OVER 8K HAVE SIGNED THE HEALTHCARE PETITION; RANK AND FILE MEMBERS MAKE PREMIUM-FREE, QUALITY HEALTHCARE A CONTRACT DEMAND
Over 8K UFT members sign the healthcare referendum petition; A coalition of rank and file members incorporate petition demand into their Big 5 contract demands for a fair contract.
As we now surpass the 8K signature mark for the UFT active and retiree petition that calls on UFT leadership to allow a union-wide vote for any significant changes to our healthcare, we need you more than ever to help us organize as the UFT and City seem to be coming closer to announcing a new tentative contract agreement by late May or early June.
A couple of weeks ago, we had our first organizing call where many pledged to help in organizing to get petition signatures in these next few critical weeks to push us to at least 12K to 14K UFT member signatures by early June.Â
You can watch that Zoom organizing call here:
We will be reaching out to volunteers who made pledges, this coming week, to help reach our goals. Ultimately, we want to reach the 19K-20K mark by the summer.
WE MUST FIGHT TOGETHER: ACTIVE CITY WORKERS & RETIREES
Retirees are pushing forward in their own organizing efforts and litigation against the City's plan to push them into an inferior privatized Medicare Advantage plan.  School chapters are signing the healthcare petition en masse, while becoming aware of the healthcare givebacks of the last contract 2018 and the failure of UFT leadership to fully disclose its ill-conceived brokered deal of 600 million dollars a year in "cost savings" for the City. Â
Many are saying we must not and will not let this happen again for our upcoming UFT contract.
We must become more vocal in these coming days at our various upcoming union actions and events. We must call on our union family to make bold demands and draw clear lines in the sand as to what we will, and will not accept, in the next UFT contract. Even as so much of the negotiating is happening behind close doors while OUR healthcare and raises are discussed clandestinely and exclusively only among a select few on the negotiating committee.
One upcoming contract demand must be that we will accept nothing less than our existing QUALITY and PREMIUM-FREE healthcare and that all significant changes must be brought to all members with the terms and conditions fully disclosed to us. Â
In a subsequent post, we will be sharing more about rank and file members who have joined with the The United For Change coalition and their 5 BIG CONTRACT DEMANDS. These demands include the demand made in the healthcare petition.
Moreover, if the next tentative contract agreement is voted down, our union leadership and the City will simply have to go back to the table and get it right.
Let's be clear: Improved premium-free and quality healthcare for actives and retirees is one of these member-powered contract demands. Anything less means —those who stand with us on this issue will VOTE 'NO' on this next contract agreement!
We now urgently need active members to continue to help take the lead. Active members, please print out the petition and have your colleagues sign it. Share the Big 5 contract demands with your chapter also. We need these school chapter petitions by Friday, June 2nd.
Lastly, right now, please make a commitment to reach out to 3 to 5 UFT colleagues, or retirees, and speak to them about this fight for our, and our families', healthcare.Â
It's time to STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR A TRUE FAIR CONTRACT THAT INCLUDES QUALITY, PREMIUM-FREE HEALTHCARE FOR ACTIVE MEMBERS & RETIREES … AND SIGNIFICANT RAISES THAT MATCH OR EXCEED INFLATION!