Category Archive
VP Biden: Stimulus saved teachers’ jobsNov 12, 2009
The federal stimulus package was good for the nation’s economy, and schools, according to a report released on Oct. 20 by Vice President Joe Biden. The Obama administration released figures showing more than 645,000 full-time jobs so far saved or created. The bulk of those — 325,000 — were in education.
Members show interest in Measures of Effective Teaching studyNov 12, 2009
Nearly 50 schools have expressed interest in participating in the Measures of Effective Teaching Project, with more expected to come on board. There’s still time to participate!
Cutting Class: Budget shortfall having harsh impact on city schoolsNov 12, 2009
A $223 million proposed midyear cut is still looming. New York Teacher talks with four chapter leaders to see how the first round of cuts has hurt teaching and learning in their schools.
UFT-backed Council candidates in virtual sweepNov 12, 2009
Of 49 City Council hopefuls endorsed by the union, 47 were elected to four-year terms on Nov. 3. The union’s choices for city comptroller and public advocate — Councilmen John Liu and Bill de Blasio, respectively — romped to victory.
Special ed complaints surgeNov 12, 2009
When it comes to special education, it seems principals are making excuses again. As of Nov. 9, 705 complaints were logged on the UFT online special education complaint form.
Honoring a proud historyNov 12, 2009
A sense of history, continuity and pride pervaded the UFT’s Teacher Union Day on Nov.1 at the Waldorf Astoria as more than 1,200 union activists gathered to honor their colleagues and leaders. The annual awards ceremony commemorates the union’s Nov. 7, 1960, strike for union recognition, something then common in the private sector but held by few municipal workers. It was a strike against the city that went against the odds and that few thought could be won.
UFT gets bank blunder reversed quicklyNov 12, 2009
53,000 members’ pension checks were returned quickly after a horrendous $189 million withdrawal, thanks to UFT and city demands.
Parents and educators join forces for kidsNov 12, 2009
At the 12th annual UFT Parent Conference on Oct. 31, some 3,000 parents eagerly soaked up information and ideas about how to help their children in school — and signed up in record numbers to advocate in the political arena for adequate education funding.
New York Times: Teachers’ Pension Checks Are CanceledNov 06, 2009
The pension checks of approximately 60,000 retired New York City teachers and school staff members were electronically canceled as of Friday morning, according to the UFT. “We are outraged and this is unacceptable, and we will protect the interests of our members,” said Michael Mulgrew, the president of the teachers’ union.
UFT honors its own at Teacher Union DayNov 04, 2009
A sense of continuity and pride pervaded the UFT’s annual Teacher Union Day on Nov.1 as more than 1,200 union activists – including members present at the union’s founding – celebrated the UFT’s nearly 50 years of struggle for teachers’ dignity and students’ rights.
‘Follow the C4E money,’ Farkas tells CouncilOct 29, 2009
New York City schools’ Contract for Excellence (C4E), an outgrowth of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity’s 13-year lawsuit to improve school funding, “needs to be monitored carefully to ensure the critical funds deliver the desired results for our children,” UFT Vice President Richard Farkas told the City Council Education Committee.
National tests show no progress in mathOct 29, 2009
Teachers have been telling the UFT that there is too much emphasis on teaching to the state standards as measured by state tests. Now, the results of the national math tests this year support their claims.
School nurses at the readyOct 29, 2009
School nurses will be on the frontlines of a large, new program to administer flu vaccine for the H1N1 (swine flu) virus this fall to all elementary school students whose parents have given written consent, Chapter Chair Pat Ross said.
Governor halts mandatory inoculations, as union had hopedOct 29, 2009
Gov. Paterson suspended the state directive requiring all health care workers to be vaccinated for seasonal and swine flu, citing a shortage of the vaccines. A chorus of opposition to the requirement had been growing, including from the Federation of Nurses/UFT, which supports vaccinations on a voluntary, not mandatory basis.
UFT: School staff should be priority for vaccineOct 29, 2009
Teachers and other school staff should be among the groups given preference for the swine flu vaccine if they want it, UFT President Michael Mulgrew said.
Making Strides 2009Oct 29, 2009
Hats off to the UFTers who faced pelting rain, wind and record low temperatures to keep their commitment to taking part in the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Oct. 18 in all five boroughs.
Vote UFT-backed candidates in Nov. 3 electionOct 29, 2009
With the Nov. 3 election just days away, UFTers are coming out in force to support their union’s endorsed candidates.
