Fixparapay
Join the fight for a fair para contract!
Fixing the contract, and improving the wages and pay structures, of NYC public school paraprofessionals is a matter of fairness, justice and dignity.
It’s a matter of keeping our talented and dedicated para-educators in our school communities. Our role as paras is invaluable.
We must make our profession a career, once again — and not simply a “career ladder”. We must be able to recruit new paras for the hundreds of positions that are vacant, even as thousands of NYC schoolchildren remain underserved due to shortages.
We are a a union-proud and union-strong member-driven movement. We seek to unite, organize, mobilize, educate and demand strong,transparent & more democratic UFT leadership.
To this end, we have joined together as PARAS FOR A FAIR CONTRACT!
meet the candidates
The UFT Paras for A Fair Contract Slate will be announced soon.
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John Perez
Chapter Chairpeson
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Migda Rodriguez
1st Vice Chairperson
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Deborah Harris
Secretary
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Osvaldo Acosta Jr
Executive Board At-Large
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Cathy Barbosa
Executive Board At-Large
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Agnes Echevarria
Executive Board At-Large
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Teresa D’Ambrosio
Executive Board At-Large
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Tatiana Rendon
Executive Board At-Large
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Elizabeth Schmidt
Executive Board At-Large
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Marie Wausnock
Executive Board At-Large
what we need
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Paras are grossly underpaid in NYC and deserve a living wage. Entry level paras are only making about $18.50 an hour. According to the MIT living wage calculator, a single person with no children should be making $33 a hour.
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Longevity increases are additional compensation offered for service to NYC public schools specifically, rather than professional experience in general. Teachers after 22 years get over $30,000 in longevity, yet paras only get just over $3,000 in longevity raises. That is NOT a typo, but it is a huge disparity, and it needs to be fixed as this would help paras who are not at top pay because they don’t have the time to take college classes as they are working extra jobs.
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The nature of para work can make them most prone to injury in the line of duty. Paras should have parity with the LODI benefit teachers receive. No to only 2/3 pay with workers compensation. No to having to use all your CAR days. Full pay from day one until you can return to work!
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Teachers, and district 75 paras who work Chapter 683 during the summer, have retention rights. What are retention rights? Upon completing two consecutive years of satisfactory service in the same per-session activity these educators gain “retention rights,” giving them priority for hiring in future years in the same activity. Paras don’t have similar rights to retain their per session positions. It’s time for parity.
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D75 paras who work Chapter 683 summer school for July and August receive 17.5% extra pay and paid days off during this time.
Chapter 683 paras work with 12 month IEP students throughout the summer. Similarly, non-D75 paras also work with 12 month IEP students in the Extended School Year (ESY) summer program. These ESY paras work both July and August, and similar hours during summer school, yet do not get the same compensation. This is unjust and needs to be fixed.
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All paras are essential and not disposable. Even with due-process paras can be terminated at the will of a rogue, abusive administrator.
Experienced paras should have tenure-like job protections just like teachers.
