Yes, my friends, THIS is why we pay the UFT 1000 clams each per year. The UFT has pulled off the heist of the century, according to an article in the New York Post. While Bloomberg and the rest of the city were sleeping, the cat burglars at the UFT somehow managed to wrangle a "fat raise" of 8% over two years. The article details for six paragraphs how we have somehow gotten this huge increase before negotiations have even begun! Only in paragraph 7 does it mention that this is the pattern amount that the Post and others have insisted we get every single year since the flood, and that the city always budgets the pattern amount in anticipation of new contract signings.
Of course, the Post gives very good reasons why teachers should not get the pattern amount. For example, the city isn't doing as well as it had been. Steven Malanga, who may or may not have been dropped on his head as a baby, said that "Inflation in New York is at zero or below." Apparently, he has not noticed that the only thing that has gone down in NY is the difficulty of the state exams.
In another brilliant piece of reasoning, Steven told the Post that the national unemployment rate in the private sector is 9.5 percent -- but in the public sector, it's 2.3 percent. I guess Steven believes this can be solved by stiffing NY teachers. If things get any worse, Steven may suggest that NYC teachers be taken out and shot. That'll teach us!
Steven seems to have no problem with people like Andrew Hall of Citibank receiving a $100 million dollar bonus despite the fact that taxpayers spent 45 billion bailing out Citi in the first place.
No contracts have been signed as yet, of course. The UFT negotiating committee is still busy dealing with all of your Contract Surveys. You see, it's very hard for the union to figure out what the rank and file want because many of them have not set foot in a classroom in decades. They're still haven't agreed on whether teachers want more money and respect, or less money with zero job security. The surveys may help.