Keeping Corzine crucialOct 29, 2009
With the Nov. 3 election just days away, UFTers are coming out in force to support their union’s endorsed candidates.
UFT in new budget battleOct 29, 2009
“Don’t break the promises we have made to kids,” UFT President Mulgrew told the state Senate.
Member actions needed to head off cutsOct 29, 2009
On the eve of the governor’s proposed $223 million in midyear budget cuts, the UFT needs an “army” of political volunteers to try to head off disaster.
Schools count ways this year’s cuts have hurtOct 29, 2009
A $223 million midyear budget cut — the amount that Gov. David Paterson is threatening to take from city schools in January — will do real damage to classrooms if a union survey of the harm already wrought by the $400 million in city budget cuts this fall is any indication.
New method for distributing parking placardsOct 29, 2009
The DOE’s new on-street parking placards for school staff, which will take effect on Nov. 1, will be given out using a new formula this year.
Mayoral endorsement resolution postponedOct 29, 2009
After a spirited debate, the UFT delegate body voted overwhelmingly on Oct. 14 to postpone a resolution to endorse William Thompson and to remain neutral in the upcoming mayoral election.
District 75 educators help transition students with disabilities from school to college, workOct 15, 2009
While most students with disabilities attend community public schools, some 13 percent of these — those with severe and often multiple disabilities — receive specialized services from District 75 educators. And, often, with great results.
Mayor’s charter plan ‘not for all kids’Oct 15, 2009
In a move that UFT President Michael Mulgrew said New York City district-school parents would find “troubling,” the mayor announced a sweeping plan to double the number of charter schools in the city and bolster the services that charter school students receive.
48,000 members to benefit from pension settlementOct 15, 2009
Forty-eight thousand retired and Tier I and II in-service UFT members will soon receive lump-sum payments now that the state Supreme Court has signed off on the $160 million settlement of the UFT’s recent pension lawsuit.
The next generationOct 15, 2009
Two hundred and sixty new chapter leaders spent the weekend of Oct. 2-4 in Princeton, N.J., being trained by UFT instructors on issues ranging from the grievance procedure to how to organize to increase teacher voice.
DOE complies with Bloodborne Pathogens Standard after UFT pressureOct 15, 2009
Under persistent pressure and legal threats from the UFT, the Department of Education has finally complied with the requirements of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard that calls for employers to take specific measures to prevent or reduce worker exposure to blood and other infectious body fluids in the workplace.
UFT helps push Liu, de Blasio to runoff victoriesOct 15, 2009
The UFT’s two endorsed candidates for citywide office, John Liu for city comptroller and Bill de Blasio for public advocate, easily defeated their opponents in the Democratic Party primary runoff election where the organization and enthusiasm of UFT members made a huge impact.
Teaching study volunteers still neededOct 01, 2009
The UFT is seeking teachers to volunteer for a nationwide independent research project that will use classrooms as the laboratory in which to learn more about what constitutes effective teaching and learning.
UFT key to primary success, candidates attestOct 01, 2009
Key UFT-endorsed candidates came out on top in this year’s Democratic Party Primary election, and it was UFT members who made the difference.
Funding nightmares across cityOct 01, 2009
Throughout the city, according to a recent UFT survey on budget cuts, paraprofessionals, Academic Intervention Service teachers and classroom teachers are being excessed.
UFT joins rally against midyear cutsOct 01, 2009
The UFT joined education, labor, parent and community groups at a Sept. 23 rally on the City Hall steps to try to head off midyear cuts to schools.
ATRs flock to job fairsOct 01, 2009
Teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve pool attended job fairs across the city in September in hopes of filling one of the 1,100 vacancies still open as the school year moves into its second month.
Students sitting on floors, standing in doorwaysOct 01, 2009
The numbers were disturbing enough: close to 7,000 oversized classes citywide, packing in more than 200,000 students after the deadline for the DOE to reduce class sizes or face a blizzard of union grievances and angry parents.
UFT files grievances on 6,700 oversized classesOct 01, 2009
The UFT filed grievances on Sept. 24 involving 6,749 classes citywide that exceeded the contractual limits on class size.
Delegates pack headquarters with contract on agendaOct 01, 2009
The first Delegate Assembly of the new term was the biggest in years, with hundreds of new chapter leaders and delegates attending and the overflow crowd watching the proceedings from closed-circuit monitors outside the union hall.
UFT rips Tweed’s attempt to phase in new governance lawOct 01, 2009
Educators and parents worked too hard to improve the new school governance law to now see it delayed or not properly implemented, the UFT testified at a City Council Education Committee hearing.
