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.

 

UFT Contract Vote Count: Report from the Front Lines - Judi C.

Transparency and democracy are two things we have to always insist on if we are to do things right. Our voices matter. Chapter members and Chapter Leaders — please ask whether or not your ballots were received and counted. Email your CL, District Rep, Boro Rep. They should be able to get you an answer... Judi C.

 

Monday, July 10, 2023

I observed the UFT contract vote count (if you can call what we did observing) with Judi C and others for a few hours on July 6 and will issue further reports. Expect results to be published today. My general feeling is we barely got to do real observing. We seemed to be there as a prop to demonstrate they allowed observers.  .... Norm

Judi C. posted this on Saturday, July 7, 2023 and is reposted on Ed Notes with permission from the author. She raises some points about the process.

A Peek Behind the Observation Curtain

I observed the vote-count with a handful of other rank-and-file UFT members on Thursday, July 6, and Friday, July 7, 2023. 

I’m a Chapter Leader in a District 2 middle school. I dropped off my ballots at noon on Friday, July 5, by the 5pm deadline, at the American Arbitration Association (AAA). I heard from veteran teachers that any UFT member who wanted to observe the vote-count could do so. It was to be at UFT offices at 52 Broadway, because AAA offices were too small. (Previously, such sensitive matters were handled in rented hotel ballrooms as neutral venues. Not this time.) I went anyway because I wanted to see what it was like.

Upon arriving at 9AM Thursday, I took a seat in a sectioned off area with a handful of other rank-and-file UFT members. Several UFT staff and officers were inside the counting area without objections from AAA. Yasmin Colon, designated UFT staffer, and Membership Coordinator, and her assistant, were present during the operation. Yasmin was approachable and answered what questions she could. An AAA manager was also present, but we were told she would only answer to Yasmin.

Apparently, much of ballot verification already happened at AAA offices. Reportedly, according to Yasmin, 90,000 ballots came in (assuming from Tuesday June 27, to Wednesday, July 5. All AAA/UFT offices were closed July 4.) UFT offices were also closed for Eid Wednesday, June 28, so if like me, you showed up, you were out of luck.)

At the vote-count, a loud machine opened the outer envelopes (the one where we wrote our names and file number). About 60-75 temp workers in uniform AAA t-shirts sat side-by-side at small rectangular tables, taking the secret (smaller) envelopes out of the bigger (marked) envelopes, and the color-coded ballots out of the smaller envelopes. 

These workers were contracted temp workers bussed in from Philadelphia. There were 15 separate contracts for 15 separate titles, so each worker had to make 15 piles of cards, separated by color. About 3-4 men in front of laptops attached to scanners then inserted stacks of ballots into the scanners. 

Observers couldn’t see well from where we were allowed to sit. But we could see that only two scanners were in use Thursday. Two flat screen monitors displayed the rapid scanning of ballots by title. Teachers and Paras were the titles with the largest number of members. We could see the different markings of Yes or No go by in rapid succession. Each batch took about 30-40 seconds to scan. I asked if it was livestreamed, and the answer was no. (I understand some states do allow live-streaming. Not sure about NY.)

Yasmin told us that UFT gave AAA a master list of all eligible voters so that AAA could cross-reference each ballot as they came into AAA offices. Some ballots may have arrived last-minute due to issues with return postage labels. We don’t know which ballots never made it. AAA doesn’t keep such data. UFT would have had to request that of AAA.

According to Yasmin, all Chapters received ballot kits. But it’s possible some kits got lost in the mail, arrived too late, or didn’t get sent to AAA. This would be important to know, given the magnitude of the postage label problems, and how many functional chapter members reported that they never got their ballots at home.

By 4pm Thursday, using two scanners, AAA scanned about 17,000 para ballots, and 27,000 teacher ballots. Yasmin said the goal was to get this done as quickly as possible. She didn’t want to have to repeat the process. She closed up for the day at 4pm, and said we could come back the following day.

The AAA Director said that one of the AAA Staff would stand guard overnight with the ballots and equipment, which was reassuring. Approximately 44,000 ballots were scanned, with 56,000 more to go. 

The next morning, Friday, July 7, at 9AM, there were only half the number of workers as the day before, and from what I could see from where I was sitting, only one scanner in use. AAA didn’t operate the envelope-opening machine until about 10AM. There were still outer envelopes to open. At separate tables, temp workers continued to remove the smaller envelopes from the larger (marked) envelopes.

At 11AM, we saw the smaller functional chapter ballots get scanned, images displayed on the screens. It seemed to be 50-50 for most titles. Very close.

There were lots of no votes, especially from paras. But still lots of yes votes— more yeses than no’s, about 65% to 35%, in my own estimation, just watching the screen.

Friday, July 7, at 12:30 PM, the AAA Director told the 20-25 temp workers to stop what they were doing (removing smaller envelopes from the bigger ones) pack up, and go home. “We are finished,” Yasmin told observers. It had only been 2.5 hours since the day started. I was surprised.

