Independent Community of Educators

7 Lingering Questions Regarding the Rubber Room Agreement

That Michael Mulgrew Should Answer Tonight, Please

1. Why were the negotiations conducted in secret without consulting reassigned members
whose careers are at stake? Are you really so out of touch with the members in the TRCs that
you thought they would applaud when they heard the details of this agreement? Why haven’t you
visited a single TRC all year? Will you commit to a listening tour or at least a meeting at
headquarters? Randi did both.

2. Will you go back to Mayor Bloomberg to renegotiate terms deemed unfair by members? You
gave the DOE 60 days to investigate and charge members with misconduct after reassignment.
But you restricted us to a minimum of 10 days and maximum of 25 days to prepare our defense?
Will NYSUT even be able to assign a lawyer that quickly, let alone give the lawyer an opportunity
to prepare for the prehearing?!

3. Why have you ignored the TRC Resolution that was passed at last May’s DA which criticized
principals for targeting independent members and condemned the OSI for “often investigat[ing] in
a biased manner”? Do you agree with Brooklyn Borough Representative Howie Schoor’s
comment that “most” members were reassigned “on trumped up charges?”

4. To guarantee fairness, will you insist that UFT members have the right to conduct their own
investigations parallel to the DOE’s, assuring equal access to evidence and witnesses? And will
you reverse UFT policy by ordering Special Representatives to vigorously defend members
during OSI and OEO interviews and to give copies of interview notes to members?

5. Will you establish a standing committee of UFT officials and reassigned members to monitor
implementation of the agreement and make monthly reports to the Executive Board, which will be
subsequently published with full transparency in The New York Teacher?

6. Will the DOE and UFT actually hire all the additional arbitrators when they have not hired the
alotted number now? Enforcement of this agreement relies on the grievance process which is
controlled by the DOE until Step 3 Arbitration without a timetable. How will you fill this loophole?

7. Since justice juiced up is justice denied, will you reconsider your bizarre pledge to join the
Chancellor in pressuring Arbitrators to speed up their adjudication? In a process that favors the
DOE, what were you thinking when you agreed to diminish an advantage to members?

Resolution
WHEREAS the DOE now has 60 days to investigate, build their case and bring charges against
teachers reassigned to the Rubber Room while the member only has between 15-20 days to
have a lawyer assigned and develop their defense;

RESOLVED that the UFT hire paralegals to help research and assist in the preparation of the
accused members' defense.

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