Let the school year begin!Sep 21, 2009
Let the school year begin
Sep 17, 2009
No matter the realities of overcrowding, the pain of budget cuts, the excessing of colleagues, or just the normal anxieties — for students and teachers — of a new school year, the first day of school always brings lots of joy and eager anticipation.
Union holds first bargaining session with DOESep 17, 2009
With the clock ticking down to the UFT/Department of Education contract’s Oct. 31 expiration, a cross-section of the union’s 300-member negotiating committee met face-to-face with DOE representatives for the first time.
Union endorses 3 more candidatesSep 17, 2009
Getting behind candidates that support the union’s agenda, the UFT made endorsements in two citywide races as well as the contest for Manhattan district attorney in the last week of August and first week of September.
9,200 teachers, staff win bonusesSep 17, 2009
Educators at 139 elementary and middle schools across the city have won bonuses totaling $27 million for their successful work with students, under the Schoolwide Bonus Program negotiated between the Department of Education and the UFT.
A Q&A with the new UFT presidentSep 17, 2009
As schools were set to open their doors to students, UFT President Michael Mulgrew sat down with the New York Teacher to talk about some of the hot-button issues going into the new school year.
School reports show progressSep 17, 2009
According to the latest measures from the Department of Education, 97 percent of the city’s elementary and middle schools received A’s or B’s on their progress reports.
Mulgrew: Obama message appreciatedSep 17, 2009
UFT President Michael Mulgrew made it clear that he found nothing controversial, political or inappropriate about the back-to-school speech President Obama delivered to children nationwide.
Increased public input in new mayoral control lawSep 17, 2009
The new school governance law passed by the state Legislature this summer gives parents and UFT members new tools to hold the DOE accountable and to have input into policy at the central and school levels.
Union, city prepare for swine flu - round twoSep 17, 2009
In preparation for a possible new outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus in the schools this fall, the UFT, working with the DOE and the Department of Health, has created a comprehensive new protocol for schools to follow.
UFT looking for volunteers for teaching studySep 17, 2009
New York City is one of six cities participating in a new independent research project that aims to capture the complexities of teaching and learning by studying the full range of what really goes on inside of classrooms. Volunteers will help shape the future of their profession through their voices and perspectives.
New president driven to help othersAug 13, 2009
From the beginning, Michael Mulgrew wanted to work with at-risk kids, and at a very young age he embraced his mother’s most important piece of advice: Wherever you are, whatever you do, always help others.
Michael Mulgrew elected UFT PresidentAug 13, 2009
The UFT has a new president. It’s Michael Mulgrew, the union’s chief operating officer since 2008 and its vice president for career and technical education since 2005.
300-member negotiating committee prepares for bargainingAug 13, 2009
With the current UFT/Department of Education contract expiring on Oct. 31, UFTers on the union’s new negotiating committee began reviewing the member contract survey in preparation for the next round of collective bargaining at their first meeting on July 9.
A primer on school changeAug 13, 2009
The UFT’s Principals in Need of Improvement (PINI) campaign was born from the need to tackle the behavior of recalcitrant principals head-on and change the school’s culture in the process. It has already made a difference in a number of schools.
Hunter dean named state ed commissionerAug 13, 2009
David Steiner, dean of the Hunter College School of Education, was appointed New York State education commissioner by the state Board of Regents on July 27, and is expected to take office on Oct. 1. Commissioner Steiner is replacing Richard Mills, who retired as commissioner after serving for 14 years.
Get involved in UFT political actionAug 13, 2009
As a public sector union, the UFT must take politics seriously and do it well. It takes a united membership willing to be active politically and contribute financially to the union’s political action fund.
Landmark agreement for family child care providersAug 13, 2009
The UFT has reached a landmark two-year contract agreement that locks in a pay rate and begins a phase-in of health insurance benefits to provide coverage for all of the city’s 28,000 family child care providers within four years.
Mayoral control renewedAug 13, 2009
The state Senate returned to session on Aug. 6 and passed a bill to renew mayoral control of the city’s public schools, along with other related bills to increase parental input in the school system and address some of the other flaws in the original legislation.
Michael Mulgrew elected UFT President - photo galleryAug 13, 2009
Teacher’s Choice is back!
Aug 04, 2009
Despite the grave economic crisis, the UFT was able to win funding at the same level as last year for Teacher’s Choice, which had been threatened with elimination. Read on to find out this year’s amounts.
