Thousands of UFT members not eligible for bonus due to payroll status

[hrmjustin]

Diane C. Lore

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Mary Anne Ferrigno thought she was doing the right thing when she hobbled into school on crutches June 3 to sign the new contract between the city and her union, the United Federation of Teachers.

Ms. Ferrigno, a single mother of two from West Brighton who works as a paraprofessional at PS 55, Eltingville, had been out on sick leave and disability since February, when she slipped and fell on ice while trying to clean off her car to get to work.

Union members who signed the contract were to get a one-time $1,000 signing bonus, she was told, and so she went in. UFT members ultimately approved the contract by a 3-to-1 margin, and members began receiving their bonus check -- minus taxes withheld -- over the summer.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/no_uft_bonus_for_teachers_on_l.html#incart_river