MICHAEL MULGREW, PRESIDENT Chapter Leader Handbook 2015 UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS Local 2, American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO 52 Broadway New York, NY 10004 1-212-777-7500 OFFICERS MICHAEL MULGREW…………………………………...…..………. President EMIL PIETROMONACO……………………………………………… Secretary LEROY BARR………….………………..………………… Assistant Secretary MEL AARONSON…………………………..………………………… Treasurer TOM BROWN…………………………………………….... Assistant Treasurer VICE PRESIDENTS KAREN ALFORD …..………...……....………...…….…. Elementary Schools CARMEN ALVAREZ ………..……………........………….. Special Education EVELYN DEJESUS ………..….………………………........ Education Issues ANNE GOLDMAN …………..…………...…………….… Non-DOE Members JANELLA HINDS …………...…………….……..….. Academic High Schools RICHARD MANTELL ....................... Junior High and Intermediate Schools STERLING ROBERSON … Career and Technical Education High Schools UFT BOROUGH OFFICES Bronx: 2500 Halsey St. ………….………………..….……….. 1-718-379-6200 Brooklyn: 335 Adams St., 25th Floor …………………...……. 1-718-852-4900 Manhattan: 52 Broadway ……………………….…………..... 1-212-598-6800 Queens: 97-77 Queens Boulevard ……………..………..….. 1-718-275-4400 Staten Island: 4456 Amboy Rd., 2nd Floor ……..……….…... 1-718-605-1400 Dear Colleagues, It is with great pride and gratitude that I write this letter. Chapter leaders are the backbone of our union. It is you, the union’s frontline representatives, who know best what is happening in the schools; you who can report how budget cuts, principals and everything else are really affecting students and educators; and you who motivate and mobilize UFT members into the powerful force that we are. There is no more important job in our union, and I thank you for taking it on. The union has put together this manual to help you in that job. It contains a “how-to” section that gives an overview of the many roles chapter leaders play and several sections that provide a comprehensive breakdown of everything you need to know about union benefits, the grievance process, salary schedules and much more. In addition to the table of contents on the next page, each section contains its own detailed table of contents. Think of it as a reference manual. Together with the resources available in the chapter leader section on the union’s Web site, www.uft.org, these tools will help guide you. Your most important resources, however, are your colleagues – your district representative, your borough representative, UFT officers and central office staff, myself and, very importantly, each other as chapter leaders. We all do the work together – it’s called a union after all – and none of us can do it by ourselves. I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can in your schools, and I know I can count on seeing you at meetings, at rallies and everywhere that this great union goes to do its work of creating the best schools possible for New York City students and educators. Sincerely, Michael Mulgrew President HOW TO USE THIS BOOK This manual, together with the union contracts, will be the most important tool you will use as chapter leader in carrying out your duties. In most cases, you will find the information you need in this manual or you will find a reference to where the material you seek is to be found. We have tried to assemble, as fully and as accurately as possible, the information you need to do your job as chapter leader, particularly the information you need to evaluate grievances, prepare your cases, answer questions, help teachers or functional chapter members and participate in education reform on the school level. Following this introductory section, the material is arranged in sections for easy reference. Each section has its own table of contents to help you find the proper reference quickly and will suggest cross-references as well. The following abbreviations are used throughout this manual: Agree. Collective Bargaining Agreement (all contracts) Memo. of Agree. Memorandum of Agreement By-Laws By-Laws of the Department of Education (DOE) Chanc. Regs. Chancellor’s Regulations COE Regs Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Gen. Cir. General Circular of the Chancellor Educ. N.Y. State Education Law Sp. Cir. Special Circular of the Chancellor The chapter leader section of the UFT website contains important resources and reference material for you as well. To access it, you must “sign up” on the site if you have not already. Click on the “sign up” button at the top left of the menu bar on the home page, www.uft.org. The chapter leader section has all the union contracts and how-to’s on everything from filing a grievance to understanding your school’s budget. Department of Education documents are available on the DOE website, www.schools.nyc.gov. Forms for the Division of Human Resources are also available on the DOE’s website; type in “forms” in the “site search” box on the top right of the home page. When additions or corrections to this manual are necessary, you will receive new pages to insert. Please insert them immediately. You might also want to include helpful articles from the New York Teacher in this manual. ROLE OF THE CHAPTER LEADER The UFT team....................................................................................................................... 1 You are elected .................................................................................................................... 2 Responsibilities of the chapter leader ................................................................................... 2 Rights of the chapter leader.................................................................................................. 4 Access to information ........................................................................................................... 4 Official time to represent....................................................................................................... 4 Appropriate space and facilities............................................................................................ 4 Building a strong chapter ...................................................................................................... 5 Involving the membership..................................................................................................... 5 Holding a chapter meeting.................................................................................................... 6 Remember—you are not alone............................................................................................. 8 Communications ................................................................................................................... 9 Legislation and political action ............................................................................................ 10 Creating parent support ...................................................................................................... 12 Contract enforcement/conflict resolution ............................................................................ 12 Chapter elections and referenda ........................................................................................ 12 Education reform ................................................................................................................ 14 A final word ......................................................................................................................... 15 THE UFT TEAM The UFT is organized to serve all members of the collective bargaining units. It is at your service. You should be familiar with the broad range of support services offered by the union and with your borough office, where full-time staff, district representatives and resource personnel can be reached. They have many years of experience, can answer questions and will provide useful advice on how to handle problems at the schools. They are also available for speaking engagements at your school. UFT OFFICERS are elected directly by the membership every three years. They oversee the functioning of the organization and implement policies adopted by the Executive Board and the Delegate Assembly. The officers also serve on the Negotiating Committee and bargain collectively for all members of the bargaining unit. They consult with the chancellor and other appropriate Department of Education (DOE) representatives on matters of educational policy and development. They visit schools, respond to members’ problems and inquiries and bring to the public’s attention vital matters concerning the schools. The EXECUTIVE BOARD is elected by the membership every three years. It sets policy, subject to the approval of the Delegate Assembly. The DELEGATE ASSEMBLY is the highest representative policy-making body of the UFT. It is composed of delegates who are elected directly by the membership in the schools and functional chapters in the ratio of one delegate for each 60 members. The chapter leader, by virtue of the office, also serves as a delegate. DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES AND SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES provide service to all of the members and chapter leaders in the schools for which they are responsible. They handle problems and grievances that cannot be resolved at the school level. The representatives are a valuable resource to the chapter leaders and also a source of information. They can be reached at their respective borough offices. UFT BOROUGH OFFICES are maintained in each borough to serve the members. Full-time staff as well as PM advisers are ready to assist chapter leaders and members in all kinds