Retirees warned of economic battles aheadJul 02, 2009
There was an urgency at the 46th annual Retired Teachers Chapter Luncheon on June 8: an urgency about the precarious economic times we’re living in.
City graduation rates improveJul 02, 2009
High school graduation rates in New York City public schools reached a new high last year, and UFT Vice President Michael Mulgrew joined the mayor, chancellor and president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators to announce the heartening statistics.
UFT: School communities must be notified of swine flu casesJul 01, 2009
UFT President Randi Weingarten called for the Department of Health and the Department of Education to immediately notify school communities, including staff and parents, of any cases of flu in public schools so that those with underlying medical conditions can take appropriate precautions.
Parking permit expiration extendedJun 29, 2009
Members with parking permits don’t need to worry about them being expired when the school year begins in September.
1st day of school will be classroom prep timeJun 29, 2009
A new side agreement was reached with the city that states that the Tuesday following Labor Day will be used “first and foremost for preparation of the classroom and for the arrival of students,” who now won’t report until Wednesday.
Union wins funding for Teacher's Choice in final budget - Photo GalleryJun 29, 2009
UFT, Green Dot reach tentative contract agreement for Bronx charter
Jun 29, 2009
The UFT and the Green Dot New York Charter School signed an agreement that UFT President Randi Weingarten said “is based on a very basic premise: Teacher professionalism is the surest path to sustained student achievement.”
New agreement preserves age 55 retirement, restores post-Labor Day school startJun 29, 2009
Negotiations between the UFT and the city over pensions resulted in a big win — since approved by the June 24 Delegate Assembly — that preserves the union’s age 55 retirement plan and restores the traditional post-Labor Day school start for members.
Albany chaos stalls mayoral control verdictJun 29, 2009
With the state Senate still in disarray as the New York Teacher went to press on, the law authorizing mayoral control over New York City’s schools was set to expire on June 30, leaving governance of the nation’s largest school system uncertain.
Union wins funding for Teacher’s Choice in final budgetJun 29, 2009
Ratcheting up pressure on city officials to do the right thing as they finalized the new city education budget, the UFT won back two key programs — Teacher’s Choice and Provider’s Choice — whose continued funding was at risk.
Using expanded negotiating committee approvedJun 29, 2009
The Delegate Assembly unanimously supported a resolution to recreate an expanded negotiating committee for upcoming contract negotiations like the one that worked so successfully for the current contract.
Hundreds of special ed violations documentedJun 29, 2009
The UFT’s There Is No Excuse campaign is turning a spotlight on special education violations citywide.
Reaction comes in from across stateJun 29, 2009
UFT President Randi Weingarten’s announcement that she would be stepping down from the post effective July 31 drew response from leaders across New York State and some former students.
Weingarten to step down as UFT presidentJun 29, 2009
It was standing room only, overflowing with those who had come to say goodbye to and celebrate the leadership of Randi Weingarten, who was stepping down as UFT president.
Retiring or resigning? Give plenty of notice to help ATRs find positionsJun 04, 2009
Although it is not mandatory and there will be no penalties if you do not do so, the UFT is encouraging all staff who plan to either retire or resign before the beginning of the next school year to inform their school administration as soon as possible.
Union presses City Council to restore school budgetsJun 04, 2009
There’s a $315 million hole in the new school year’s budget, and the City Council is in a position to fill it.
Mayoral control debate heats up at state Senate hearingJun 04, 2009
The pros and cons of mayoral control got another airing at a heated public hearing sponsored by the New York State Senate Education Committee in the Bronx as the June 30 deadline loomed for state legislators to renew or modify the arrangement.
City math scores show across-the-board gainsJun 04, 2009
Almost any way you look at the data, there was good news in the June 1 release of the 2009 statewide math test scores.
Working together works best to fight virusJun 04, 2009
Since swine flu broke in New York City public schools in mid-May, nothing at the UFT Safety and Health Department has been typical.
Municipal workers reach tentative health benefits agreement with cityJun 04, 2009
A tentative agreement between the Municipal Labor Committee and the city on employee health plans saves $200 million while maintaining core health coverage and holding the line on premiums for city workers.
Health department shares flu infoJun 04, 2009
Following weeks of public confusion and outcry, the Department of Health spelled out its criteria for closing schools — one day after the UFT called for greater transparency and clarity.
CFE: Problem rampant in schools for high-needs studentsJun 04, 2009
Think students at your school are packed in to overflowing? They’re not alone. Some 48 percent of New York City public schools are overcrowded, says a report by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.
