1 of 14

Contract Teach-in

January 2023

2 of 14

Opening Discussion:

Which current contractual right is most important to you? Why?

3 of 14

Share your responses.

4 of 14

How do you think we got these rights?

5 of 14

What rights do you think need to be negotiated in the upcoming contract that will have a positive impact on your work?

(5-10 minutes)

Small Group

6 of 14

Survey Categories

Where do these rights fit under some of the topics that were listed in the all-member survey about the contract from last spring?

Topics:�

  • Compensation and wages
  • Leaves
  • Contract enforcement — e.g., paperwork reduction, special ed compliance, etc.
  • Work environment and conditions — e.g., air conditioning, workspace, health and safety, etc.
  • Staffing
  • Technology access and support
  • Professional learning
  • Time

7 of 14

8 of 14

How do we fight for a fair contract?

When negotiating a contract, we know that in addition to the bargaining process, we also need to be prepared to take action.

What are you willing to do?

Brainstorm actions �we can take at the city, district and chapter levels.

9 of 14

How does the quality of our contract affect the communities we serve?

Optional: Create posters of visuals displaying the message of how our contract affects our communities. Take photos and post them on social media. Tag us at the UFT and we will help to spread the message in our social media campaign!

Taking it further

10 of 14

Padlet Post Pledge

Create a post on your district’s padlet.

As a chapter, decide what actions your chapter will pledge to take in order to fight for a fair contract. Add to your padlet.

Feel free to add anything else you want to express to your padlet i.e., why we need a fair contract now.

Sample Post→

District 5

11 of 14

Make it public.

Print out the pledge

Hang it in common area in your school and get 100% of staff to sign the pledge.

12 of 14

“At the banquet table of nature, there are no reserved seats. You get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. If you can’t take anything, you won’t get anything and if you can’t hold anything, you won’t keep anything. And you can’t take anything without organization.” 

A. Philip Randolph

Trade unionist who organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925 and directed the 1963 March on Washington, in which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.

13 of 14

Sign up to join your school’s CAT team

14 of 14

For more materials visit:

uft.org/teachin-resources