| BMUST
(Bellmore-Merrick United Secondary Teachers)
is the local union representing the
teachers of the Bellmore-Merrick Central
High School District.
Our district
consists of five buildings -- Sanford
H. Calhoun High School, John F. Kennedy
High School, Wellington C. Mepham High
School, Grand Avenue Middle School,
and Merrick Avenue Middle School. We
have approximately 380 members, and
we are affiliated with the Bellmore-Merrick
Paraprofessional Association, and with
the Bellmore-Merrick Retired Teacher's
Association.
BMUST is affiliated with the New
York State United Teachers and with
the American
Federation of Teachers.
Our
mission:
To provide a working environment where
teachers develop professionally, reach
their goals, and experience fulfilling
careers. |
PROPERTY
TAX CAP RECOMMENDATIONS
SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS
THAT WE MUST FIGHT, IN ADDITION TO THE 4%
TAX CAP, ARE THE FOLLOWING:
1. AMENDING THE
TRIBOROUGH PROVISION OF THE TAYLOR LAW, WHICH
STATES THAT WHEN A CONTRACT HAS EXPIRED, THE
PROVISIONS OF THAT CONTRACT REMAIN IN EFFECT
UNTIL A NEW ONE IS AGREED UPON. IF THIS IS
ADOPTED, IT WOULD MEAN THAT WHEN A LOCAL HAS
NOT SETTLED THEIR CONTRACT PRIOR TO ITS EXPIRATION
DATE, TEACHERS WOULD NOT RECEIVE STEP AND
COLUMN INCREASES FOR AS LONG AS THEY ARE WITHOUT
A CONTRACT. IN EFFECT, SALARIES WOULD BE FROZEN.
THIS WOULD HAVE A CHILLING EFFECT ON COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING, AND WOULD GREATLY HINDER THE ABILITY
OF UNIONS TO NEGOTIATE FROM STRENGTH.
2. CREATING MANDATORY
HEALTH INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TEACHERS
OF AT LEAST 10% FOR INDIVIDUALS AND 25% FOR
FAMILY. THIS WOULD MEAN A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE
IN THE COST OF HEALTH INSURANCE FOR OUR FAMILIES,
AND REMOVE THIS CRITICAL BENEFIT FROM FAIR
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
3. MANDATE A STUDY
OF CREATING A TIER 5 IN THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM,
WHICH WOULD ADDRESS THE “RELATIVELY
RICH BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES,”
BY POSSIBLY REINSTATING EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION
THROUGHOUT THE CAREER, AND BY CREATING A DEFINED
CONTRIBUTION PLAN.
IN THE INTEREST
OF TIME AND SPACE, I HAVE NOT INCLUDED EVERYTHING
THAT IS IN THE REPORT. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK
AT THE NYSUT SITE, AND SEND A FAX TO YOUR
LEGISLATORS. IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT!!
IF YOU HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS AS TO WHY WE MUST SUPPORT VOTE COPE,
THIS SHOULD ANSWER THEM. NYSUT WILL BE FIGHTING
VIGOROUSLY TO DEFEAT THESE OPPRESSIVE IDEAS,
AND TO MAKE SURE THAT A TAX CAP DOES NOT DAMAGE
THE EDUCATION OF OUR KIDS AND THE JOBS OF
OUR MEMBERS. PLEASE HELP.
NYSUT
won a major legislative victory this week
with the final agreement on the new tenure
regulations. The new rules, which will sunset
in two years, prohibit the use of student
test scores as a basis for granting or not
granting tenure. They do provide that administrators
must assess how the teacher utilizes test
result data (which may also include classroom
tests and other assessments), but this is
very different from basing tenure on test
scores themselves. Also, the new rules say
that peer review must be used, where practicable.
This means that any type of peer review or
evaluation in the tenure process must be the
result of collective bargaining, and that
if it cannot be established through collective
bargaining, then it may not be included. Additionally,
administrative evaluation, as always, must
be a basis for tenure. The new rules affect
only teachers hired after July 1, 2008, so
no current probationary teachers are impacted
by them.
NYSUT’s
ability to defeat the movement to base tenure
on test scores (a proposal that was strongly
backed by Mayor Bloomberg and NYC Chancellor
Klein, among others) was to a large degree
a result of our success in lobbying, our emails
and faxes, and the relationship the union
has built with key legislators, including
Shelly Silver and Joe Bruno. This is another
example of the importance of our VOTE COPE
contributions.
NYSUT Alert: Tell Congress to fix NCLB now!
Act now to
slow down the rush to reauthorize the flawed
No Child Left Behind Law. With House leaders
pushing for the bill to be considered by the
end of this month, it's important that you
contact your members of Congress today to
let them know there are serious problems with
the proposed revisions.
Tell your
congressional representatives it is more important
to get it right than to get it done quickly!
Click
Here to preview the letter and
send a fax to your congressional representative