UFT: Capital plan won’t help overcrowdingJun 04, 2009
Think students at your school are packed in to overflowing? They’re not alone. Some 48 percent of New York City public schools are overcrowded, says a report by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.
Sen. Kennedy a worthy Dewey winnerMay 21, 2009
The John Dewey Award, the UFT’s most prestigious honor, was given to Sen. Edward Kennedy for his lifetime of work “as a voice for the voiceless in the halls of power ... during his nearly half a century as a tireless public servant,” UFT President Randi Weingarten said.
DOE sends schools 3.8 percent spending cutMay 21, 2009
It’s official: schools that initially faced more than $1.4 billion in budget shortfalls will receive cuts of 3.8 percent for the next school year — some $315 million. The union will still ask the City Council to restore the education funding removed from the proposed city budget.
City reading scores show solid, 4-year gainsMay 21, 2009
City scores surged 11 points in the percentage of students meeting English Language Arts standards this year, led by especially large increases in middle schools, traditionally an area of weakness.
Surprise flu relapse hits city schoolsMay 21, 2009
UFT President Randi Weingarten delivered a serious message to help prevent the spread of influenza-like illness and squelch panic at a press conference held outside IS 227 in East Elmhurst, Queens — a school hard hit by flu.
Schools share tools that helped them make huge strides in ELA scoresMay 21, 2009
A high point of the Spring Education Conference came when three schools — slated to be closed by the Department of Education for poor performance — were acknowledged from the stage for their remarkable improvement in student achievement on the recent state ELA tests.
Weingarten proposes plan to save struggling schoolsMay 21, 2009
Speaking to an audience packed with more than 2,500 members, elected officials and the schools chancellor, UFT President Randi Weingarten used the May 9 Spring Education Conference to lay out a bold vision for turning around — rather than closing — struggling public schools.
DOE orders hiring freezeMay 21, 2009
In the face of looming budget cuts and after months of UFT advocacy, the DOE agreed to a hiring freeze and greater efforts to place members who are in the Absent Teacher Reserve pool.
Brooklyn school finds a gem in ATR poolMay 21, 2009
Principal Dominick D’Angelo needed just the right teacher for a new position at Brooklyn’s David A. Boody IS 228 School for Magnet Studies. In March, he found the perfect hire: someone from the Absent Teacher Reserve pool.
Triumphant Queens staff, supporters applaudedMay 21, 2009
Joking that she invited “a couple of friends” with her, UFT President Randi Weingarten welcomed a stage full of teachers, other school staffers, parents and community members from JHS 8 in Jamaica.
Support for chapter leaders sent to TRCsMay 21, 2009
UFT President Randi Weingarten introduced a resolution supporting chapter leaders sent to Temporary Reassignment Centers (TRCs) after standing up for members’ rights or challenging their principals.
Mayoral control debate heating up as law’s expiration date nearsMay 21, 2009
Debate over mayoral control of New York City schools is getting heated as state lawmakers prepare to decide whether to renew and/or modify the law that put the mayor in charge of the system seven years ago.
What’s eye-catching, enchanting and coming to a TV station near you?May 21, 2009
For six weeks, about 13 million people will be hearing about the great work teachers do in our schools, and many might be hearing it more than 10 times.
City agrees to long-overdue raise for child care providersMay 21, 2009
Eighteen months after voting overwhelmingly to join the UFT in October 2007, child care providers have completed successful market rate discussions with the city Administration for Children’s Services.
Strong member involvement must continue, Weingarten saysMay 21, 2009
The need to maintain the current strong level of member involvement — for upcoming contract negotiations, for the legislative battle on school governance and the fight against education funding cuts in the city budget — was a core theme of the May 13 Delegate Assembly.
UFT fights to keep Teacher's Choice fundsMay 21, 2009
They were laid out for all to see: the books, puzzles, basic supplies such as pens and writing tablets, plus the math games and other necessary educational classroom items — items teacher Tracey Posluszny bought out of her own pocket over the last year in an effort to help her students learn.
Mayor’s proposed budget avoids teacher layoffsMay 07, 2009
The good news in the proposed city budget is that there will be no teacher layoffs largely due to the federal stimulus money. The bad news is the union must still fight for city budget restorations.
UFT responds swiftly to swine flu outbreakMay 07, 2009
By the time the federal government declared swine flu a public health emergency, the UFT had already sprung into action, consulting with all the major city agencies and issuing information about the virus and appropriate school safety measures to union representatives throughout the city.
