I never really thought about the union before unless I needed the prescription benefit. But when I moved from New York City to North Carolina in 2016, I found out what a punitive environment it was without a union.
There, my lesson plans were due at noon on Saturday. You eat lunch with your students and go to recess with them. There were supposed to be daily preps, but they were taken away with meetings and there was nothing you could do about that.
And don’t get me started on the health coverage. It cost $300 a month for single health coverage and $800 for the whole family, and I was only making $3,000 a month. So that was $2,200 a month in take-home pay and then I had to pay for child care. I left for work at 7 in the morning and didn’t get home until 5 p.m.
Literally, at the end of the day, I was walking out of there with a third of my New York salary and I was working harder than ever — and I’m a nerd and I always work hard! I love what I do.
Another big difference: North Carolina teachers get a yearly contract; there’s no such thing as tenure. You never have job security.
In New York City, as a new teacher, I had a mentor, there were PDs offered to me by the UFT. My first year teaching was difficult, but I had such support. The teachers across the hall were always there to help me if I needed it.
There was very little down there for new teachers. It felt like every man for himself in the South. No one felt secure enough to stand up for anyone else.
I quit that job after two months and came back here. We’re so lucky to work here. Before, I never had a solid understanding of the union. But when I went to North Carolina, thing after thing kept happening to me and I felt, “No wonder there’s a need for a union!”
You’re not creating lifelong educators there. That’s the beauty of the UFT — it’s creating a supportive environment that enables you to make a career of teaching.
Maureen Finn is a teacher at PS 56 in the Bronx.
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