About Us
WHAT IS THE UFT?
The UFT, which represents approximately 200,000 people, is the sole bargaining agent for most of the non-supervisory educators who work in the New York City public schools. It represents approximately 87,000 teachers and 19,000 classroom paraprofessionals, along with school secretaries, attendance teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists, social workers, education evaluators, nurses, laboratory technicians, adult education teachers and 53,000 retired members.
The UFT also represents teachers and other employees of some charter schools and private educational institutions. The allied Federation of Nurses/UFT represents some 2,800 registered nurses of the New York City Visiting Nurse Service and several private New York City hospitals and health care institutions. The union led a successful organizing drive to gain collective-bargaining rights for 28,000 New York City home child-care providers in 2007.
WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE UNION?
Recognizing that the interests of schoolchildren and their teachers are inseparable, the UFT combines its roles as a trade union and as an influential children's lobby to help make every public school a place where parents want to send their children and where educators want to work.
In its traditional role, the UFT negotiates for fair and competitive salaries, enhanced professionalism and improved working conditions, not only to benefit its members but also to help recruit and retain the best educators for New York City schools. As an advocate for public school students, the UFT regularly lobbies for appropriate school funding by the city, state and federal governments. In addition, the union has strongly supported and often led efforts to: raise academic standards and strengthen instruction; reduce class size; create safer, more orderly schools; improve school facilities; and increase parent involvement in schools.
As part of its goal to foster educators' professional development, the UFT's educational programs, in affiliation with local colleges and universities, offer a full spectrum of workshops and graduate-level courses to some 30,000 members annually. And the union's nationally acclaimed Dial-A-Teacher program, in affiliation with the New York City Department of Education, offers homework assistance to more than 75,600 public school students and parents every year.
HOW IS THE UFT STRUCTURED?
The eleven officers, elected for three-year terms, are the president; six vice presidents selected at large (including one each from elementary, junior high/intermediate, academic high and vocational high schools and special education); secretary and assistant secretary; treasurer and assistant treasurer. The union also has an office in each borough and fields a borough representative for each borough and a district representative for each community school district and high school district. Each school has a chapter leader elected by the members of that school. There are "functional chapters" to represent non-teacher members, each with a chapter leader elected citywide. The UFT has three governing bodies. The 3,400-member Delegate Assembly is the union's legislature, with elected representatives from every school. The 89-member elected Executive Board sets policy on a variety of education, labor and union issues. The Administrative Committee, composed of the eleven officers, borough representatives and selected department heads, oversees day-to-day operations.
WHERE IS THE UFT LOCATED?
The UFT's central headquarters is located at 50/52 Broadway in Manhattan. There are also UFT offices in each of the five boroughs where members can go to get help with certification, licensing, salaries, grievances and pensions.
UFT borough offices are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, when school is in session. To better serve members, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens offices will be open until 7 p.m. on Thursdays while the Brooklyn and Staten Island offices will be open until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Click here for directions to get to UFT headquarters and the UFT borough offices.
WHAT ARE THE UNION AFFILIATIONS?
The UFT was founded in 1960 as Local 2 of the now 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The union is also affiliated with the 600,000-member New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and belongs to the AFL-CIO and the New York City Central Labor Council.