Bully principal resigns at JHS 8, QueensMay 07, 2009
The celebration was on as a principal who was profiled in the New York Teacher as an abusive presence at the school, resigned from his post following 44 days of resistance to his reign of terror.
UFT on Bronx teacher’s protest: Endangering students never justifiedMay 07, 2009
A Bronx middle school was evacuated when the chapter leader barricaded himself inside a classroom to engage in a hunger-strike protest.
What you should know about swine fluMay 07, 2009
Do you have questions about swine flu? If so, this Q&A should answer most of them.
UFT wins major victory on hardship transfersMay 07, 2009
The UFT scored a huge victory in April when an arbitrator laid out the rights of members seeking hardship transfers.
Harlem schools won’t lose space to charterMay 07, 2009
PS 811 and PS/MS 149 in Harlem, which feared they might be losing space to a charter school with which they already share a building, will “continue to retain all current space in both buildings,” according to the Department of Education.
PERB: KIPP-AMP charter a UFT chapterMay 07, 2009
The UFT’s drive to organize the city’s growing number of public charter schools and ensure that teachers get respect on the job just took a great leap forward when PERB voted to certify teachers at KIPP’s AMP Academy in Brooklyn as a recognized collective bargaining unit of the UFT.
40,000 members to benefit from pension suit settlementMay 06, 2009
Approximately 40,000 retired and active UFT members stand to benefit from the provisional settlement of a UFT class action suit challenging how one part of a TRS interest payment was calculated.
Bronx principal alleged to have teacher ‘hit list’ still on jobApr 23, 2009
The principal of Fordham HS for the Arts targeted teachers, especially UFT chapter leaders, that she wanted removed from the school even if it meant using trumped-up charges, three DOE officials told the New York Teacher.
State budget agreement averts cuts, layoffsApr 23, 2009
The state’s yawning $16 billion budget shortfall got filled in earlier this month when the state Legislature and the governor agreed to a $131.8 billion budget plan that takes maximum advantage of the federal stimulus package to avert school aid and other budget cuts and layoffs while increasing taxes on the wealthy.
Another charter getting prime space at district school’s expense?Apr 23, 2009
Students, parents and teachers rallied at PS 125 in Harlem to protest the Department of Education’s lack of communication about its plans to eliminate grades and its status as a zoned school.
Parent, UFT suit prompts DOE to keep 3 schools openApr 23, 2009
Even as the lawsuit challenging the Department of Education’s unilateral decision to close three schools brought by parents, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the UFT wends its way through legal channels, the DOE has already started to do the right thing.
UFT: Political ideologues hijacking promise of chartersApr 23, 2009
It’s time to “put the public back in public charter schools,” UFT Vice President Leo Casey told the Education Committee of the New York City Council at a heated meeting that went long after hours.
Another charter getting prime space at district school's expense? - photo galleryApr 23, 2009
UFT leaders discuss mayoral control, closing achievement gap
Apr 23, 2009
UFT President Randi Weingarten was a surprise speaker at Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network Conference, while Vice President Michael Mulgrew was a scheduled conference panelist later in the day.
UFT Dewey Award going to Kennedy at Spring ConferenceApr 23, 2009
Sen. Edward Kennedy will receive the union’s most prestigious honor, the John Dewey Award, at the May 9 gala event, also featuring workshops to hone members’ knowledge and skills.
Beloved teacher arrestedApr 23, 2009
Two months after an alleged murder threat letter to a principal was turned over to detectives, a popular teacher was arrested on a misdemeanor charge.
Budget watchdog was source of tax planApr 23, 2009
The argument for closing the state’s budget deficit for the 2009-10 fiscal year by creating higher personal income tax levels for the state’s highest earners — one leg of the union’s tripartite strategy — originated with the Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonpartisan public policy research and education group.
Harlem's prideApr 23, 2009
More than 2,000 students, parents and teachers paraded through Harlem on a hot Saturday afternoon, wearing their school colors and beaming with enthusiastic pride.
State budget disaster avertedApr 02, 2009
In a year that could have been disastrous for New York City schools, their kids and their teachers, the state budget that was on track for passage as the New York Teacher went to press seems to have averted the most serious anticipated damage.
Queens community, staff protest ‘bully’ principalApr 02, 2009
A coalition of parents, staff, major community organizations and elected officials filled the street from block to block in front of JHS 8 in Jamaica, Queens, demanding the ouster of its principal, John Murphy.
