I think it will get voted down again in a similar margin to the original vote. Nobody signs contracts that are so undeveloped and unclear in any sector of business.

Here is my reasoning:
1) Development of the AU and the whole process has not been clearly defined. The teacher would be burdened with the responsibility of attending meetings to get a raise, this is not sitting well with teachers.

2) No matter how this thing is spun, it gives principals more control over their employees. I can see LOTS of Satisfactory evaluations coming in. This will be determined behind close doors at North Ave, just like last year - when principals were basically told not to give Proficients.

3) Nobody likes when the union sides with management. Its bad policy -- something seems really odd about them being on the same page.

Anyways, turnout will show that this contract has been dead -- no fancy marketing campaign can bring this thing back.

The contract will probably pass but not by an overwhelming majority. Teachers are feeling threatened on all sides--schools closing, jobs fading, principals looking to save themselves. We are all just tired of the whole mess. The union is pushing--providing buses to go vote; the city is pushing--being able to spend all that RTT money; and it is all just too much. Quite frankly, we know that one way or another, the contract will go into effect. I will go vote but I don't want to predict anything definite.

I believe almost every teacher in my school is for this contract. We are a great school, with great staff, and also great administration. Say YES so we can move on and make some changes in our system. If you are worried about being critiqued on your teaching then maybe you are in the wrong place? The new evaluation is coming whether we like it or not. We have no control over that. If you are not so great at teaching or your students are not making any progress, the new evaluation that the state is bringing may be your downfall anyway....? Just because the students are not on grade level as we would like them to be doesn't mean that they haven't made any growth with you. Thatis what the evaluation is looking at. I know we all want to know how they are going to measure students growth but I believe that this is going to be a process and we need to take baby steps. Just sayin'...

The more the big wigs endorse MY contract, the more I want to vote NO. Stop the persuasion. Facts are all I need. And while you are at it, send all the out of town, union organizers back home. Who is paying for them to be here? Where are they staying? What is their per day expense account? Where did the media/PR people come from? I heard NYC. How much was that? How much have all the fliers cost? While there may be volunteers, there are incredible numbers of staff working to sell the contract.

Vote no...the Robo calls are too much....

Of course the mayor wants this contract approved. The publicity Baltimore would get for this "revolutionary" contract is exactly what she needs for the next mayoral election.
I'm voting no again because this contract is bad for teachers and students. When you turn the system into a game, don't be surprised when it gets dominated by game players (also known as future politicians).
@anonymous - I have not met even one teacher who is worried about being critiqued. Your comment about being worried that our students are not "on grade level" tells me that you aren't really a teacher, because real teachers know that there is no way to teach to get students to this mythical "on grade level" plateau. Real teaching has nothing to do with the sappy hour-and-a-half Hollywood teaching movies that you've seen. Baltimore's hard-working teachers are constantly adapting to their students' needs not because of BS bureaucratic pressure, but because they want students to learn and succeed.
We don't need EXTRA pressure; we have plenty.

I think the contract will be defeated. I hope it's not (I basically like the contract), but, again, I think the BTU has made some major blunders in the planning and implementation of the vote. Requiring teachers to vote off site on voting sites until just 6 p.m. just isn't very realistic -- particularly during a very busy school week across the city (today is Take-Your-Parents-to-School Day and PTA meetings at my school). Early release should have been provided. This will make people on the fence (which are many) just not want to vote, while the seemingly well-organized anti-contract group will be out in droves.

That's my sense right now, that turnout will be down and mostly people firmly on either side (which, actually, isn't that many) will go through the inconvenience of voting.

I hope not, though. I hope it passes and we can move on.

