9486 in the collection
Buffalo, NYC charter school teachers join union
Instructional staff at the South Buffalo charter school overwhelmingly agreed to join NYSUT, authorizing the union to help negotiate pay, benefits and working conditions.
Working conditions?
Working conditions?!!
Wouldn't being forced to administer DIBELS tests be considered a working condition? Why is the AFT so silent/compliant about the scripts enforced on their members? Plenty of Buffalo teachers will tell them they do not have professional working conditions.
The statewide union provides the assistance local unions need to bargain contracts for their members and assist members on a wide range of professional issues.
Professional issues?
Professional issues?!!
. . .a voice into what goes on in our school."
A voice?
A voice?!!
by Sylvia Saunders
With the recent addition of South Buffalo Charter School, NYSUT now represents educators at about a dozen charter schools, in addition to conversion charter schools in New York City and Buffalo, which by law remain unionized.
Instructional staff at the South Buffalo charter school overwhelmingly agreed to join NYSUT, authorizing the union to help negotiate pay, benefits and working conditions. The state Public Employment Relations Board certified NYSUT's representation, with more than 90 percent of the staffers signing cards in favor of NYSUT.
The statewide union provides the assistance local unions need to bargain contracts for their members and assist members on a wide range of professional issues.
Michael Preskop, director of NYSUT's Western New York Regional Office, goes over union issues with South Buffalo Charter School Instructional Staff Association members. From left: Ed Bradley, local president; Margaret Root; Preskop; Jamie Ruhland; Sue Curran; and Emily Curran. Photo by Dennis Stierer.
"For most of us it comes down to wanting job security and a voice into what goes on in our school," said Ed Bradley, the new president of the South Buffalo Charter School Instructional Staff Association. "We're all at-will employees, renewed or terminated at the end of the school year. Teachers are working very hard, spending countless hours to make our students successful, and it's difficult to feel invested in an institution which doesn't appear to acknowledge this level of commitment by compensating their employees equitably. It's also difficult to feel comfortable and open when communicating with the administration or board of directors when you're an at-will employee."
The 70-member local includes teachers, teacher aides and teaching assistants, counselors, a school nurse and a technology coordinator.
"More and more, charter school educators are finding they want a voice at the bargaining table to advocate for working conditions that benefit themselves and their students," said NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi. "Our union can help charter school educators achieve their goals of better pay, benefits and working conditions - so they can focus on helping their students achieve their goals."
Bradley said the 640-student charter school, which has a waiting list for students, has proven successful on state standardized tests. In 2005, South Buffalo Charter School won the Business Council of New York State's prestigious Pathfinder Award, which is given to schools showing the greatest improvement on state math and English tests. South Buffalo's ELA scores improved 44 percent, while math scores improved 32 percent between 2003 and 2004.
But with administrative and teacher turnover in the last three years, the staff's involvement and collaboration have diminished. "The new administration is taking a very different approach than the previous leadership and many staff feel the school is taking a step backward," Bradley said. "We want to have a say in the mission of the school and that includes being part of the decision-making process."
NYSUT organizer Mike Deely said a staff survey showed members also want fair salary improvements and a change in work rules and scheduling.
The current 220-day calendar requires staff to work 2-1/2 weeks in August, with no students and little professional development. "We'd like to see the time used more effectively," Bradley said.
He noted that "organizational structures and benefits commonplace in public schools, like seniority and job postings, do not exist at charter schools. They can often set policy as they go along."
Unionization is gaining momentum at charter schools. Deely just filed a petition with PERB for NYSUT to represent Community Charter School in Buffalo, where 85 percent of staffers signed cards.
Other NYSUT-represented charter schools outside New York City include: New Covenant Charter School in Albany; Western New York Maritime Charter in Buffalo; Riverhead Charter School and Roosevelt Children's Academy on Long Island; the Charter School for Applied Technology in Tonawanda; and the Charter School of Educational Excellence, which is represented by the Yonkers Federation of Teachers.
In New York City, in addition to numerous conversion schools, NYSUT represents Amber Charter School; Family Life Academy Charter School; and United Federation of Teachers Elementary Charter School, which is run by NYSUT's affiliate in New York City schools.
Most charter school teachers work under annual contracts, can be fired without cause and work longer hours for less money than teachers in traditional public schools, union leaders said.
NYSUT Executive Director Pauline Kinsella noted that all locals, including those at charter schools, are autonomous, deciding their own goals for salaries, benefits and working conditions.
Each local decides its own professional goals for enhancing student learning. NYSUT provides expertise and support to help local unions achieve goals set by their members. NYSUT provides quality professional development opportunities, services and discounts, and cutting-edge research and information on state and national education issues.
UFT partnership
Last month, the SUNY Board of Trustees approved a charter for Green Dot New York Charter School to open in September 2008 in the Bronx. The school, a unique partnership between the California-based charter school operator and UFT's Educational Foundation, will open with 115 students in ninth grade and grow to 420 students in grades 9-12.
UFT President Randi Wein- garten said the new school will give its unionized teachers a voice in policy and curriculum; a full and fair disciplinary process based on a "just cause" standard from the first day an educator is employed; a professional work day rather than one defined in minutes; and the flexibility to adjust the contract in critical areas over time. Class size will be capped at 25 students.
The partnership between Green Dot and the UFT is unique because Green Dot, unlike most charter school operators, encourages its teachers to unionize.
Following the Legislature's approval earlier this year of up to 100 additional charter schools, Weingarten said, "We wanted to find sponsors who understand that teachers are a key ingredient of school reform and who put programs and practices in place to support teachers."
Teachers, she added, "want to work in schools with small classes that foster collaboration, respect and school-based decision-making and that engage and involve parents."
— Sylvia Saunders
New York Teacher
2007-11-09
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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