1,500 UFT lobbyists tell legislators: ‘Invest in education’Apr 02, 2009
The UFT’s annual Lobby Day drew 38 busloads of educators, parents and community supporters from all five boroughs to Albany on March 17 to lobby against cuts to schools and services. Hear what your fellow “lobbyists” had to say about the experience.
Strength in numbersApr 02, 2009
The largest delegation on hand for Lobby Day in Albany hailed from Brooklyn’s District 32. They shared camaraderie, perspectives and had some fun.
Union aims to make sure students with disabilities get servicesApr 02, 2009
Seven years after the chancellor took over the running of city schools, children with disabilities are still not getting the services they need and are entitled to. The union is beginning a campaign to make sure that disservice ends now.
ELLs improve state test showingsApr 02, 2009
The city’s English Language Learners have improved their average performance on state tests since 2003 when the chancellor first launched his Children First reform, a new Department of Education report boasts.
44 city schools removed from state 'watch' list, 32 addedApr 02, 2009
New York State removed 44 city schools from this year’s “schools in need of improvement” list and another 14 schools from the “schools requiring academic progress” list, the best single-year decline since 2005.
UFT, parents sue DOE for illegal zoning changesApr 02, 2009
The UFT, along with public school parents, guardians, community leaders and the New York Civil Liberties Union, filed suit against the DOE for violating state education law by making zoning changes that affect neighborhood schools without approval from the CECs.
1,500 UFT lobbyists tell legislators: ‘Invest in education’ - photo galleryApr 02, 2009
City Hall turns into labor hall
Mar 19, 2009
In a broad show of solidarity, unions came together at City Hall on March 5 to protect families, children and communities from budget cuts.
70,000 rally to protect communitiesMar 19, 2009
With upwards of 70,000 labor union members and community groups flooding lower Broadway on a frigid late afternoon on March 5, New York City showed once again that it is a town that cares.
Union encouraged, but ‘concerned,’ over SURR list newsMar 19, 2009
The State Education Department announced that there has been a significant decline in the number of newly identified SURR schools, but the union is concerned about the number of those being closed by the DOE despite being in good standing with the state.
City not living up to parking agreementMar 19, 2009
Despite an agreement to preserve staff parking near schools, the UFT says that parking in some places has been reduced and the city is not adhering to the deal. But the union vows to “continue to fight for our members until this problem is fixed.”
Parents, kids, community well-representedMar 19, 2009
Parents and students played a big role in the success of the Rally for New York at City Hall on March 5.
Principal’s reign of error endsMar 19, 2009
After a two-year struggle, an elementary school staff is celebrating a fresh start after their bumbling, disrespectful principal is removed.
UFT’s battle against excessive paperwork getting results?Mar 19, 2009
In what is starting to seem like an annual battle, once again this year the UFT is pressuring the DOE to scuttle excessive paperwork requirements that have buried teachers, with little if any discernable benefit to children. The DOE seems to have gotten part of the message.
Thousands of voices speak as oneMar 19, 2009
A controlled seismic wave of UFT members joined by grassroots New Yorkers took lower Manhattan with a groundswell of solidarity on March 5 that the city hasn’t witnessed in a very long time.
70,000 rally to protect communities - photo galleryMar 19, 2009
Officials demand overdue pay raise for providers
Mar 05, 2009
The city comptroller, City Council members and the union demanded that the city pay the 28,000 UFT home child care providers the market rate mandated by the state in 2007, which every other county in the state has paid.
DR Armando Blasse dies unexpectedly in AlbanyMar 05, 2009
Armando G. Blasse, the UFT District 13 representative and Brooklyn political action coordinator, died unexpectedly in Albany on Feb. 15 at the age of 53. Until his last day, he was engaged in vigorous service for the benefit of union members.
UFT: We'll be watching where stimulus dollars goMar 05, 2009
Despite the injection of billions of federal dollars, New York City’s school budget will likely still require significant spending cuts that could seriously compromise the quality of education unless careful efforts are made to protect classroom services, UFT officials said.
Educators, parents express concerns to new special ed czarMar 05, 2009
Nearly 600 UFT leaders, parents, educators and concerned community members packed the Citywide Council on Special Education meeting to give their “marching orders” to the chancellor’s newly appointed senior coordinator for special education.
UFTers hope New Yorkers get the messageMar 05, 2009
Red-nosed, with fingers frosted and toes turned icy from the late February chill, UFT members hit the streets and commuter hubs in the two-week run-up to the March 5 “save our services” demonstration to rally fellow New Yorkers to join in the mobilization for a fair city and state budget.