Of course the mayor wants this contract approved. The publicity Baltimore would get for this "revolutionary" contract is exactly what she needs for the next mayoral election.
I'm voting no again because this contract is bad for teachers and students. When you turn the system into a game, don't be surprised when it gets dominated by game players (also known as future politicians).
@anonymous - I have not met even one teacher who is worried about being critiqued. Your comment about being worried that our students are not "on grade level" tells me that you aren't really a teacher, because real teachers know that there is no way to teach to get students to this mythical "on grade level" plateau. Real teaching has nothing to do with the sappy hour-and-a-half Hollywood teaching movies that you've seen. Baltimore's hard-working teachers are constantly adapting to their students' needs not because of BS bureaucratic pressure, but because they want students to learn and succeed.
We don't need EXTRA pressure; we have plenty.

In response to "Enlightened" - " Nobody signs contracts that are so undeveloped and unclear in any sector of business." Nobody in the business world who has a job even half as "white collar" as a teacher HAS a contract. It is only because you are a government employee that you get a labor agreement.

I will be so happy when this vote is over. I wish I never had read half of the things teachers have posted on this blog about the subject. You know, I have spent the last 12 years gambling on City Schools with my children, who I value above my career. I haven't had a contract - well defined or otherwise - and I've gone through bad situations. Yet, because I know it's needed for a positive outcome, I remain optimistic and hopeful. Or at least I did until reading the pessimistic and risk-averse posts on this blog.

Blah - just get this stinking vote over with!

The mayor makes some good points while raising valid issues and in some ways this contract is progressive, but I think our hesitation as teachers comes because of the aboslute by-in by all the stakeholders, except perhaps ourselves. The missing component to this process is a critical voice asking questions of the process and the content of the contract. Maybe it is wonderful and beneficial, but so many of our questions have had to be suspended, and so much faith has been asked of us, that our primary response has been detraction, almost as a knee jerk reaction to the enthusiasm that everyone but us seems to feel. I believe at the end of the day we all want the same thing, success of our students. Perhaps we should move ahead with this contract in the hope of change and progress, which certainly seems to be at the heart of this intiative, and spend the next six months focusing on the overwhelming task of reform that this contract is attempting.

My school is probably a 80-90 percent yes vote. However, I am well aware that if this is defeated the no votes are going to come from the neighborhood and zone schools that have been truly ignored and abused over the past 10 years by the city. The distrust and paranoia in these schools is at critical mass. On one level I understand their sentiments and fears. They have the worst students that none of the city wide schools would accept. They are not given much support from the city or policy makers. Their level of fear would naturally be higher in a new system where they are no longer sure what protections they will have. That being said, the truth is we are not voting on the policy today. The new standards are coming no matter how we vote today. What we are voting on is the money. Some teachers are misguided in thinking if they vote no we are rejecting the new standards and educational policies. That is not the reality. The decision to move in this direction has been made, like it or not. If we reject the money, the changes will still happen, only without our input and without the increased financial rewards offered by this contract. I would rather take the chance to have input in the new system and to shape it while also getting rewarded monetarily then to rail against something that is coming anyways and be left out of the loop completely and lose out on significant financial rewards.

I am cautiously optomistic. Last time a lot of teachers that would have voted yes did not bother to vote. They did not understand how important it was or what the threat was that this might not pass. This time I feel many of them are better informed and will vote. Also, the negative atmosphere that was toxic at the last vote should be better this time with electronic voting and 5 polling places. Finally, some are now aware of how disasterous a no vote could be. It would mean no raise this year. It would mean no sick leave conversion for the holidays (sorry but being able to pay for xmas expenses without going into debt is a real world and concrete concern for me). Finally it would also mean all of the protections that were grandfathered into this contract from the last one would be opened up once our contract expires. WE could have to fight to keep our benefits and our health insurance premiums. This prospect scares me. The economy is really bad and I doubt we would get much public support when many today are in worse shape then we are. This is a dangerous game the "no" campaign is participating in and I personally feel like this is the wrong time to be risky financially.

