The Urgency Trap: Why Tier 6 and the Para Respect Check Feel Bigger Than the Results

A call to action for today’s town hall.

There are two things UFT members are being told are important and happening in our union RIGHT NOW! 

    1.  The “fight” to get paraprofessionals the “respect check”

    2.  “Fighting” to “Fix” Tier 6  

Depending on how locked in you are to our union, you may know that one or both of these things are happening. And then there are some of you who may not realize that any of these things are happening. That’s okay. The urgency you are being made to feel about these items is by design. It’s performative. The constant “fighting” for these issues, that feel so big and out of our control in our everyday lives, makes us feel powerless and tired, so that even if we want to participate, it’s a struggle to know where to begin. Not to mention the fact that before we know it, the tone has shifted and the issue no longer seems that urgent.

Let’s start with the “Para Respect Check.” And let’s rewind. When this was introduced last year, during the election for the officers of this union, you may have thought it seemed super shady. You were not alone! EVERY Paraprofessional in NYC was told they would get $10,000 every single year for the rest of their careers, starting in June of 2025. This would be provided by the City Council who would pass a law to make it happen. What? How would that be possible and who would even agree to that? 

Don’t misunderstand. 

We all know paraprofessionals need to earn a living wage, but we also know we are part of a larger workforce of other low-wage union workers in our school communities. How could the City Council give such a wage increase to only one title? And why did this become an urgent issue for Mulgrew at this time, RIGHT NOW? Especially in light of the fact that Mulgrew had an opportunity to negotiate para pay raises during the last contract negotiation, but he explicitly told the negotiating committee members they could not discuss wages. The Chapter Leader for the paraprofessionals even argued in late 2024 that paras didn’t really need a raise. What woke up the leadership? An election year where there were serious threats to their power?    

What were we told? Mulgrew contended that this bill would solve all the years of the DOE getting away with not having to adhere to special education compliance because this bill would solve the lack of paraprofessionals coming into and staying in the profession. We were never supposed to think this was so obviously close to Mulgrew’s upcoming election. If a person dared to question the timing of this bill, you would be called out in your own union hall as people who want to “do this union harm”, did not want paras to be paid more, along with all of the nonsense that Mulgrew says to the very union members who pay dues to be represented with principles and competence. So, Mulgrew tried to silence those who questioned why there are so many substitute paraprofessionals that this UFT leadership can never get the DOE to hire full-time at schools every single year. 

We are never supposed to think about solving the root of the problem. What we are told is that what Mulgrew decides and when he decides it is above questioning or analysis and should be supported because he says so.

Tier Six is another example. This change to our pension structure happened in 2012. At that time, we were told by Mulgrew and his mouthpieces, that there was nothing that could be done to prevent Tier VI. There was an economic downturn and if we defended our pension structure and prevented a new tier from being created, we stood to lose our defined pension benefits all together. This is one of Mulgrew’s favorite tactics–the scare tactic.

So, Tier VI was created and this union said and did nothing about Tier VI until when? 2024. The year before the election for union officer positions. Why in 2024? Young people aren’t connecting to the union. Let’s pick an issue they care about. Not because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s the opportunistic thing to do. What does the UFT actually do? Tag along the state union’s “pep” rally. Then the day after, announce that Tier VI changes are coming. That is what today’s town hall is supposed to be about. 

Listen carefully to not only what is being said but how it’s being framed. Mulgrew will talk about what people want. But what are people actually getting? What does it have in common with the “Para Respect Check”? It’s all performative and completely divorced from the real power of the membership. Instead Mulgrew uses the needs and wants of the membership to create fake outrage, insincere urgency, and then a happy ending. 

BUT, we don’t have any substantive changes to either paraprofessional pay or Tier VI. Actions speak louder than words and we are tired of being wound up and mobilized, only to find out we can’t quite cross the finish line or what we end up with is not at all what has been described to us as the probable outcome. To some, this may sound like naysaying or bitterness, but what evidence do we have that it’s not true? There is no para respect check. The original bill has been changed to something very different. Mulgrew even referred to it as a “program” at the Delegate Assembly yesterday. Tier VI hasn’t substantively changed. The contract campaign has not started. We still have disrespectful working conditions. We can’t even be treated with respect when we try to go to work after a historic blizzard. That is still an outstanding issue too. As is OT/PT pay, curriculum, student discipline, and general respect for all professionals in the school system.

For those of us who have some time in this system, we often look back to how we felt when we started in our profession and joined this union. There were feelings of pride because this was a respected career, we belonged to a powerful and popular union, and we had a pension. Now we are seeing our union’s reputation and relationships being ruined in this city because of one man’s ego and love of power. Mulgrew doesn’t believe in term limits, building capacity, and passing a torch. We have spent more time defending this union at our dinner tables than feeling that sense of pride we all once had. If you have family members that are police officers, firefighters, sanitation workers, etc. you know this to be true. Many if not most of us who have whole families in the municipal labor workforce will find a common theme at our dinner tables. “Mulgrew screwed us.” He plays on words by saying in one instance that MLC negotiates healthcare and in the next instant proposed Mulgrewcare (aka Medicare Advantage) and assured us this was going through the MLC because we hold the most votes of the MLC. Now he takes no credit for the complete screw up that was, and is now pivoting all of our thinking to these newest (but not new) urgent items. Mulgrew will continue to talk in circles until you are too exhausted to participate.  

This is a call to action to listen to what this man says, ask questions, and don’t doubt the voice you hear saying to yourself that this just doesn’t sound right. You are not alone. We are all in this together and we need to continue to push, no matter the cost, for the union we all deserve.