An update

The Negotiating Committee has been meeting almost every week since mid-October, and we have been wrestling with the issues that will face us as we sit down with management to negotiate a contract. We put together a rough draft of what we saw as the most important elements to be included in the first contract, and last week we sat down with the UFT's team of negotiators that will be representing us. They went over our proposal in great detail and sent us back to refine our ideas and to consider some of the realities of hammering out a contract with the city. One of the biggest challenges is to avoid unforeseen consequences; we don't want to enshrine a principle in the contract only to realize later that it harms our position.

We are meeting with the UFT's team again in mid-December to present them with a clearer idea of what we want. On some of our demands, they think we might be trying to have our cake and eat it, too. Personally, I'm a big proponent of eating cake, but their point is well taken. Our goal is to improve our position, to keep the best parts of our job while making sure that the worst parts are eliminated and that no one gets left out. It's hard work, but I'm confident that it will be worth the effort in the end.