Members with questions about their union rights and benefits can now ask George, the UFT’s automated and interactive UFT Member Hub guide. DOE-employed UFT members can use George to get answers about anything from health benefits to leaves. George, named in honor of UFT founder George Altomare, is intended to make the process of helping members more streamlined and efficient.

George, who is available 24/7 on your computer or phone, can answer straightforward questions about membership, salary, leaves and more. You can also request UFT Welfare Fund forms or a pension consultation from George. If George can’t help, you will have the option to have your call transferred to an agent during office hours or, if the UFT is closed, to open a case and have a union representative from the pertinent department call you at a later time.

Members can chat with George by logging in to the UFT Member Hub with the same user ID and password they use to log in to the UFT website. From there, look for the chat icon in the lower right-hand corner. George will ask a series of questions to find out your issue and pinpoint the help you need. For example, if a member needs a new union ID card, George will guide them through the process, culminating in confirming their home address, and a new ID card will arrive in the mail.

Since George launched in mid-February, the Member Hub guide has fielded about 150 queries a week. Kimberly Villafane, the chapter leader at PS 284 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, used George to get an answer to a question and now encourages her members to use it. “Ask George is such a great addition to the UFT website,” said Villafane. “It was so quick and easy to get the help and answers I needed.”

George Altomare (1931–2023) was one of the founding members of the UFT and the longtime UFT vice president for elementary schools. In 1960, he was able to use his position as a high school teacher to recruit fellow high school teachers to join the elementary-school-dominated Teachers Guild to form the UFT. Altomare was known as the union troubadour, always ready to pull out his guitar at events and lead members in a rousing rendition of “Solidarity Forever.”

“George dedicated his life to expanding the rights of UFT members,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “It is a fitting tribute that George’s namesake now helps members access the rights he fought so hard to provide.”