UFT History

Teacher turnover in the New York City public school system is so high that almost half the teachers working today have been in the system for only five years or less. And even though certain working conditions are difficult now, newer teachers have no idea how tough it once was. Nor do they know that the UFT was essential in bringing about all the improvements.

To help newer teachers understand the recent history of the city’s schools and to put into perspective the vital role of their union, the New York Teacher is reprinting this award-winning series that originally appeared in 1996 and 1997.

A history lesson

The UFT turns 36 this year [1996]. As unions go, that makes us a fairly new kid on the block. But the reality is that our labor roots stretch back to 1916 and that most of our founding mothers and fathers have either retired or passed on. Even those who came after and survived the bruising battles of the ’60s and ’70s are themselves nearing the end of their careers.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 1

“Censored. Browbeaten. Overworked. Underpaid. Why, then, weren’t teachers lining up to join a union?” This segment takes a look at the low salaries, tyrannical supervisors and woeful working conditions which was the lot for most teachers before the formation of the UFT.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 2

“Between the organizational, legal, cultural and perceptual hurdles, it’s no wonder teachers had trouble getting their act together.” This segment focuses on the issues which divided teachers and frustrated organizing a mass union.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 3

“The schism in the union over radical politics [is] a major reason for stalling the growth of a teacher union for decades.” Revolutionary politics and ideology take center stage, as the original Teachers Union becomes a battlefield, pitting leftist against leftist and splitting the union.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 4

“We pictured [the Guild] as a debating society rather than a group ready to take action.” By the early 1950s generational rather than ideological bickering divides teachers. Younger teachers are growing impatient with their union elders who want to avoid butting heads with the board until the Guild becomes stronger. The younger militants’ case gets a boost when evening high school teachers go out on strike and win.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 5

In what one striker called a “kamikaze thing that worked,” some 5,600 teachers, secretaries, guidance counselors and social workers struck the city school system for the first time on November 7, 1960 — with another 2,000 calling in sick. The strikers had defied state law which called for their automatic dismissal and persuaded the city to let a panel of outside labor leaders decide whether collective bargaining for teachers was the right course of action.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 6

In Dec. 1961 the UFT won the right to represent all the city’s teachers the old-fashioned way: They earned it. The fight for recognition took 13 months, a referendum, a bargaining election, a battle royal with the powerful NEA, the strong backing of the AFT and organized labor, the maniacal organizing genius of Dave Selden and countless hours of organizing by hundreds of union volunteers.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 7

Hardliners and internal union politics push a reluctant leadership into a strike in April 1962 over the terms of the first collective bargaining agreement. A stunning 20,000 teachers take to the streets as the Board of Ed resorts to a labor injunction to force teachers back to work. Dejection soon turns to elation, though, as the state comes up with enough money to fund the greatest single pay boost in city history.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 8

Strong leader or strongman — or both? Love him or loathe him, fans and haters alike acknowledged that Al Shanker was not someone you wanted to pick a fight with. By now, the longtime leader of the UFT and the AFT has achieved iconic status. But in the early days opinions about him were sharply divided depending on how you felt about labor unions. This segment tells the Al Shanker story.

Class Struggles: The UFT Story Part 9

Teachers, the UFT and the civil rights movement were strong allies. Although tensions would mount in the city to excruciating levels later in the decade, New York teachers were joining the struggle throughout the South.