Colleagues,
At the request of RTA, and on behalf of all our adversely affected members, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) attorneys are finalizing a lawsuit in Monroe County Supreme Court against the Rochester City School District. We are seeking an immediate injunction against the District for failing to pay teachers correctly, on time, and without unlawful deductions. These violations are also breaches of our existing collective bargaining agreement.
Beginning in July 2025, following the transition from PeopleSoft to Oracle, RCSD continues to fail to pay hundreds of teachers and other employees correctly and on time. Documented issues include missed paychecks, late paychecks, duplicate and incorrect deductions, unpaid stipends, loss of accrued leave balances, tax-sheltered contributions and Flexible Spending Account money not timely transmitted, and other payroll related errors. In addition to the lawsuit, RTA has sought the involvement of the Department of Labor and the New York State Comptroller to intercede. NYS Comptroller’s office already notified the District that the matter “merits immediate attention” and demanded detailed accounting, data on the scope of harm, and remediation steps. And RTA’s Class Action suits, filed in early September, will soon be taken to arbitration, as well.
While all the above actions are in process, we continue Impact Bargaining with Superintendent Rosser and seeking interest on delayed payments as well as reimbursement for costs caused by lack of payment, delayed pay, incorrect deductions, and other damages caused by the festering payroll debacle. We are holding these coordinated negotiations in conjunction with our sister unions within the RCSD but will seek separate Memoranda of Agreement once the bargaining concludes. We have also requested that such Impact Bargaining be extended to include members adversely affected during the school year and not just during the summer.
Despite the District’s claims that they are “close to a universal fix,” the situation is getting worse, not better, as new Oracle related problems continue to arise. Nearly 1000 RCSD employees continue to have unresolved issues – more than half of them affecting RTA members. The District’s lack of responsiveness, bad communication, and marginalization of the serious nature of the payroll fiasco continues to erode the already low morale of teachers and other staff. RCSD employees should not have to constantly wonder whether their next paycheck will be correct and on time – nor should they have to constantly spend their own time chasing down payroll errors. We absolutely refuse to accept this as the new normal. That is why we are pressing the District to switch payroll to a competent (non-Oracle) vendor.
We will soon provide more details about the litigation and other aspects of our efforts on your behalf. We will also communicate to you information about planned collective action. Meanwhile, please continue to inform the District, and the RTA, if you are adversely affected by payroll-related issues.
Adam Urbanski, RTA President