Barbara Martinez
My9TV.com
12 Jan 2011
Randi Weingarten, the former head of the New York City teachers’ union, received $194,188 last year from the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) for unused sick days and vacation time accrued before she left to become president of the American Federation of Teachers, boosting her total compensation to more than $600,000 for 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The payment was disclosed in UFT’s annual filing with the US Department of Labor. A spokesman said Weingarten was “not treated any differently than any other employee at the UFT when it came to the accrual” of sick leave and vacation time. “It’s very transparent and straightforward,” said Michael Powell.
The amount represents about eight to nine months’ worth of her former UFT salary of $272,000, said David Hickey, the UFT’s chief financial officer. Weingarten worked at the UFT for 23 years. She started as legal counsel and became president in 1998. She left in 2009 and the payout occurred between August 2009 and July 2010, the UFT’s latest fiscal year.
Weingarten’s pay “adds up to five times the annual salary of the average teacher, and it’s all money that comes from forced union dues from teachers,” said Sarah Longwell of the Center for Union Facts, a group critical of unions.
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