New Haven school teachers battle city for fair play

By Melissa Barton

JULIA TIERNAN/YH DEEP FREEZE: Teachers at Cooperative High School on Orange Street are among those who want New Haven to unfreeze their salaries.

In the shadow of a prestigious university, New Haven's public schools are struggling. Now, the New Haven Federation of Teachers union may strike if the city does not increase their pay. Contract negotiations between the union and the city went to binding arbitration Mon., Oct. 19.

Traditionally, public school teachers in New Haven have received yearly pay increases, reaching a maximum salary after 14 years. But faced with a large budget deficit two years ago, the city froze all pay increases to teachers.

"Teachers are in a unique situation because of [this] step-wise process," Frank Carrano, president of Local 933, the New Haven teachers' union, said. "We have received no pay increases for three years, and now we are simply asking for an increase that is fair." Currently, the city's teachers, who are paid less than their Hamden and West Haven counterparts, want a pay increase to compensate for the previous years' stagnation.

The teachers' contracts come up for renewal in July 1999. Local 933 has protested twice in the last two weeks in an attempt to gain support for pay raises.

Michael Kuczkowski, spokesman for Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., stressed that the city is trying to strike a balance between its taxpayers and its educators. "We have to try to keep our taxes competitive with neighboring municipalities," he said.

Four years ago, shortly after DeStefano took office, the school board handed the city a $10 million lawsuit listing numerous offenses, including poor facilities. "When we found a way to deal with the budget crisis, the mayor talked to teachers, and they agreed to take a pay freeze for two years," Kuczkowski explained. That agreement set a precedent for amicable negotiations between the city and the union that contrasted dramatically with the teachers' strike in the early '80s.

Though the union is fighting hard for their wages, many teachers prefer passivity to conflict. A teacher at Roberto Clemente Middle School, who asked to remain anonymous, said, "I believe in teaching, not striking and marching. The union has done some good things for teachers, but when they were striking in the '80s, I kept coming to work. I'm in the union because it's mandatory."

The teacher has been teaching for 29 years and has a master's degree in education. Despite her opposition to striking, she thinks raises are in order. "I think that the longevity salary should be increased," she said.

Pam Cogan, MC '99, observed similar apathy among teachers at High School in the Community, a magnet school where she works five days a week to earn her Connecticut state teaching certification. "There are a few people who are really active in the unions, but most of the newer teachers don't understand the struggle, and most of the older ones just don't care," Cogan said.

The city is offering the teachers a 10.5 percent aggregate pay increase over the next four years. Carrano says this is not sufficient to move teachers up in the stepwise pay scale. "We are asking for a wage increase which will correspond to the step movement," he said. Currently, about half of the teachers are still moving on the pay scale, while the other half are already at the top step. Yet Carrano emphasized that "even teachers at the top step are entitled to some increase in pay to compensate for inflation and the like."

Kuczkowski pointed out that, in comparison to other New Haven employees, teachers are already at the top of the pay scale--the average teacher earns about $52,000 a year--and are asking for higher percentage increases than those already paid less by the city. "It would be unfair of us to offer employees at the top of the scale a higher percentage salary raise," Kuczkowski said.

Carrano disagreed, saying, "We don't live in a country where people get the same pay for different work. The work that teachers do is among one of the most important jobs there is."

The city, however, is concerned with the financial implications of raising teachers' salaries. "We feel that right now it is appropriate to be prudent, considering current fiscal conditions," Kuczkowski explained. The city is currently recovering from a budget crisis, he said, emphasizing the importance of keeping taxes low. "Every municipal government wants to put as little stress on its taxpayers as possible," he said.

The discussion phase of the arbitration process should conclude by the end of next week, at which time both sides will hand in written briefs outlining their positions. The arbiter then has until January to hand down a decision. Both sides have agreed beforehand to comply with the decision, so a strike seems unlikely.

"I think that the city should stop playing games," the Clemente teacher said. "We just want to be paid for an honest day's work."

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