New NYC Teachers Union Contract Aims To Aid Struggling Schools

NEW YORK — New York City's new contract with its teachers union aims to shore up struggling schools by encouraging teachers to stay in them. The agreement with the United Federation of Teachers that Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday includes a new initiative called the Bronx Plan that will help 180 schools attract and retain good educators, officials said.

"For the first time we are giving teachers more money to teach some of the toughest subjects at some of the most historically underserved schools in our city," schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said.

The proposed three-year, seven-month contract covers more than 129,000 city workers represented by the UFT, about 36 percent of the city's workforce, the mayor's office said.

Under the Bronx Plan, Carranza will pick up to 180 schools with high rates of teacher attrition where teachers, guidance counselors and workers in other "hard-to-staff" positions will be able to earn extra pay, according to the mayor's office. UFT members will eligible for up to $8,000 in additional salary each year, the mayor's office said.

The program will be focused on schools in the Bronx and other boroughs, officials said. The schools are expected to be selected this fall.

With the most focus on The Bronx, 120 of those schools will use the "Collaborative Schools Model," which will give teachers and community members a greater say in school decisions, the mayor's office said.

Those schools will also get benefits such as a $25,000-a-year "Innovation Fund" and data coaching to help with long-term planning, according to the mayor's office.

"A major feature of this agreement is the way it empowers teachers to help improve their schools by giving them a seat at the table where important decisions about resources and strategy are made," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement. "This contract, and in particular the Bronx plan, takes some radical steps by putting key decision-making powers in the schools."

The contract also provides for three straight years of raises for UFT employees — 2 percent in 2019, 2.5 percent in 2020 and 3 percent in 2021 — and provides $1.1 billion in health care savings through the 2022 fiscal year, the mayor's office said.

The pact is the de Blasio administration's third major agreement with the UFT, the mayor's office said. Its terms have to be approved by the union's in-service membership.

(Lead image: Mayor Bill de Blasio and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew shake hands at a news conference announcing a new contract. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)