The United Federation of Teachers said today it had accepted a request from the Association of Orthodox Jewish Teachers in New York Public schools that the union seek a clause in its next contract to enable the teachers to take off religious holidays without penalty.
The clause which a UFT spokesman said it is included in talks currently underway for a new contract with a new interim Board of Education would give UFT members five “business days” annually which could be taken off, with pay. for religious holidays or any other suitable reason. The Association obtained the UFT agreement through a petition by its members which pointed out that observant Jewish teachers cannot use their accumulated absence reserve to offset time they take off from teaching for religious observance reasons. The result, according to the Association’s plea to the teacher’s union, is “a sizeable loss” of income each year deducted for such absence.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
