’ margin (under 75%) than in 2018 (87%) and a smaller margin than 2014 (77%)..... Nick Notes at NAC...

New Action – UFT2022-2027 UFT Contract Approved: An Analysis 

 

Monday, July 10, 2023

I'm going to get to the healthcare news with another rally coming on Thursday. But the breaking news is the contract vote. 

As we reported earlier today with this account of the vote count. UFT Contract Vote Count: Report from the Front Lines - Judi C. the UFT released the outcomes of the contract vote. We were watching some ballots pass through the machines on Thursday and made rough estimates of 70-75%. We used batch counting where I counted yes votes up to 30 and someone else counted No votes and we saw numbers like 30-12 which gave us a clue. Despite being not happy with the way were kept from observing, we knew that it wasn't going to be close enough to raise any issues at this time but we want to ensure better observation in the future. We expect to hold a follow-up meeting to make recommendations since I have no doubt that if an important election looked close, Unity is not to be trusted. Think LukaMulgrew in Belarus.

There are multiple contracts and as they did last time, the OT/PT/Nurses voted no again. Here are some comments on Nick's post:

Teresa Maher July 10, 2023 at 1:33 pm

Please cover the story of why OT/PT’s and nurses voted down the contract. During COVID, nurses were in the field working long and late hours. OT/PT’s were live remotely way before teachers who just posted work in the google classrooms. PT’s are not compensated for their doctorate degrees. The DOE gets back millions for our services through the , but also fails to collect millions due to not following policy requirements. We still get a 30 min lunch and no sabbaticals……

Reply

• BaconUFT July 10, 2023 at 1:36 pm

  Absolutely, and I’ve seen a copy of the email UFT leadership sent to you all following the no vote. It looks like they’re blaming you, not recognizing that you voted no because you deserve better.

And here is the email sent to the chapter by the UFT, where Rich Mantel has regrets they voted down the contract, an act of militancy that should be celebrated:

I regret to inform you that the contract covering occupational and physical therapists, school nurses, audiologists and supervisors of nurses and therapists was the only DOE-UFT contract not ratified.

While we talk about one tentative contract agreement, it is, in fact, an amalgam of more than 12 separate contracts. The ratification of each contract requires the approval of more than 50% of the votes cast by members of that bargaining unit. Overall, three-quarters of the nearly 96,000 UFT members who cast ballots voted "yes" on the tentative agreement, according to the tally by the independent American Arbitration Association. But your contract was voted down by a vote of 1,129 against and 782 in favor.

As a result, all the new contractual benefits, including the pay increases and the $3,000 ratification bonus, will not be available for the therapists, school nurses, audiologists and supervisors of nurses and therapists covered by this contract. You will continue to work under the terms of the previous contract.

We will hold a virtual meeting for occupational and physical therapists, school nurses, audiologists and supervisors of nurses and therapists on Thursday, July 13, at 3 p.m., to discuss next steps in the difficult road ahead. You will receive an email invitation to register. We encourage you to attend. Sincerely,

Richard Mantell
UFT Vice President

There is almost glee in announcing they won't get the bonuses. Will the UFT drag its feet to teach them a lesson? Remember, Melissa Williams from the oppo was elected CL two years ago and Unity is not happy. With an election next year they may try to place blame for the vote --- but hell, this is a pretty big number and shows support for Melissa's fight with the leadership for better contracts.

Closing with Nick's comment:

while a number of irregularities characterized the voting/mailing process, thus prompting the High School Executive Board to pre-emptively seek out chapter-specific data, the surprising turnout numbers and margin of ‘victory’ were enough to suggest that the results (ratification) would not have been different. UFC affiliates were also present during day-time portions of the count to observe what they could of the process, but didn’t see any concrete malfeasance resembling what DC37 officials were caught doing to rig a ratification vote back in the 90s.

This contract, despite its faults, is now our contract. Indeed, it will be for some time.