NYC teachers get fat 20% pay hike in new, 5-year, $6.4 billion deal
New York City educators will get fat pay hikes and bonuses of up to 20% under a new five-year, $6.4 billion labor contract announced Tuesday by Mayor Eric Adams and the United Federation of Teachers.
The top teacher salaries for the longest serving teachers will exceed $150,000 for the first time.
The proposed contract also cuts in half — from 15 to eight years — the length of time it takes most teachers to reach a salary of $100,000.
The agreement covering 120,000 teachers and other staff also expands voluntary virtual learning opportunities for students — an initiative pushed by Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks.
“It’s a great contract for the teachers. What’s in it for the students? We need to put something in there for the students,” said Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo (R-Staten Island), past president of the island Community Education Council 31.
There were no major concessions given by the union, however.
For example, there will be no additional instruction time offered to students in exchange for a bump in salaries and benefits — something that was negotiated by then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the union in 2002. The ex-Mayor greenlit pay raises in that first year from $31,910 new teacher starting salary to $39,000 in 2003 and maximum salary grew from $70,000 to $81,231 over that same time period.
Bloomberg and the UFT met at the negotiation table several times throughout his tenure — weathering several spats including fights over controversial, state mandated teacher evaluations and Hizzoner’s threats to lay off teachers and withhold pay raises in tight budget years.
Bloomberg’s successor Bill de Blasio, meanwhile, had a better relationship with the union. His first contract in 2014 was a nine year retroactive deal that included billions in backpay. But the pair’s harmony soured after COVID-19, as the union opposed changes to school closure rules.
Ana Champeny, vice president of research at the Citizens Budget Commission said, “There are no work rule changes. We haven’t seen any productivity changes to pay for part of the contract.”
She noted that the city has to close a projected $11 billion budget gap by 2027 and said the resources have not yet been identified to pay for the contract in the out years.
“The fiscal situation is precarious,” Champeny said.
The tentative accord — which runs retroactively from Sept. 14, 2022 to November 2027 — includes salary increases of 3% for each of the first three years, 3.25% in the fourth year and 3.5% percent in the fifth year.
The deal also includes a $3,000 ratification bonus for all teachers and other UFT members, not factored in the 20% hikes.
In addition, a retention bonus is slated to be handed out annually in May — starting at $400 per member in 2024, $700 in 2025 and $1,000 in 2026 — an amount scheduled to be doled out every year thereafter, according to the union.
With the annual bonuses, the compounded value over the length of the agreement ranges from 17.58% to 20.42%.
The new top salary for the longest serving teachers would be $151,271 including the bonus, by the end of the proposed contract.
The starting salary for new teachers would be $72,349, including the bonus, by the end of the proposed agreement, up from $61,070. The top salary for paraprofessionals would be $56,761, including the bonus.
Adams said the New York City Department of Education would be the first major school system in the nation to offer an expansive voluntary virtual learning program, eventually available to all high school students and some middle school students.
According to the mayor, the virtual learning program will give students access to a broader set of course offerings across the city and the ability to take classes at non-traditional times, like evenings and weekends. That could help students who are behind on course credits to graduate.
He emphasized that it is “not a substitute for in-person learning.”
This agreement will cover approximately 120,000 municipal employees, bringing the total workforce under contract to approximately 66%.
The UFT salary increases follows the pattern Adams set in contracts reached with other unions, including District Council 37 that addresses inflation.
Parroting the city’s settlement with DC-37, some DOE employees members who do not work directly in schools would be eligible to work remotely up to two days a week.
The deal doesn’t specifically address the complaints of a shortage of bilingual teachers to assist thousands of non-English speaking migrants who recently enrolled in some schools. Sources said they hoped the salaries and bonuses would attract more bilingual instructors.
The deal with the UFT is a political winner for Adams, guaranteeing him labor peace as he seeks re-election. The teachers’ union supported other candidates over Adams in the 2021 Democratic primary and even urged its members not to include him in ranked choice voting preferences.
Adams said he has extended labor contracts with two-thirds of the city’ unionized workforce.
“It’s a great deal for workers and as I said, it’s fair for city taxpayers,” Adams said at a City Hall-based press conference Tuesday, flanked by DOE Chancellor David Banks and UFT president Michael Mulgrew.
