City, UFT agree on new nine-year contract

After nearly five years of stalled negotiations, the city and its largest teacher’s union have finally agreed to a new nine-year contract that would provide $3.4 billion in back pay and an 18 percent salary raise—10 percent of which will be delivered between 2013 and 2018.

In exchange, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) agreed to $1.3 billion in healthcare savings, all while not raising member premiums, through “more efficient purchasing. . . and other actions.”

They also agreed to a streamlined teacher evaluation process, financial and professional rewards for chancellor-selected “best teachers,” termination of teachers who behave “inappropriately,” incentives for teacher retention in “underserved communities,” more professional development opportunities, innovation plans for schools, allocated time for parent communication, and a speedier and clearly defined Absent Teacher Reserve hearing process.

The proposed contract begins retroactively on November 1, 2009 and expires on October 31, 2018. It now faces approval from the UFT’s 118,000 in-service teachers. The UFT also represents paraprofessionals, retired educators and home day-care providers.