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On his first day of work, Mulgrew visited teacher Carla Greene at P.S. 329 in Brooklyn. (Courtesy of Miller Photography/UFT)

New York City’s teachers union is gearing up for its contract negotiations in the fall, sending out thousands of questionnaires to poll its members about what they want.

The negotiations will be the first serious test of newly elected UFT president Michael Mulgrew who, in the survey’s cover letter, warns that the talks will be “tough” at a time when the city is slashing budgets and laying off employees.

The survey, which at a bulging 35 pages long barely fits in its return envelope, lists a series of desirable changes to the contract under headings like “Class Size,” and “Respect and Professionalism,” and asks respondents to rate the importance of each on a scale of one to five. It must be returned by August 13, and may surprise more than a few union members who could return from summer vacations to find the deadline has passed.

Absent from the survey is any mention of tenure or the Absent Teacher Reserve — the pool of over 2,000 teachers who have lost their jobs and have yet to find work within the city’s school system.

“The questionnaire was designed by our negotiating committee, and it’s a key part of the process because it allows members to weigh in on the issues important to them,” UFT spokesman Brian Gibbons wrote in an email. “The information we’ll get from this survey will help us shape our goals, priorities and demands as we move forward with collective bargaining.” (more…)