Contract Round Up Time

As the CTU contract is about to end and a new one to begin, I thought a few words were in order.

Main features of our current contract:

* Raises of 4% a year for 4 years (total=16% over 4 years).
* Health Care premiums rose from 8% to 9%.

For those who forget or weren't around, those were the biggest raises negotiated in a long long time. And the UPC along with Marilyn Stewart ran a campaign attacking Debbie Lynch and PACT for the increases we would have to pay in our health care costs.

UPC and Marilyn won and are in office. For now.

Since they have no contract or other significant achievement to run on and continue to criticize Lynch and PACT for the previous contract (without I might add, having to stand up and show what they have negotiated) I thought it might help to take a spin around the ole USA and see what other big cities have accomplished in contracts recently.

Let's have a look shall we?

Boston - March 2007: After barely avoiding a strike, BTU comes to the membership with a contract for their approval. Main features?

Under the contract, salaries would grow 13 percent over four years and employees' share of heath insurance premiums would increase from 10 percent currently to 15 percent by 2009, according to Menino. - Source: WCVB-TV Boston

Let's see, Debbie Lynch got the CTU 16% over 4 years and held down health care premiums to only 9%. Wow, that was terrible negotiating, wasn't it?

How about another big city?

Detroit - Sept. 2006: Full CNN story here. My original post on this here.

The financially struggling district initially sought a 5.5 percent pay cut over two years, part of $88 million in concessions it wanted from the 7,000 teachers and 2,500 other unionized professionals. The district has a $1.36 billion budget and is trying to close a $105 million deficit.

The union wanted raises after years without them.

The two sides eventually agreed on a one-year pay freeze, followed by increases of 1 percent the second year and 2.5 percent the third. Veteran teachers will start paying 10 percent of their health insurance costs, something that only those hired since 1992 had been doing. Teachers will lose three days' pay for three preparation days that were canceled because of the strike.

Freeze for a year, and paltry 1 and 2% raises?

And the UPC folks have been dropping hints of "strike" every couple of weeks in the press without any reason for it, since there have been no negotiations with the Board to date.

Vote PACT. Restore sanity and dignity to the CTU.