Dear Parents and EVCS Community,
At drop off tomorrow morning, Friday June 8th, 8:05-8:30 am, teachers are gathering to rally outside of the school, as a “walk in” demonstration to educate about and demand family leave from New York State. Please feel free to join them to show your solidarity and support the fight for family leave as this is something that affects all families and together we can make change for the better. As public workers, teachers do not currently receive the same sets of protections as non-public workers, including the rights to paid family leave.
Here are a few points that organizers and our teachers have highlighted:
* Paid family leave does not exist for NYC public school teachers and other unionized public workers in NYS.
* The new NYS law affording paid family leave to NYS residents does not apply to unionized public workers.
* Teachers are required to exhaust their bank of sick leave days in order to get paid for caring for a newborn or newly adopted child, or to care for a sick relative.
* No sick days? Teachers must borrow against their sick days to take a so-called maternity leave. They are required to take a leave of 6 weeks after the birth of a child, but cannot take more than 12 weeks leave without losing health insurance for their family.
Please consider standing with teachers, ask questions, and find out how you can support the fight for paid family leave. The event is an this is an action organized by the social justice arm of the UFT, called the MORE caucus (standing for Movement of Rank and file Educators). Our children’s teachers provide vital services to our children and our communities, let’s support them in their work to gain the right of paid family leave.
In solidarity,
Catherine Cook
Chair, Community Action Committee
EVCS Parents Association
