Friday, September 30, 2011

ATR-Fight BAck

How did you become excessed? How was your experience looking for a position? Where have you been placed?

A bogus allegation was made against me in which I settled and then placed in the ATR pool. If you know anything about the 3020A process then you are aware of how bogus and discriminating it is towards teachers of age and color.This became a process in which to excess senior teachers to make room for the younger ones coming into this PROFESSION.

It is interesting that the UFT president has decided after years of abuse towards teachers to begin citing it is time we put PROFESSION back into our employment status. We are over educated and over worked professional who only get satisfaction when we see our students succeed. I do not think this is asking for to much. This new plan by rotating us is harassment.ATR-teachers are like fish out of water.The UFT and DOE justifying this new “license” by paying us to be nothing more than glorified hall walkres is insane.I for one want to work as do many others. There are many of us who have been ATRs for years and there is no visible way of seeing it get better.No one bothered to ask us how we felt about the rotation cycle.We never voted on this.Is it because we are a minority and not worthy of a voice.Yet I do not see our dues being lessened or eradicated.The UFT is still taking money out of out pay checks without representing us.

I am currently assigned as a hall monitor at the front desk.The first day I went to my assigned school I saw the following.Every administrator was in their 30’s and all the teachers were in their 20’s.I was the elder educator in the room.There is something wrong with this picture.LIFO has been eradicated through a back door method.Give Principals a budget that only affords them to hire young cheap teachers. Are we to feel guilty for having aged?Getting aged does not mean one is useless. There was a time we were respected for our experience.What has happened to that respect when our own UFT-union no longers treats us with respect.

The job fair was a JOKE.There were 6 art teaching positions in which one was not present.The Brooklyn Museum hosting this event had more empty seats in which principals were to be present to interview  empty. I had one interviewer chatting on the phone with a personal call disinterested in interviewing me.It was all for show.I had other interviewers remove my intellectual property praising it as being great and wanting to give to whom ever they hired.Nerve….Need-less-to say I got my papers back. Why are we being placed in this position of attending a JOB FAIR, knowing no one will hire us because we are to expensive is questionable.It is also further insulting when there is no UFT representation to observe the event.They were there about licensing but not about the JOB FAIR. Where was Amy Arundell who is employed by us (UFT members-dues) as the point person involved with overseeing ATRs’? She was absent as she has been in the past.She has a nice office with a nice view and a handsome salary doing nothing.Why is she really there? Again she is nothing more than a front person to appear as if the UFT is concerned with our issues.HA…..

The way I see this going is that the UFT is in league with the DOE.Look at it from the numbers financially and you see that they have plenty to gain.Get rid of 2 senior teachers and the DOE gets to hire 5 teachers with an additional 3 new teachers paying dues.This spells RICO.Let us face the reality it is all about the money numbers and we are being sacrificed to make room for the new teachers. Just because we are a minority does not mean we should be sold out.We deserve to be treated better and we should demand this from both the UFT and the DOE.

I am wondering if there is anyone out there who is interested in joining a class action against both parties.The numbers count and it would cost us little to fight back.If I had the funds I would take them on heads on, but I do not.I also feel as a group we are stronger in fighting back.I am praying that this group is pro-active with a voice wanting to change what is happening.I am also praying that we have not become passive allowing the abuse to continue with apathy that we can not do anything or waiting for someone else to do the fight. We have to cease complaining and begin to do something.Please feel free to contact me.

I would also like to know if there is any meetings for ATRs’ to get together and discuss a course of action to fight back.
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Elvira Sacco