The New York City teachers union struck a deal Monday guaranteeing a large pay raise in their new contract with the city while students’ math test scores continue to plummet, according to Reuters.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the United Federation of Teachers agreed to a $6.4 billion, five-year contract that includes a 15% pay raise for teachers over the period of the contract, according to Reuters. The new contract comes as just 38% of the city’s third through eighth graders met math grade-level expectations in 2022, an almost eight point decline from 2019, according to the Chalkbeat New York.
“I’m probably one of the few modern-day mayors that was a member of a union,” Adams said at a press conference, according to Reuters. “I know what unions do for this city.”
Overall, the city’s reading scores increased slightly from 2019 to 2022 by 1.6%, according to the Chalkbeat New York. From 2019 to 2022, though New York City’s fourth grade reading scores fell by six points while the city’s third grade reading scores dropped by four points.
The contract includes a $3,000 ratification bonus for each member of the union, which includes more than 120,000 teachers and faculty, Reuters reported. In 2026, teachers union members will receive an annual cash payment of $1,000 under the contract.
Within eight years of being hired, most teachers within the union must reach a minimum salary of $100,000 as a part of the contract, Reuters reported. Under the previous contract, teachers could meet a minimum salary of $100,000 within 15 years.
The contract also expands the district’s voluntary virtual learning program, though New York City Education Chancellor David Banks said the expansion will not take away from in-person learning, Reuters reported. At least 25% of the city’s students will be able to participate in the voluntary virtual learning program within the next year of the expansion, according to ABC 7 News.
Teachers unions throughout the country have gone on strike in an effort to get a pay raise and social justice initiatives; in Los Angeles, California, teachers, bus drivers and other faculty of the second-largest school district in the nation went on strike demanding a 30% pay raise and a larger staff force. The Oakland Education Association in California went on strike in order to get “reparations for black students.”
The New York City Department of Education and United Federation of Teachers did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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