Hopefully those thoughts win the day. I think this has a better chance then last time, but its 50/50 in my mind. The people who voted no last time will vote no again in my opinion, but there were many yes votes that did not show up before. Get out and vote, I think a higher turnout equals a yes vote.

@ JSchool
So you want us to vote on educational policy based on a phone call you did not like? REALLY??? The last vote was dominated by an organzed campain claiming there was not enough information, it was rushed, and they did not have time to discuss and be informed. The people in that line at POLY were asking why there weren't more meeetings and information made public by the Union. I wanted to believe the sincerity of those statements but being a debate coach and government teacher as well as having a sociology degree, I was versed enough in politics to know the reality was that campaign was likely a smokescreen. This new campaign by the same people saying that "the union is doing too much" just proves that point. You should be ashamed of yourselves. If you are against this contract on principle that is fine, but stand behind your principles. If you are not willing to say what your real motives are then perhaps your real motives are flawed. Some of the complete nonsense being thrown around to distract from the big issues is disgraceful. Productive discourse and debate can not take place when one side is not willing to admit what the real issues are. Of course the problem is you do not want real discourse and productive discussion, you just want to convince enough people to vote no so that you achieve your desired outcome. If you can throw 20 ideas out there and each convinces 10 poeple to vote no even if they are innacurate or have nothing to do with the pertinent issues of this contract it is effective for your motives. For my part all I can do is point out your methods and call you out on it, and hope that others can see through your tactics and vote on facts and information instead of propaganda and paranoia.

@ Enlightened

Number 1 and 2 that you cite simply aren't true. The information is out there, and it completely contradicts your interpretation of it.
Number 3 is based on paranoia and mistrust. It's generally a good idea to vote based on facts, rather than emotions, but hey, maybe that's how you roll.

I must correct my earlier statements. I arrived at Lake Clifton at around 7:20 a.m., and was out of there by 7:35 a.m. Quick and easy. Other teachers I know were in and out in a much shorter amount of time. We could make it during a planning period. We'll see if it holds up all day and if this means the turnout was weak, but overall the vote was really easy.

I voted 'yes' and think the contract is pretty decent.

@Nadine Von Canstricus

Where exactly, has the AU process been outlined?

Instead of taking the low road of saying "The information is out there" why dont you explain?

The language says that people will be appointed to "Develop a menu of AUs for educators in all content areas and grade levels." and "assign AU coordinators to help teachers accumulate AUs." and "Implement a system to track teachers’ accumulation of AUs."

All of these things are worded in the future tense, as in - WILL HAPPEN LATER.. That to me, paranoid me, is not CLEARLY DEFINED NOW.

Also, Its rather interesting that the Joint Panel is 5 members appointed by the school board and 5 members appointed by the Union. 5/10 is still a "NO" vote on all matters, doesnt seem like the best scenario. A better number would have been 6/10 in my opinion, but maybe I am paranoid.

Thanks.

With great trepidition, I voted yes on the contract. But the next four people in line behind me were not on the union list to vote despite the fact that all had ID including a BTU card. All have dues being deducted from their pay. All were allowed to vote a challenge vote but it was a typical bookkeeping snafou. Somehow the city and the union have to learn to keep records in a 21st century way;timeliness, accuracy, and reliability. I have little faith in the city when it comes to implementing the new contract in a exemplary manner.I wish I felt better about the contract and th ewhole process. I feel rather sick tonight.

@s hoffman...

Seriously-- you just felt you had to rip into me without even knowing me? I've duly considered the issues, and voted NO. The robo-calls to me are highly annoying. That's all of the opinion I was expressing, yet you with your Sociological degree had to offer your in depth dramaturgical analysis about what my motives were, or my level of thought. Hmmm...hope you're not one of the evaluators-- sort of like the CAO walking into your class, observing for 10 minutes, and drawing conclusions. How'd that work for Poly?

"A quality education starts with excellent teachers in the classrooms."

I completely disagree with this statement. A quality education starts with excellent parents.