We stand for a just contract, not just a contract.

The 2005 contract was a debacle that weakened our union and worsened the working conditions of our members. The failure of the contract of 2006 was that it simply continued this unacceptable situation.

TJC believes that our goal must be to WIN BACK THE GIVEBACKS! We need to restore the right to grieve unfair disciplinary letters, the integrity of the length of our workday, the rights of seniority. School closings and the skyrocketing numbers of ATRs must be stopped. Beyond that, we need raises – that is, increases not founded on “productivity.” Prices continue to rise despite the recession and our standard of living is eroding. We need job security that lasts until the next contract is ratified. We must have better protections for accused members. We have to stop counterposing salary to class size reduction and negotiate for reduced class caps. We need strong contractual tools to stop harassment, protect our professional autonomy, and fight school overcrowding.

Benefits and health care costs must be safeguarded not only for us but for the future hires who will be our union brothers and sisters. In June 2009, UFT leaders negotiated higher costs for the pensions of new members. These higher costs must be reduced. These are the policies we advocate. However, we believe the decisions must be in the hands of an active, empowered membership.

How do we win and enforce a just contract? We believe that a union that is unprepared to strike until victory is at the mercy of the employer. That is the situation of our union today. We believe that UFT members can be organized and prepared to win a well-timed strike. We should start by organizing the
membership for day to day struggles against their school administrations and the Department of
Education. This can win victories and build our confidence. Strike preparation includes choosing a strategically advantageous target date, and carrying out an escalating series of militant actions that push the legal envelope while building members’ discipline and combativeness. It is also developing ways to make sure members have money during a strike, and planning how to neutralize Taylor Law fines. Then, there must be arrangements to assure effective pickets at all schools. Militant action is not just for winning contracts: it is for enforcing them, too. We need union wide actions to defend our members, at particular schools, in the regions and citywide. School crisis – such as overcrowding, abusive principals and the removal of effective chapter leaders – should be met by mass direct action. A portion of the monthly district meetings of chapter leaders should address such issues and plan such
actions.

Democracy and Militancy
The more democratic our union is, the more involved and united our members will be, and the stronger our union will be. To win a strike, our union must become more democratic also. We see union democracy as the membership in the driver’s seat, and a leadership that can effectively be held accountable to that membership. Our union would need reforms to achieve this. Some examples of these changes are: regular membership meetings by division, by region, and city-wide, to generate and discuss ideas and establish important policies, the restoration of elected District Representatives, replacement of the At-Large Vice Presidents and Executive Board seats with divisional or functional chapter positions, division of functional chapters into delegate election districts, so that constituents know their delegates and can hold them accountable; membership elections for vacancies for UFT officers’ positions that last more than 6 months; a restructuring of the role of retirees in UFT
decision-making that reflects the primacy of the union’s mission of protecting active members; the trimming of officers salaries to bring them into line with salaries of the members they represent; mail
ballots for contract votes, and the credentialing of delegates by a multipartisan committee to insure fair votes at Delegate Assemblies. On the Chapter level, consultation committees should be democratically elected, and all members, not only the chapter leader, should be able to file a grievance.

We don’t have all the answers. Our goal would be to get the entire membership involved in seeking and finding these answers. Union democracy is not just a set of institutions. It is a spirit of openness, of willingness to accept debate and differences. It is prioritizing the interests of the membership as a whole over the interests of the members of a ruling caucus. Honest unionism is not just the absence of corruption. It is honesty about plans, motives and even mistakes that have been made. It is conducting meetings in a spirit of openness, not partisanship.

Political Action and Solidarity
Our fight with the city administration does not exist in a vacuum. The outcomes of other unions’ struggles have an impact on us. A stronger labor movement would benefit UFT members. Municipal and state employee unions especially share a critical stake in rendering Taylor Law penalties unenforceable. Our union should push to go beyond coalition bargaining and seek to initiate unified direct actions with other unions, including job actions. Because UFT members are not only school employees but also part of our communities, our society, and our ever-shrinking world, we believe the UFT should ally itself with broader movements for social justice, peace and saving the environment. The UFT has to end its default policy of endorsing incumbents and Democrats and turning a blind eye to their shortcomings. If that means we endorse a lot fewer candidates, that’s probably for the better. We should be open to the possibility of endorsing candidates outside of the narrow confines of the Democratic and Republican parties.

To volunteer to work for the 2010 TJC Election Campaign, click here: justcontract@yahoo.com.