Older Subs Victimized
UFT Charges DOE Guilty of Age Bias

By MICHELLE FRIEDMAN

The United Federation of Teachers has sued the Department of Education alleging that more than 700 Teachers in the Absent Teachers Reserve (ATR) are victims of age discrimination.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: Talented staff wasted.

The union asserted in papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that the school-funding formula implemented last year by Chancellor Joel I. Klein gave Principals an incentive to hire younger, lower-paid Teachers rather than veterans displaced from their previous jobs in the system.

A Pool of Subs

The ATR pool is composed of Teachers excessed from their jobs when a school closes, programs are eliminated or enrollment changes and they are unable to find another full-time, permanent position. Teachers in the ATR pool work as day-to-day subs or cover long-term vacancies and receive full salary and benefits.

As mandated by the 2005 contract, all Teachers in the ATR pool maintain complete job stability. However, according to DOE data cited in the lawsuit, 81 percent of the Teachers in the ATR pool are older than 50, while just 57 percent of the entire public schools staff is that old. The UFT believes this discrepancy exists because of the new funding formula and evidence that younger excessed Teachers have an easier time finding new positions.

An attempt to ease tensions was made in April 2007 with a "holds harmless" agreement that allowed schools to retain an older Teachers' salaries in their budgets after the Teacher resigned or retired. The agreement assuaged some difficulties for older Teachers in the ATR pool, but Mr. Klein indicated his willingness to forgo the agreement with the announcement of the most recent budget cuts.

Violating Rights Law?

The UFT lawsuit claims that the DOE is still in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law by perpetuating employment discrimination on the basis of age, claiming that the "holds harmless" agreement has not rectified the situation. The UFT maintained a right to grieve any unilateral change in the negotiated transfer plan should evidence prove continued bias against Teachers, and claimed continued sufficient evidence of discrimination since the installation of the April 2007 "holds harmless" agreement as the basis for the April 2008 lawsuit.

According to the union's calculations, the DOE would have saved $55 million dollars by using qualified and experienced Teachers in the ATR pool to fill full-time vacancies in schools. Most ATRs are on the central payroll, providing Principals with little incentive to hire more-expensive older Teachers to fill permanent positions.

'Should Use Them'

"A lot of money could have been saved if the Department of Education had used educators in the ATR to fill new vacancies," UFT President Randi Weingarten said in an April 18 e-mail phone. "They're already on payroll and using them would ease the need to hire additional staff, incurring additional costs. They're great Teachers and most of them are in the ATR because their schools are closing, and they offer a wealth of talent that isn't being used as well it should be."

Despite several requests by the UFT for a moratorium on hiring new Teachers until a permanent position had been secured for every ATR who wants one, the DOE continues to enlist new hires.

" Our primary goal is to ensure that any displaced educator that wants a position has the opportunity to secure one. We don't want people forced into vacancies, but we do want them to have real choices," Ms. Weingarten said.

Most ATRS, the UFT leader continued, just want their own classroom back and the chance to accrue school seniority and organize their own lesson plans instead of subbing for a different teacher every day. "It's a waste of talent and expertise," she said.

The DOE does not comment on on-going litigation, a spokesman said.