Colleagues,
I am pleased to inform you that RTA members voted today to ratify our Tentative Agreement by an overwhelming majority (80.2%).
Among other gains, the new three-year pact includes salary increases of 3.8% each year – benchmarked to the average of the top five highest settlements in Monroe County; full retroactivity to July 1, 2022; a Retention Incentive of $1500 in each of the first two years of our new contract; a 22% increase in our hourly rate; the doubling, and in some instances tripling, of release time for preparing IEPs for Special Education students; compensation for assuming class coverage or added students – including in all PreK, Elementary, and Secondary grades. Importantly, our new contract does not include any of the draconian concessions originally demanded by the District’s prior administration.
As we indicated already, we will now resume bargaining to address important issues left unresolved in the latest round of negotiations. We have already agreed to double the frequency of these Living Cotract negotiations.
I want to thank our Negotiation Committee, our Action Committee, and all RTA Faculty Representatives for their important role in achieving a successor contract that is good for kids and fair to teachers. And I am especially grateful to you, RTA members, for your steadfast solidarity. We will keep you informed about the specifics and details of the implementation of our new contract and about the progress of our efforts on your behalf and on behalf of all our students.
Adam Urbanski, RTA President