Teachers Vote 80%-20% For Pay Freeze

For some teachers, this is the SECOND year without a pay hike; which is more than can be said for bills, taxes, etc. For bailing the City out, we have been subjected to vile attacks in the NHI and press from parents and public for not wanting to go back to unsafe conditions in schools. Will the City come back crying again next year to open the contract again? Will the attacks on teachers stop from ungrateful parents and public? Stay tuned.

It's sad that teachers have to choose between these things.

There is definitely a lack of appreciation for what people are getting with this contract. Does anybody realize how rare it is to have a guarantee of no layoffs with the money situation going on at BOE and the city? Also the fact that medical costs won't increase is extremely rare and teachers can't be transferred without their own consent. All I keep seeing is people crying over the fact that this year there will be no pay increases but if you look at the other unions and positions there's always gaps where there's no raises. To guarantee that you're getting raises the next two years is great. There is no simple fix with the Corona virus. I've seen some teachers say they need the face to face interactions with the children to properly teach them but in a matter of days and sometimes minutes say it isn't safe to go back. So which is it? You can't have it both ways. Hybrid learning seems like the best idea if it's implemented properly but there will be a lot of hiccups. Kudos to whoever came up with this contract because it looks like an amazing compromise. Contracts are negotiated, not just something for the workers to get everything they want or even mostly what they want. This contract has so many good aspects to it but all people see is "there's no raises so this isn't right!" People are overlooking the fact that job security is important and normally isn't a given so stop with the complaining and let's get ready for work.

"While taking a pay freeze this year, teachers would get raises and promotions in the following two years..." or the union leaders will roll over again, open the contract again, and scare their members into rejecting those raises because "it will be worse if you don't".

Many people do not realize that many veteran teachers have been frozen for many steps before and it takes 22 to 24 years approximately to reach the top steps of their contract. The major issue is that new teachers will be hired from out of the district and will get put on a higher step (which means more pay) with less experience than the professional that has been loyal to New Haven. Also, some teachers have resigned from New Haven for another district and have come back at a higher step than they left. So, they get extra money for not being loyal. Let's help the veterans of New Haven education get put on the right step. The New Haven teachers union need to stop letting teachers from outside the district make more than the teachers who are loyal. I would the New Haven do research on this issue I bet they would be surprise how these veterans are being treated.

newhavenresident332 is absolutely correct - in the early 2000's, all the teachers took a step down instead of up one year, and I am one of the teachers who got the steps back by teaching elsewhere and then coming back. NHPS as an institution has a bias reminiscent of the Marx quote "I refuse to join any club that would have me for a member."