
Members spoke. We listened. The UNITY/UFT caucus has been the foundation of our union for over 60 years and we proudly bear the responsibility for being the majority voice. UNITY/UFT listened to the concerns of membership, involved them through every part of the negotiation process and fought for a contract that provides us with VOICE, SUPPORT, RESPECT and true EMPOWERMENT.
UNITY/UFT President Michael Mulgrew summed it up best when announcing the contract had been ratified. “I want to thank the members of the UFT for their resounding support of this contract. The new agreement gives teachers a larger voice in how their schools are run, and shows what we can accomplish when we stand together.” To emphasize that statement, we can accomplish anything in UNITY.
This is in addition to the two lump sum payments that will be received in October 2019 and 2020.
UNITY/UFT understands that it is and has always been about doing the absolute best for our members.
In spite of tremendous external pressure and ongoing attacks on our Union and our profession, UNITY/UFT stayed the course, fighting relentlessly for an agreement with NYC on paid parental leave for UFT members. This is something our members, men and women alike, wanted. We knew that we had to make this a priority and get the job done. And we did.
The new deal provides six weeks of time off at full salary for maternity, paternity, adoption and foster care leave. When this time off is then combined with current sick leave policies, new mothers could have a total of 12 to 14 weeks of paid leave. And, for the first time, fathers as well as non-birth parents – foster, adoptive and surrogate – are eligible for paid time off with the arrival of a child. Under the new agreement they are now eligible for six weeks of paid parental leave at full salary.
UNITY/UFT President Michael Mulgrew said it succinctly: “Our educators give so much to the children in their classrooms. Now, New York City has a way for educators to spend more time with their own children. We knew that if we are to keep the educators we have and attract a new generation of educators to our schools, there needed to be a paid parental leave policy in place that gives them peace of mind. And now we have it.”
The fight for paid parental leave is another example of UNITY/UFT’s tireless pursuit of better benefits and working conditions for our members. The battles to protect our members’ rights never stop. You can count on UNITY/UFT to always fight back in the war against organized labor. It is what we have always done.
Leading The Charge To Protect And Preserve Our Union
Pay increases That Reward The Efforts Of Our Members
Below are some examples of maximum salaries by the end of the contract in 2018:
Improvements To The Quality Of Our Work Lives:
Progress Toward A Sensible Teacher Evaluation System
Security Now And For The Future