There Are Two Different Types of Seniority

BTF Contractual Seniority
“Seniority” is defined as a teacher’s length of total continuous service from the date of original probationary appointment as a teacher in the Buffalo Public School System. Leaves of absence without pay shall not be counted as service for this purpose. BTF Contractual Seniority is used for determining who has greater seniority in the case of transfer and reduction-in-force.
Effective January 31, 1977, whenever temporary service has been credited toward the completion of a probationary period, it shall also be counted for the purpose of seniority.

Note: For BTF Contractual Seniority, a maximum of two years of temporary time is counted if the service has been counted towards the completion of one’s probationary appointment.

Commissioner’s Seniority
BTF Contractual Seniority is not used for layoff purposes. For layoffs, what is called Commissioner’s Seniority is used. This is as per the regulations of the NYS Commissioner of Education. In general, all years of service including temporary service in the current tenure area are counted for layoff purposes. However, once laid off, all years of service in all tenure areas count for recall from what is called the preferred eligibility list.

Note: If you previously resigned from the District and have been rehired, any seniority you may have earned when first employed was surrendered when your resignation was approved by the Board of Education. This is a regulation of NYS Education Law and not the subject of negotiations between the BTF and the District.

Contract Language from Article XIV G. of Our Collective Bargaining Agreement

For a reduction in force which is to be effective subsequent to the end of the school year but on or before the first day of the next school year, the Building Committee members including Delegate Chair and the other two delegates with the greatest seniority who served in that capacity prior to the BTF building election at the end of the school year, shall be the last persons considered for an involuntary transfer regardless of their seniority.

Voluntary and Involuntary transfers shall be maintained on a single transfer list. Transferred teachers will remain in place for a minimum of two (2) years unless parties otherwise agree.

MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers

From:         Rich Nigro, President, BTF

Date:          January 10, 2024

Subject:     Supplemental Benefits

In December, the trustees of the Supplemental Benefit Fund voted unanimously to make significant increases to the dental and optical benefits that teachers receive through the BTF. All changes will go into effect February 1, 2024.

We will continue to examine ways to further improve benefits for teachers and dependents. We expect to make more improvements for 2025, which will include additional dental and optical increases as well as other enhancements.

A summary of the benefit enhancement is below and more details will be provided in the January issue of the Provocator.

Dental

A 60% increase across the board has been approved. This means that every allowance BTF pays through Delta Dental, for both in-network and out-of-network dentists, will be multiplied by 1.6. This will result in significantly lower co-pays for our teachers and their dependents. In keeping with this increase, annual maximums for teachers and their dependents also will rise 60%. The new annual maximums will be $1,600 for members and $960 for dependents. In addition, the lifetime orthodontic allowance will increase from $1,100 to $1,760 and lifetime periodontal maximums will increase by $500 in most categories. Please view the new allowance tables please click HERE for in-network and HERE for out of network.

Optical

All optical allowances will be see fixed increases effective February 1st ranging from $3 to $5 for each covered service. That includes eye exams, lenses, and frames. Blue light lenses will be added as a service eligible for reimbursement. Please click HERE to view the new optical allowances. Note that the second service for members will no longer be a lesser amount than the first service.

Dependent Age

Effective February 1, 2024, teachers will be able to maintain coverage for their dependents up until their 26th birthday. This now reflects the age up to which dependents are eligible as per the Affordable Care Act for healthcare. This will apply to dependents who have not yet reached age 23 and to dependents who are already age 23, 24, or 25. If you have a child who aged out under the old rules but is now eligible for benefits, you will need to complete a new, blue enrollment card. Cards can be obtained from your delegate chair or by calling the SBF office at 881-5462.

Death Benefit

On February 1st, the death benefit that BTF pays to a dependent when an active teacher passes away will rise from $1,200 to $1,500.

If you have any questions, please contact the Supplemental Benefit Fund Office at (716) 881-5462.

MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers

From:         Rich Nigro, President, BTF

Date:          January 18, 2024

Subject:     Insurance Waiver Payment

We have received inquiries regarding the insurance waiver paid to teachers who do not take health insurance from the District. There are two distinct types of waiver payments, the Waiver Incentive and the Waiver Pool. With the new contract, they are paid at different rates. Both the Waiver Incentive and Waiver Pool are described in Article XXVI A. (4) of our collective bargaining agreement.

