Teachers union says new deal reached with New York City

[hrmjustin]

AP
NEW YORK -- New York City and the union that represents teachers in the nation's largest public school district reached an agreement on hammering out a new contract, according to the UFT.

The new multiyear deal could set a template for negotiations with more than 150 other unions working on expired contracts.

Details have not been officially released, but the 9-year deal is expected to contain raises, some retroactive pay and substantial savings for the city on health care costs, according to a senior administration official and a labor official. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they said they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal until it is announced.

The United Federation of Teachers represents 100,000 teachers and other school employees who have been working on an expired contract since 2009. Union leaders have long pushed for substantial retroactive raises of up to $3.4 billion.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9523164

[hrmjustin]

1. De Blasio’s historic U.F.T. deal, with gaps

Sally Goldenberg

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $5.5 billion, nine-year contract with the United Federation of Teachers on Thursday that offers 18 percent raises.

It's a major step in the administration's ongoing negotiations with the entire city workforce. But it's also a deal that is short on specifics about how the city would cover the cost, what health care concessions they extracted from the union and what the total cost will be in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2015 budget.

The administration's deal with the teachers is tentative until officially ratified by the U.F.T. De Blasio now has 151 more contracts to settle.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8544700/de-blasios-historic-uft-deal-gaps

[hrmjustin]

2. The pattern for future raises for the rest of the city's work force has been set: Mayor de Blasio

JENNIFER FERMINO

The modest wage increases that members of the United Federation of Teachers received in their new, nine year contract will set a pattern for raises for the rest of the city's unionized workforce, Mayor de Blasio said Friday.

De Blasio, speaking on the Brian Lehrer on WNYC, said that other city workers' unions are free to argue for bigger raises, but "the pattern will still be the dominant reality."

The UFT, which has been out of contract longer than any other unions, took a lump sum payment of $1000 for 2011 and then close to 10 percent salary hikes spread out from 2012 through 2018.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/pattern-future-raises-rest-city-work-force-set-mayor-de-blasio-blog-entry-1.1776946#ixzz30Zv18Mtf

[hrmjustin]

3. Transport union official pans teachers' deal with de Blasio

Sally Goldenberg

In defending his own organization's recent contract agreement with the M.T.A., a Transport Workers Union executive panned a deal the United Federation of Teachers is on the verge of accepting.

"Details of the agreement between the UFT (the Teachers' union) and NYC are still coming out, but a few things are already clear. The raises TWU negotiated with the MTA are superior to those UFT members will be getting. Not only that, we did better in other important aspects of the contract, as well," Steve Downs of the TWU wrote in an email to his members.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8544750/transport-union-official-pans-teachers-deal-de-blasio?top-featured-2

[hrmjustin]

4. NYC unions make no guarantees of labor peace

http://www.fltimes.com/news/state/article_ea153337-4e0b-5ed0-9715-5d78279266fa.html?mode=jqm