We must always be on the lookout for education gimmicks, games and schemes. 

Under merit pay, teachers would be pitted against one another in a high-stakes monetary game, encouraged to treat students and their education as playing cards in the race around the Monopoly board. 

Take action now at the NYSUT Member Action Center to oppose any misguided merit pay scheme! 

Any system that creates a competitive, rather than collaborative, school climate where students are viewed as part of the salary equation rather than as children who deserve the best possible education raises real concerns. 

What makes sense is a career ladder program that provides extra pay for other assignments such as mentoring newer educators, earning advanced degrees or working in hard-to-staff schools. 

Take action now at the NYSUT Member Action Center to oppose any misguided merit pay scheme! 

Help us oppose any merit pay gimmick and send a message loud and clear that it's time for solutions, not more schemes. 

In solidarity, 
 
Andrew Pallotta
NYSUT Executive Vice President 

P.S.:  Education is collaboration, not competition! Help us stop any merit pay scheme!

Here is an opportunity for members and legislators to meet and discuss their issues.  Click HERE for more info.

click on the REGISTER HERE link in the left frame.  You need your AFT member # on the AFT member card, NOT your BCCC employee #.

For membership # help, see https://www.aft.org/members/help.cfm or  E-Mail: Membership Department or Phone: 888/238-5646.

A&R has come to an agreement with the State to modify our Tuition Reimbursement Memorandum of Understanding.

The agreement clarifies that employees are entitled to reimbursement for a maximum of twelve credits per contract year notwithstanding the number of courses taken. [A contract year runs from July 1 thru June 30]

The modified language reads as follows: "Employees shall be eligible for tuition reimbursement for a maximum of three (3) courses or twelve (12) credits or the equivalent per year."

AFT National President Randi Weingarten visited the Rio Grande Valley to see the great work that our teachers and members are doing.

She met with local superintendents and school board members. She joined a reception in Edinburg with AFT members from around the Rio Grande Valley, including from Edinburg, McAllen, La Joya, and Corpus Christi. She also visited area schools to see the incredible work that our students and teachers are doing.

A&R has filed an institutional grievance related to the upcoming Lump Sum Bonus payments.  A&R employees who were on their 9th Step and therefore did not receive a step increase on 12/27/2013 are eligible for the Lump Sum Bonus. 

You must be signed in to access teacher contracts.  They are located under NEWS tab under publications and reports.

You must be logged in as a member to access Executive Board Minutes.  Once logged in they are available on the Publications and Reports section under News tab. 

Adjuncts Living in Fear:

The cover story of the Dec. 18 issue of the San Diego Reader unveils “academe’s dirty little secret” about the academic staffing crisis. The exploitation of contingent faculty is no secret to AFT members, of course, but the article about the self-censoring pragmatism of highly educated professionals working with no job guarantees from semester to semester is a disturbing read.

The increasing exploitation of contingent faculty members is one dimension of an employment strategy sometimes called the "two-tiered" or "multitiered" labor system.