When I became a full-time teacher in 2019, my starting salary did not reflect my prior teaching experience as a substitute teacher. The UFT helped me file a salary grievance. With my union’s support, I got back pay and moved from step 1B to step 5b on the teachers’ salary schedule.
Before I contacted the union, I was discouraged and frustrated with my situation. When I applied for a salary step with the Department of Education, I was told that I needed specific proof to support my application. I felt stuck and did not know where to begin to submit my documentation. I worried that no one would listen to me and that maybe I should just be glad to have a job.
It all changed starting at a UFT meeting for new teachers in Brooklyn in 2019. The union reps were incredibly helpful. They provided crucial information about what new teachers are entitled to as UFT members and about my situation specifically. UFT educational liaisons Ina Babb-Henry and Miriam Quiles helped initiate the grievance process.
UFT District 17 Representative Rick King and the UFT grievance team explained the steps I needed to take to resolve my salary issue. They demystified the grievance process and translated the jargon. I prepared the documents they requested and, through every step of the process, I regularly received status updates from UFT staff by phone and email.
On Nov. 1, 2020, my salary was raised to the proper level and I received back pay for those years I was not paid the correct salary.
Even under these extraordinary circumstances during the pandemic, and with many of the people involved working remotely, I was impressed by how quickly the grievance was resolved.
You can trust that everybody at the UFT is ready to work on your behalf. They are there to support you.
Leah Clinton is a special education teacher at PS 161 in Brooklyn.
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