It’s June, and our enemies are coming out of the woodwork with a barrage of misinformation about unions and union membership. There is a lot at stake: Our profession, our public schools and our ability to take care of ourselves and our families.

At long last, the New York State Legislature that is more inclined to support pro-teacher, pro-public school policies. There was no lifting of the charter cap included in this year’s budget. But the charter school industry has regrouped. This fight is not over.

How do we change the overall climate in our schools to reduce the conflicts that interfere with student learning and make suspensions necessary? Addressing that challenge is the mission of the Positive Learning Collaborative.

We asked, and you told us loud and clear: The burden of student debt is one of your most pressing concerns. We listened and are now offering participation in the Student Debt Relief Program for UFT members only.

Between our recent collective bargaining on teacher evaluation and this latest bill, we’re moving toward a system that no longer makes test scores the focal point of teacher evaluations. It’s all part of recasting the evaluation system as an opportunity to support the professional growth of teachers throughout their careers.

As a chapter leader I always wanted better tools to resolve those kinds of issues without escalating them to a grievance, if possible. Now we have them.