A letter to the Teachers of Paterson, NJ, and their Board of Ed and their Union

PATERSON TEACHERS: Just because you love what you do does not mean you should not be paid for it. Just because you did not get into teaching for the money; Just because you are here for the kids; just because you knew you were never going to get rich being a teacher; just because you love what you do; just because you would do it for free if you didn’t need the money; just because teaching makes you happy; DOES NOT mean you do not deserve to be paid. Don’t let them say the last 4 years of your life didn’t happen. Don’t let them say the last 4 years don’t matter. Don’t let them beat you down. Stand up and stand together.

 

So, we were given the “contract” that has passed through the Board and the Union yesterday. We were also given the salary guide that goes with it. My husband (being the one who is a Paterson teacher of the two of us) looked over both. I didn’t get past the salary guide. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what is in the contract, the salary guide alone is enough to vote no.

How bad? Well, here is my reaction to it on Facebook last night:

“What the HELL!!!!! They didn’t do ANYTHING. They simply said the last 4 years didn’t exist unless you have a Master’s Degree. Do the IDIOTS in our Union and on the School Board actually believe ANYONE will sign this complete and utter BULLSHIT, offensive, and inexcusable piece of drivel that is being passed off as a contract? The last 4 years DID exist and my husband worked his ass off!! What the hell is wrong?!!!!”

 

OK, I may have been a bit upset. (There was actually more, but I took it out because it got a little nasty)

So lets go over this. This is how Doug and I (and the other teachers we have talked to) interpret the guide:

Anyone who does not have a Master’s degree (I did not really look at what it says for those who do, as my husband does not) has been frozen on their salary step for the past 4 years. Now we already worked those 4 years with a pay freeze, and even though we knew it was a distinct possibility that we would not see retro pay for those years, we never thought the Union would sign something that didn’t start us back up next year on the proper steps. Sadly, we were wrong. According to the guide, we were frozen for 4 years, and those teachers who achieved a high enough evaluation (thankfully my husband IS in this group) get to start next year at the next step.

So, for my husband, it looks like this: He was on step 12 of the pay scale when it was frozen. He should now be on step 16, the top step. There is a $6,000 difference from step 1 to step 12. There is a $35,000 difference from step 12 to step 16. We have not seen that $35,000, because he has been frozen on step 12. Next year he gets to be on step 13. So rather than taking 16 years to get to the top of the pay scale, it will take him 20. Unless, of course, they screw us again before that happens.

**Now there is a “new” pay scale as well. This is one point where I am a little unclear as to the meaning. Teachers may choose to move to the new 18 step scale, as long as they have a Master’s degree, or are accepted and enrolled in a Master’s program by the end of August. At first glance it looked like teachers would move to the “appropriate” step this way. So Doug would be at step 17 of the new pay scale next year, as he should have been at step 16 of the old one this year. But upon further review, it may be saying that these teachers will just move to the same step they would be on with the old guide, so Doug would still only be on step 13.

Now, I have no problem with saying Master’s degrees are now going to be required, or at least highly recomended (I am guessing future contracts will require them.)  I do have a problem with how they are handling this. This is very unethical.

**It appears I had the Master’s thing wrong, anyone can move to the “new” guide at the same step they would be on the old guide, and if you already have a Master’s you get to move up 2 more steps. They are just trying to get those with a Master’s to move as the new guide does not give much (if any) additional income for having anything above a BA.

The teachers NEED to be on the correct step. They DID work the last 4 years, they DO have those 4 years of experience. So, while I can see the argument that the amount of retro pay to catch them all up would be obscene (though maybe they should have thought of that before stalling so long,) I do not see any logical argument that the teachers have not earned their way up the last 4 steps.

Now, in my rants on Facebook, I have had comments about how teachers should have Master’s degrees. I happen to agree. However, that was never a requirement of my husband, and the way they are now handling it is just not right. I have had people suggest he quit his second and third jobs so he will have the time to get a Master’s, and we take out loans. Well, we took out loans to get through the last 4 years which apparently didn’t actually exist, and anyway IT DOES NOT MATTER IF WE CAN AFFORD IT OR NOT. The point is they are going about this in a completely unethical way, and I can’t even fathom the Faustian deal the union must have been given to make them think it was OK to sign this thing.

Here is what they SHOULD have tried to pass off on us. It would not have made me happy, but I would not be screaming for a “no” vote either:

ONE salary guide ~ go ahead, use the new 18 step one. Teachers will be placed on the guide next year where they would have been without a freeze, so for Doug that would mean step 17. Twenty~five percent retro. Or no retro. I hate to say it, but I could almost deal with it if Doug were going to be on the step he has earned next year. Teachers without a Master’s Degree have until Dec 31st, 2014 to be accepted and enrolled in a Master’s program, and have until the end  of the 20/21 school year to earn a Master’s degree. This gives them the proper time to find a program that works for them, and to find a way to make it work financially for those who may be struggling.

It’s not rocket science.

PATERSON TEACHERS: You can not let this happen. Vote no, and then do not let the PEA off the hook until they agree that if there is not an acceptable contract in place by the first day of school for the students next year YOU WILL STRIKE. If you ALL insist, they will not have much of a choice. The union is as strong as its membership. Stand together and speak with one voice. You pay your union dues and when it works properly, a union is a wonderful thing; make yours work.

Have a problem with my opinion of the people behind this contract? Well, I have a problem with them signing a document that says the last 4 years that my husband has dedicated to the students of Paterson do not exist.

6/18, 9 pm, update from my Facebook wall. My husband is not home yet, so he has not had a chance to see the email this refers to.

Jennifer :  Jessie, we got a missing document emailed to us today after Doug left. He’ll get $19,350 in retro but that’s it. His steps will still be frozen. As for the Master’s thing, the district doesn’t actually want us to get it. Their goal was to try to force teachers with a Masters to go to the Universal guide which would never pay them any more for actually having it. They would be paid the same as a teacher with a BA. It’s all a disgrace and I will be voting no, but depending on the actual step teachers are on, more teachers are starting to change their minds and vote yes for fear that we will get nothing better. The lawyer at the PEA meeting today said we won’t get any better if we vote this down and we’ll probably get less. My opinion is screw you, Paterson and I’m not going down without a fight. However, I am only one person and all they need is 51% to vote yes and it goes through.

Jessie : But if he is still at level 13 next year, then what does the $19,350 matter? Let’s see what tomorrow’s meeting brings. Thank you for keeping me informed.

Jennifer : I agree 100%!

It has been brought to my attention that some people may want to write letters or help in some other way. In addition to sharing this so more people know what is happening, here is the contact information for the Paterson Board of Ed and the Union:

BOE ~ Paterson Public Schools
90 Delaware Ave.
Paterson, New Jersey 07503
(973) 321-1000

or

http://www.paterson.k12.nj.us/11_pages/contact.php

Paterson Education Association
445 Straight St., Paterson, NJ 07501 
Phone: 973-881-9445 – Fax: 973-881-9440
Mr. Peter Tirri, President
[email protected]

or

http://www.patersonea.org/PEA/Contact_Us.html

Want to see some of my past thoughts on this?

Pure Terror

©Copyright 2014 Jessie Rayot / Jessie At Home All my videos, patterns and posts are my own work. Do not copy them in any way. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.