The Association of Orthodox Jewish Teachers in New York City Schools reported today that an appeal to the United Federation of Teachers had brought agreement in the new UFT contract with the city Board of Education allowing teachers to have three days off with pay for observance of religious holidays.
Philip Kipust, Association president, said that the UFT, in response to an Association request, had proposed, in the contract talks five days off with pay from the 10 days sick leave which all teachers are allowed annually. The agreement is expected to be ratified by the rank-and-file without difficulty.
Mr. Kipust said also that Dr. Seymour Lachman, a board of education member from Brooklyn, had told him that the three-day clause was negotiated specifically to allow time off for religious holidays without loss of pay. He added that the Association was “not happy with the contract. We wanted all the sick leave days to be used for religious purposes. Some years there are 10 religious holidays” but he praised Dr. Lachman as being “sensitive to our cause.” He reported also that registration for public school summer classes, originally scheduled for Friday, had been re-scheduled to today in deference to Jewish students’ religious practices.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