The Waiver Incentive is for teachers who can produce documentation that they “have coverage for healthcare expenses via another source other than the Buffalo Public Schools”. With the new contract, the Waiver incentive rose from $1,200 per year ($100/month) to $3,000 per year ($250/month). Because the parties did not set an effective date during negotiations, the default effective date is the date of the contract’s ratification, April 24, 2023. Therefore, teachers receiving the Waiver Incentive for all of 2023 will receive $100 for each month from January through April and $250 for each month from May through December. This totals $2,400, less applicable taxes.

The Waiver Pool is for married couples where both individuals are employees of the District, though not necessarily both teachers. It was created before the District self-insured and had to purchase policies for each teacher. Teachers who were part of the Pool saved the District money on the cost of policies. Payments to teachers who are part of the Waiver Pool did not change in the new contract and remain at $1,200/year.

If you have any questions, please call the BTF office, which will reopen as soon as schools reopen. Stay safe and warm.

MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers

From:         Rich Nigro, President, BTF

Date:          January 24, 2024

Subject:     Data Breach

We were very recently informed that a data breach of MOVEit file transfer software occurred between May 27 and May 30, 2023. Along with corporations, government agencies, financial institutions, and certain pension funds, Delta Dental uses this database to assist in administering benefits.

We were advised that certain personal information was acquired from the MOVEit platform by unauthorized people. Not everyone’s information was compromised in this breach and Delta Dental is in the process of notifying affected individuals.

It is unclear why Delta Dental did not advise us of this situation earlier. As we learn more, we will continue to keep you informed. In the meantime, we advise affected individuals to watch their accounts, check their credit reports, and consider putting a freeze on your credit with the three credit reporting agencies, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Although this breach has been reported to law enforcement, resources may be available to you at https://www.identitytheft.gov if you see unauthorized activity related to your finances.

MEMORANDUM

Memo To:   All Buffalo Teachers

From:         Rich Nigro, President, BTF

Date:          January 26, 2024

Subject:     Fix Tier Six

We need your help! One of the biggest legislative priorities for the BTF and NYSUT is bringing equity to the later tiers of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System. This especially includes Tier 6, but also Tier 5.

Back on April 1, 2012, new members of the Teachers’ Retirement System began to be classified as “Tier 6”. This followed Tier 5, which includes teachers with initial dates of membership between 1/1/2010 and 3/31/2012. The legislation was passed by the NYS Assembly and Senate at the urging of our former governors, David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo.

While Tier 5 was harmful to our members, Tier 6 is far worse. That is why we are asking each of you to sign onto NYSUT’s “Fix Tier 6” campaign. We need everyone’s help with this, including our Tier 4 members. Below are some ways Tier 6 is far different (and much worse) than Tier 4.

• Minimum retirement age without penalty is 63 (even if the teacher has 30 years of service)
• Members must pay into the retirement system for the entirety of their careers
• The contribution members make varies depending on salary and is as high as 6% (Tier 4 members paid 3% but stopped paying after 10 years of service or membership)
• The Service Factor calculation that ultimately determines pension benefits is less favorable
• Purchasing Prior Service is considerably more expensive
• Calculation of Final Average Salary is over 5 consecutive years instead of 3

As an example, consider a teacher with a $100,000 Final Average Salary who retires at age 55 with 32 years of service and elects the maximum benefit. A retiree under Tier 4 would receive a $63,000 annual pension but a Tier 6 retiree would receive just $28,320 annually! In addition, the Tier 6 retiree would have paid tens of thousands more through the years in member contributions.

Please visit www.Fixtier6.org and click on the “Get Involved” button to show your support. You also may scan the QR code below. Our Local Union Name is Buffalo Teachers Federation. Together, we can do this! We need to attract and retain quality educators and that will be increasingly more difficult without legislative changes to the retirement system.

Please remember that with the help and support of Tier 1 and Tier 2 members, an enhancement was made to Tier 4 in the year 2000 that ended lifetime member contributions. ALL of us need to be there for our Tier 5 and Tier 6 brothers and sisters. Thank you in advance for your support.