Eight years ago

I was a high school representative on the United Federation of Teachers Executive Board from January 2009 to June 2019, just over 10 years.

The first resolution that I wrote, that passed, was “Dignity for All Teachers” – we were concerned that the campaign to marginalize teachers in excess (ATRs) was affecting how our members, CLs, and Reps were handling issues involving ATRs in schools. The resolution was edited down by the leadership, passed by the Exec Board in October 2011, and adopted by the Delegate Assembly that November. Over the years “Dignity for All Teachers” was reduced to “greet the ATRs in your school and make sure they have a bathroom key.” More recently it was removed from the UFT website.

The resolution (the adopted version comes first, followed, if you are interested, by the original) is worth a look, it is officially still UFT policy. If you don’t want to read so much, I like the last “Resolved” from the original version. The leadership did not include it in the final version

This is the version adopted by the UFT Delegate Assembly. It is still UFT Policy:

Dignity for all Teachers Resolution

WHEREAS, the UFT members in the Absent Teacher Reserve have been subject to a campaign of media vilification, falsely claiming or implying that teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve are less able or are bad teachers, and intentionally conflating them with teachers facing disciplinary proceedings; and

WHEREAS, the UFT members in the Absent Teacher Reserve have been targeted for layoff or termination several times over the last several years, including by the Department of Education during contract negotiations; the anti-union group Educators for Excellence in its seniority reform proposal last spring; and the Mayor during his campaign to undo Civil Service law in Albany last spring, thwarted each time by the United Federation of Teachers, and its leadership; and

WHEREAS, the UFT members in the Absent Teacher Reserve often are made to feel like outsiders in the schools where they work; and

WHEREAS, the UFT members in the Absent Teacher Reserve, in too many instances, are forced to perform inappropriate work in the schools where they work; and

WHEREAS, the UFT members in the Absent Teacher Reserve, to the extent they are made to feel like outsiders or feel vulnerable to being moved, are often reluctant to seek appropriate relief; and

WHEREAS, the new budget agreement allows UFT members in the Absent Teacher Reserve to be moved from school to school multiple times each term; and

WHEREAS, the United Federation of Teachers values the dignity of all our members; be it

RESOLVED, that the United Federation of Teachers will direct its chapters and Chapter Leaders to reach out to members of the Absent Teacher Reserve who are assigned to their schools, to welcome them, and to support them; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the UFT demand that the DOE create a protocol for Principals so that UFT members going into a school for the first time will be treated professionally and given the information for that particular school necessary to perform their duties; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the United Federation of Teachers will continue to educate Chapter Leaders about the rights of teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve, and continue to direct its chapters and Chapter Leaders to proactively protect those rights, and to intervene if those rights are being infringed upon by administration, as the ATR may be justifiably reluctant or fearful of speaking up; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the New York Teacher will run an article on teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve, including how teachers became part of the ATR; and be it further

RESOLVED that the United Federation of Teachers has always and will always stand for the dignity of all UFT members.

This was my first draft – it was not adopted in this form:

Dignity for all Teachers – Resolution for the Exec Board

Whereas each year for the last several years a significant number of our members have been assigned to the Absent Teacher Reserve; and

Whereas most teachers who are in the Absent Teacher Reserve arrived there as their schools were shut down; and

Whereas the teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve have been subject to a campaign of media vilification, falsely claiming or implying that teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve are less able or are bad teachers, and intentionally conflating them with teachers facing disciplinary proceedings; and

Whereas the teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve have been targeted for layoff or termination several times over the last several years, including by the Department of Education during contract negotiations; the anti-union group Educators for Excellence in its seniority reform proposal this spring; and the Mayor during his campaign to undo Civil Service law in Albany earlier this spring, thwarted each time by the United Federation of Teachers, and its leadership; and

Whereas teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve often are made to feel like outsiders in the schools where they work; and

Whereas teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve, in too many instances, are forced to perform inappropriate work in the schools where they work; and

Whereas teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve, to the extent they are made to feel like outsiders or feel vulnerable to being moved, are often reluctant to seek appropriate relief; and

Whereas the new budget agreement allows teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve to be moved from school to school multiple times each term; and

Whereas the United Federation of Teachers values the dignity of all our members;

Be it resolved the United Federation of Teachers will direct its chapters and Chapter Leaders to reach out to members of the Absent Teacher Reserve who are assigned to their schools, to welcome them, and to support them; and

Be it further resolved that the United Federation of Teachers will educate Chapter Leaders about the rights of teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve, and direct its chapters and Chapter Leaders to proactively protect those rights, and to intervene if those rights are being infringed upon by administration, as the ATR may be justifiably reluctant or fearful of speaking up; and

Be it further resolved that the United Federation of Teachers will designate a representative or committee Centrally, or will designate a representative in each borough to handle Absent Teacher Reserve issues; and

Be it further resolved that the New York Teacher will run an article on teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve, including how teachers became part of the ATR; and

Be it further resolved that the United Federation of Teachers has always and will always stand for the dignity of all teachers, including our most vulnerable: probationers, teachers under investigation, and teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve.