tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12610610.post116364251346347513..comments2023-12-27T03:40:39.548-05:00Comments on Mah Rabu מה רבו: Memo-RANDOM of agreementBZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242965196421853025noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12610610.post-1164082692052520632006-11-20T23:18:00.000-05:002006-11-20T23:18:00.000-05:00i don't think she's actually buried there, but i'm...i don't think she's actually buried there, but i'm not sure. i shall ask marianne next time i see them.<BR/>all the best ...ravajhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03341489124504088158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12610610.post-1164081246443992702006-11-20T22:54:00.000-05:002006-11-20T22:54:00.000-05:00Health benefits aren't in the old contract either ...Health benefits aren't in the old contract either -- the health plans are for all city employees, and aren't specific to teachers and other UFT members.<BR/><BR/>(Oh, then who negotiates these? Do all the city unions get together for super-collective bargaining?)BZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18242965196421853025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12610610.post-1164080791402823802006-11-20T22:46:00.000-05:002006-11-20T22:46:00.000-05:00Sorry to spoil the party kids... did you happen to...Sorry to spoil the party kids... did you happen to notice what the contract does NOT cover?<BR/><BR/>Benefits. yep, all of em. It doesn't cover pensions for new hires, it doesn't cover anyone's health benefits, and so forth.<BR/><BR/>I don't have a degree in this stuff or anything like that** but my guess is the city doesn't want to see a protracted health care/pension struggle happen with the teachers less than a year after the transit strike. And they also don't want to be seen capitulating to demands that sound, well, identical to the demands of TWU, which would then put the state in a pickle.<BR/><BR/>If wages are out of the bargaining picture, that's one less thing for you to haggle over. If you take the 7 percent, when it comes time to talk about health benefits, they can say, "what?! you already agreed to salary." You have nothing you can give back, and are put in a position of weakness for it. Please don't take the money and run, unless you plan on putting it towards your new healthcare premiums.<BR/><BR/><BR/>**actually does have a degree in this stuffRuby Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14802936303861061783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12610610.post-1164023988969277742006-11-20T06:59:00.000-05:002006-11-20T06:59:00.000-05:00Thanks! One day I'll go to London and see for mys...Thanks! One day I'll go to London and see for myself. Is Natalie Baeck actually buried there?BZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18242965196421853025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12610610.post-1164016472911536642006-11-20T04:54:00.000-05:002006-11-20T04:54:00.000-05:00dear bz - pics for you at my flickr account:http:/...dear bz - pics for you at my flickr account:<BR/><BR/>http://www.flickr.com/photos/83714657@N00/301770640/<BR/><BR/>&<BR/><BR/>http://www.flickr.com/photos/83714657@N00/301770663/<BR/><BR/>i always go to visit them when i go to my father's grave.<BR/>l'shalomravajhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03341489124504088158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12610610.post-1163741455836752622006-11-17T00:30:00.000-05:002006-11-17T00:30:00.000-05:00Hmmph. Some of us might suggest that tbe UFT enjo...Hmmph. Some of us might suggest that tbe UFT enjoys much greater respect than say, the Transit Union, beyond JFREJ circles. These are teachers, their union is repectable and reasonable, as is their leader. Why not get contract issues out of the way? We the citizens of NY want that. These teachers are educating our youth. Their peace of mind is our peace of mind. Bloomberg, despite all his faults, is no Pataki in labor relations, and probably kind of like teachers too, and feels he owes them. Sorry if I don't see a conspiracy theory. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12610610.post-1163701069266362442006-11-16T13:17:00.000-05:002006-11-16T13:17:00.000-05:00Some UFTers have been overheard commenting upon wh...Some UFTers have been overheard commenting upon what is obvious to them (an perhaps them alone)the nefarious underhandedness of the proposed teacher pay raise. The conjecture, if I can present it for them as one who does not give it credence is as follows:<BR/><BR/>the city is expecting billions (with a B) in assistance from the state. Conspiracy theorists would believe that the rush to a new contract is to "hide" that money from the union, putting it out of our reach when it arrives and giving the city to spend it on stuff other than teachers salaries while we live under this odious, miserable new gift of a contract of thousands and thousands (and for some of us, thousands) of additional dollars a year with no extra work..... by "other stuff", I think what they fear is that the city will spend it on crap like more schools, more teachers to work in those schools, etc, and not just more money for them to spend on cigarettes to puff on a foot or so out of the school property.....<BR/><BR/>Obvious, I do not share their concerns. I agree with BZ in that it seems odd that there is no seeming political manipualtion (excluding above relayed conspiracy theory). May I suggest why this is happening? Young, qualified (often qualified at the city or governments expense) are leaving the system for a few quantifiable reasons, largely salaries, but also class size. Could it be that the city actually wants to protect its investment in these teachers by retaining them by improving the one quantifiable measure, not because there is a gun (strike threat) to their head, but because it is the sensible, responsible thing to do? <BR/><BR/>From the teacher's perspective (greedy or otherwise) this salary raise does one very important thing that a raise in 3 years wont do. It raises the bar for the 'burbs who would want to poach city teachers. One could argue that the bar could be raised higher if we wait, but the truth is that as soon as we are known to have a higher pricetag, the price to the "poachers" will go up, which means the salary pressure on future contracts will be greater, making the pricetag higher and so on and so on...... so if we sign this, we help ourselves and we get one other important thing that we seem so willing to throw away in other views, we get the dignity of being actually professionals, not "a union of professionals" (an oxymoron) and we get to look our neighbors and our subway drivers in the eye without being the rightful recipients of their scorn.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com