Meeting for new paraprofessionals

Cara Metz Manhattan paraprofessionals Arlene Wong (right) of Gouverneur’s Hospital Work-based Learning program and Mary Canada of PS 751 at the Bayard Rustin Educational Complex, Manhattan.

Cara Metz

Cara Metz First Chapter Executive Board member Tung Wun Seid (standing) with (seated, from left) Qianhong Liu and Bin Zhao of PS 310, Brooklyn, and Shuhua Wang of the HS for Language and Diplomacy, Manhattan.

This year’s crop of new paraprofessionals received a thorough and warm introduction to the UFT’s Paraprofessionals Chapter on Dec. 15. The session included a literature table with information on ergonomics, violence prevention, safety and health, and the features of the UFT Welfare Fund — not to mention a hearty “congratulations” on their choice of careers. Greetings came from UFT President Michael Mulgrew, who thanked the several hundred attendees “for dedicating yourselves to helping children,” while Chapter Leader Shelvy Young-Abrams (inset) surveyed the chapter’s work. She received sustained applause after announcing an arbitrator’s ruling made just two days earlier on a union grievance holding that paraprofessionals no longer need to punch in and out on a time clock. “These are just some of the things we do to fight for your rights,” Young-Abrams said. Paul Egan, the union’s legislation and political action director, stressed the necessity for every union member to register to vote, then to vote, and to contribute to the UFT Committee on Political Education (COPE). Steve Gappelberg, a UFT special representative for pensions, outlined the advantages of opening a tax-deferred annuity.