On Thursday, July 6, it took 7 hours to scan 44,000 ballots using two scanners, and Friday, it took 2.5 hours to count 56,000 ballots. Were there fewer ballots than originally reported? Logistically, it didn’t make sense that 56,000 ballots got scanned with one scanner in 2.5 hours, when the day before, it took 7 hours to scan 44,000 ballots with two scanners. Could it be there were many fewer than 90,000 ballots received? That would make more sense given the return mailing label issues. I wrote Yasmin July 7th to ask . No answer yet. 

Everything got packed up and taken back to AAA. It was over by Friday, July 7, 12:45 PM. 

Yasmin estimated results could be ready Monday, July 10. Would we get voter participation data? What would the results reflect, and how many members’ ballots (of all the ballots) were marked as invalid, and for what reasons. 

Greater voter participation is always better— there are valid concerns that not everyone was able to vote. June was very busy for everyone in schools, and not all chapters got their ballots in time for everyone to vote. Faulty return postage labels for returning ballots were also problematic. 

If you didn’t get a chance to vote, whether by mail or in person, make sure to let Yasmin Colon know: ycolon@uft.org It’s important to report how widespread the problems with ballots were. 

This contract, if passed, would be in effect from September, 2022 to November, 2027. It’s a serious matter that will impact upon all of our lives— for five years— and the lives of our students, especially with virtual learning, which could lead to chronic absenteeism and difficulty tracking students’ lives remotely. 

Transparency and democracy are two things we have to always insist on if we are to do things right. Our voices matter. Chapter members and Chapter Leaders — please ask whether or not your ballots were received and counted. Email your CL, District Rep, Boro Rep. They should be able to get you an answer.

#votecount #contract #tentativeagreement #UFTcontract #nycdoe #UnionStrong #democracyinvoting #uftmember #educatorsofnyc #morecaucusnyc #newactionuft #UnitedForChange

 

Retiree Advocate Newsletter: Good News on UFT Retiree Healthcare: Judge Frank Grants TRO for Switch to MAP

I was going to post on some of these issues, so this is welcome relief from doing the work. Thanks RA. I will be back later today with more on the healthcare issue and the mystery of the missing contract outcome, probably buried in the catacombs.

 

