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Late settlements mark statewide overview PSC, Yonkers ratify new contracts
June 8, 2006 Yonkers teachers rallying for a contract last September. Two of the longest contract stalemates among NYSUT affiliates have ended with overwhelming ratification of agreements by members of the Professional Staff Congress at CUNY and the Yonkers Federation of Teachers. Affecting more than 20,000 members of New York State United Teachers, the two key settlements are among some 30 that have been ratified across the state in recent weeks. They range from the giant PSC to the 16-member Fishers Island Teachers Association, located on a remote island in Long Island Sound. The latest settlements leave fewer than 200 of NYSUT’s 1,320 bargaining units — representing about 24,200 members — working under expired agreements. In two weeks of balloting that ended June 2, PSC members voted to ratify a 58-month agreement covering faculty and professional staff at the City University of New York, who have been working without a new contract for more than three and a-half years. In addition to salary increases, the agreement provides boosts in sabbatical pay and professional development funding. "With these gains in place and the capacity for mobilization we developed in this contract fight, the PSC is in a position to contribute to the broader movement it will take to change the climate for collective bargaining in New York," PSC President Barbara Bowen said in a message to members. Approaching a third year without a successor agreement, YFT members ratified a four-year contract May 31 that will bring salaries in the state’s fourth-largest city "nearly to the level of what teachers earn in Westchester County’s suburbs," said Pat Puleo, president of the 2,200-member union. NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi was optimistic more settlements will come in the wake of the Legislature’s hard-fought battle to restore state aid to public education and the overwhelming taxpayer support for local school budgets during the May 16 statewide vote. "Voters and state lawmakers alike showed they understand that education is an investment in their communities, their children and the future," Iannuzzi said. "It’s time to bring that understanding to the bargaining table." Mark Chaykin, NYSUT’s director of field operations, said while the statewide contract statistics are on a par with the same period last year, negotiations remain tough. "School districts are being squeezed by higher costs for energy and other expenses, and we’re feeling that at the table," Chaykin said. Among stalemates reported are Dunkirk TA in western New York and Saugerties TA in the Hudson Valley. Chaykin said talks continue for initial contracts for newly organized NYSUT units, including those representing adjunct faculty at Syracuse and Pace universities and clerical and technical staff at Cooper Union in New York City. Fairness at 4201 Schools Faculty at the Lexington School for the Deaf in Queens sacrificed their lunch period recently to protest being paid at 2001-02 salary levels despite increased budgets from New York state. Lexington is one of 11 so-called 4201 Schools — state-supported private schools throughout the state that serve students who are deaf, blind, severely orthopedically handicapped or emotionally disturbed. Some teachers at Lexington earn 25 percent less than their counterparts in New York City public schools, according to Lexington School TA President Marsha Wagner. While health insurance continues to be a sticking point in negotiations, some locals have successfully opposed efforts to have members pick up a larger share of costs: The Malone Federation of Teachers in the North Country reached a six-year agreement that reduces the retiree share of premiums, and members of Oceanside FT in Nassau County will see no increase in their share of premiums under a contract that has been extended to 2010. In the Capital District, members of LaSalle Faculty Association negotiated an increase in the employer’s share under a four-year agreement. SRPs in the Jamesville-DeWitt Clerical/Aide Association are celebrating their first contract as a NYSUT affiliate, even as they return to the bargaining table to work on a successor agreement. The two-year retroactive agreement expires June 30. It covers more than 90 teacher and audio-visual aides and some bus personnel in the suburban Syracuse district. Higher ed The Faculty Association of Suffolk Community College has approved a six-year contract that emphasizes professional development, mentoring and a faculty role in dual-credit courses with high schools. The agreement is awaiting approval by the Suffolk County Legislature. Onondaga CC Federation of Teachers and Administrators has a pair of new three-year contracts — one for teachers, another for administrators within the union. Elsewhere Here is a small sampling of the many contracts that have been settled throughout the state: Bedford TA in Westchester County and Poughkeepsie TA have ratified new agreements ... in Warren County, Queensbury Nurses have settled ... contracts in the Southern Tier include Sidney TA ... Orange BOCES Adult Ed unit has won a retroactive agreement, ending one of the longest contract stalemates in the state ... West Valley TA in southwestern New York has a new agreement ... near Rochester, Honeoye Falls-Lima Transportation workers have settled. — John Strachan, Kevin Hart and Liza Frenette |
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