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July, 2023 Join Retiree Advocate/UFT - Become a member: $20 annual fee Send check made out to Retiree Advocate/ UFT P.O. Box 22567, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2567 or click this link to pay with Paypal Retiree Advocate is a member of  UNITED FOR CHANGE https://retireeadvocate.org Good News on UFT Retiree Healthcare: Judge Frank Grants TRO for Switch to MAP Nick Bacon, New Action Caucus, July 7 Today, Judge Lyle Frank granted a TRO (temporary restraining Order) which will temporarily halt the City and the MLC from switching all retirees from GHI SeniorCare to a for-profit Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan. While the case is far from over, this is a very good omen. These excerpts in particular bode well:   “First, the Court finds that the petitioners have shown by clear and convincing evidence that there is a likelihood of success on the merits. The Court agrees that it is likely that this Court will ultimately find that the respondents are estopped from switching retirees into a Medicare Advantage Plan and that New York City Administrative Code section 12-126 does not permit the action that the City plans to take….The petitioners have shown that numerous promises were made by the City to then New York City employees and future retirees that they would receive a Medicare supplemental plan when they retired, and that their first level of coverage once that retired would by Medicare.” Make no mistake: the timing of this TRO decision alongside a new contract that is almost sure to be ratified within the next several days is meaningful. Mulgrew’s nightmare scenario of a ratified contract followed by the necessity of making major negative changes to in-service health care plans now seems more likely and more imminent than it did before. Mulgrew, after all, will still need to find savings to pay back the City for promised healthcare spending reductions. Now, however, he will have to pillage elsewhere than our retiree coverage. For those next steps, we must wait and see; against those next steps, we must be ready to fight. For more from the New Action / UFT Blog, check out the website here. More information From the PSC  The decision temporarily enjoins the City, until further order of the court, from requiring any City retirees and their dependents from being removed from their current health insurance plans and from being required to either enroll in an Aetna MA Plan or seek their own coverage.  The court said they plaintiffs met the standards for winning a preliminary injunction, as 1) they have a likelihood of succeeding on the merits of their first cause of action, which alleges the city made a  promise of future Medicare benefits that retirees relied on "to their detriment" (making a decision based on that promise that concretely affects them, such as not taking another job), 2) there would be "irreparable harm" if they have to wait to complete litigation before receiving a court decision, and 3) the "balance of equities" (is the harm greater from granting or not granting an injunction?) favor the plaintiffs.   It can be difficult to appeal from the issuance of an injunction, as normally appeals are heard only from final decisions. Nevertheless, it's fair to assume the City will appeal. Meanwhile, the judge will begin a process in which he requires the City to provide evidence that satisfies him that, for example, retirees won't be denied coverage/treatment they would have received under Medicare. More from the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees.  Please note that the good news is only temporary in that: There will be subsequent hearings in court to determine if the Temporary Restraining Order should become "permanent" or if it should be lifted, and if so, on what basis; The City still has pending before the state Court of Appeals the appeal it filed on last year's case (which had said that the City does have the right to offer the Medicare Advantage Plan (the one it had offered before) but that the City has no right to auto enroll us or to make us pay for our already-existing Medigap plan).  We do not yet know what the status of that Court of Appeals case is - whether the Court will allow it to continue, or dismiss it or what. The City still has an appeal pending on the 'co-pay' case. We still need the City Council to pass Int. 1099-2023 so that we can permanently secure our rights to our existing health insurance benefits without having to go back and forth to court - a very unaffordable and time/labor-intensive process. So the organization has asked that we continue to donate (details below) for the mounting legal expenses and try to get our friends and others impacted by the City retiree health insurance rules and policies to do the same. TO DONATE, HERE ARE SEVERAL SIMPLE WAYS! 1.  Make Your Check or Money Order payable to:        NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees       Mail to: NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees  c/o JSH Accounting Services, LLC         PO Box 143538        Fayetteville, GA 30214 For your convenience, you can set-up AutoPay with your banking institution so that you can determine an amount and date to have funds automatically transferred. 2.   PayPal (Click to link to their Secure Site, a PayPal Account is not required.  The organization is charged a fee)  3.   ZELLE: (Go to Your "On-Line" Banking Website) Locate the ZELLE service & use our email:       NYCOrgofpublicserviceretirees@gmail.com     Check with your Bank to understand how ZELLE works. It's usually a service on their website.  When you locate and fill out the form and you are asked for the email or phone number, use the email address, above. Make sure it's correct! No phone number is required. The next time you use Zelle, the email should pop into that field.  You can check your bank account to make  sure the transaction went through. It's Quick & Easy 4.   VENMO: We Now Accept Donations via VENMO (The Organization is charged a fee. VENMO is a Phone App or can be used on a PC or Tablet. You can download and install the Phone App from the Android Play Store or Apple App Store. Please follow the instructions to Sign Up. Please read and understand how VENMO works before you donate! There may be fees involved using this method. Our ID is: @NYCRetirees2 Here is a quick Venmo  Tutorial: Old News but Still Important News Why do we need a petition to request a member-wide referendum to vote on healthcare changes?   According to the UFT Constitution, members can demand a member-wide referendum vote on any issue other than a constitutional amendment or actions on the status of an individual member.  First, ten percent of the membership must petition the UFT executive board for a referendum, and then the executive board must bring the matter to the entire body for a member-wide vote.  Given the serious nature of the healthcare changes that have been made without member input or democratic decision-making, we must take this matter into our own hands. So sign this petition today. We deserve a say on healthcare. Quick Facts Mulgrew voted in the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) to force retired City workers off of traditional Medicare and onto an Aetna-managed Medicare Advantage Plan (MAP). Despite knowing full well that there was significant opposition, Mulgrew denied membership the right to vote directly.  Major changes to our healthcare were made as part of our citywide contracts in 2014, and again in 2018.  Mulgrew was instrumental in negotiating both. In the last healthcare agreement, in 2018, he agreed to $600 million dollars in healthcare savings for the City for every year, in perpetuity. These changes and agreements were negotiated behind closed doors without member input. UFT chapter leaders and delegates were not given Appendix A to read beforehand which delineated the healthcare concessions when they voted in support of our 2018 contract.   UFT Leadership is currently working on a mysterious new health plan for in-service members that would replace GHI with something cheaper. As of now, membership will not have a say in this decision either, or given meaningful details about our potential options. Even without switching us off of GHI, UFT leadership has greenlit various new, significant healthcare expenses for in-service members without a membership vote.  For instance: ER visits now cost us triple digit copays, which are waived only if a patient is admitted, even if they are deemed to need emergency care.  Copays for most urgent care centers (including CityMD) have also risen to triple digits, from $15 to $100, since 2016. Major providers, such as CityMD, Montefiore, and almost all radiology centers, are no longer ‘preferred,’ leading to higher copays. Despite many healthcare expenses more than doubling, UFT leadership has not fought for fair increases in pay. Because we did not even attempt to stop DC37 from accepting a sub-inflation wage increase, UFT members will not only be seeing higher health costs – they’ll be taking a pay cut.

Want More Answers? From the PSC.  A very thorough list of questions and answers Medicare Rights- Medicare Interactive Choosing a Medigap Policy - 2023 Medicare Consumer reports choosing a drug plan UFT Retiree Health Care Update May 16 Advocacy and phone counselors from Medicare Rights Retiree Advocate Links NYC Retirees Homework until new litigation check regularly with them PSC Plan to solve the problem https://nycretirees.org/  The group behind the legal challenges Wendell Potter - corporate health insurance whistle blower Evidence of Coverage UFT Welfare Fund Court Documents Petition to stop the new Federal Government plan, REACH, a direct contracting program that will automatically enroll new retirees into a privatized version of Medicare aka Medicare Advantage. What is REACH? What's happening on the Federal Level More from the federal level See also PSC retirees Len Rodberg on how Medicare Advantage shortchanges patients while lining its own pockets and Bonnie Nelson on what it will cost us to waive the Aetna plan and buy our own insurance

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