The amazing placeMar 05, 2009
Teacher Centers might be on the state’s endangered list, but principals and classroom educators prize them. Find out why.
‘I’m sorry’Mar 05, 2009
Teachers at MS 321 in Washington Heights, Manhattan, recently heard the two most beautiful words in the English language from their superintendent.
UFT urges members to take part in DOE’s Learning Environment SurveyMar 05, 2009
The union is strongly encouraging members to participate in the DOE’s third annual Learning Environment Survey, which asks all 1.5 million public school parents, teachers, and 6th- through 12th-grade students about a variety of topics related to the quality of their school.
UFTers hope New Yorkers get the message - photo galleryMar 05, 2009
Former union VP Edwin Espaillat dies
Feb 19, 2009
Edwin R. Espaillat, who from 1983 to 1995 served as the UFT’s vice president for vocational high schools, died on Jan. 31 of a lengthy illness at the age of 74.
UFT: Don’t gut education funds from stimulusFeb 19, 2009
Pressuring Congress to pass a federal economic stimulus package containing some $787 billion in fiscal relief to states and municipalities — with funding for schools, too — didn’t happen only on lobbying day in the nation’s capital.
Members to CECs: Cuts will lead to chaosFeb 19, 2009
UFT officials, speaking at public meetings of Community Education Councils around the city, spread the word about the impact of the proposed education budget cuts and explained how the threat by Mayor Bloomberg to lay off 15,000 teachers would have created chaos in the schools.
Governance Task Force’s recommendations approvedFeb 19, 2009
A soup-to-nuts discussion of the UFT Governance Task Force’s recommendations in its report, “Ensuring an Effective School Governance Framework,” took center stage at the Feb. 4 Delegate Assembly, which overwhelmingly approved the report after the long debate.
A letter to members from AFT President Randi WeingartenFeb 19, 2009
The AFT’s voice was heard loud and clear in the months and days leading up to passage of the federal stimulus package.
Feds target $106B of total stimulus package toward schoolsFeb 19, 2009
Despite President Barack Obama’s signing the much-anticipated economic stimulus recovery bill into law, the fight to make up the multibillion-dollar shortfalls in the New York state and city budgets isn’t over.
A school that needs savingFeb 19, 2009
IS 218 in Manhattan is a school with numerous safety issues, a shrinking student enrollment and high teacher turnover. And the cause, according to staff and the union, is the principal.
Our city, our schools, our kids need you!Feb 19, 2009
The national recession threatens our ability to meet New Yorkers’ most fundamental needs. Key among these is education. Unless we act now, budget cuts of devastating proportions will decimate our schools and services for our most vulnerable citizens.
UFT to Albany legislators: join our funding fightFeb 19, 2009
Lawmakers attending the UFT’s legislative breakfast in Albany on Feb. 3 — including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — said they were in no mood for a repeat of the toll fiscal cuts took on schools during the 1970s fiscal crisis.
Weingarten: Union’s mayoral control proposals would improve student outcomesFeb 19, 2009
The most important purpose of the union’s recommendations to modify the law granting control of city schools to the mayor is to help “improve student outcomes,” UFT President Randi Weingarten told a panel of state lawmakers.
‘Don’t close our school’Feb 19, 2009
Chanting “Phase out Klein, not our school,” a spirited group of nearly 200 teachers, paraprofessionals, parents and students rallied on Feb. 6 to protest the planned phase-out of their school, PS/IS 72, in the East New York section of Brooklyn.
KIPP AMP management fights staff efforts to join UFTFeb 19, 2009
Four out of five professional staff members at KIPP AMP Academy have signed cards saying they want to be represented by the UFT, but management is fighting it.
Ad campaign: Invest in schools nowFeb 05, 2009
Facing combined state and city education budget cuts of $1.5 billion, the UFT launched a TV ad campaign to make sure investing in education remains a top priority in tough times as well as good.
Coming up big — in more ways than oneFeb 05, 2009
PS 82 is the largest elementary school in the Bronx, and now it’s also the latest subject of our Schools That Work series.
UFT, Klein offer very different solutions to state cutsFeb 05, 2009
The UFT parted ways with Chancellor Joel Klein when he told the joint hearing of the state’s Senate Finance and the Assembly Ways and Means committees that the governor’s executive budget would force him to lay off some 15,000 employees next year — mostly teachers — and cost city schools 12 to 20 percent of their budgets.
UFT joins call to use stimulus package to repair, build schoolsFeb 05, 2009
The UFT joined elected officials, parents and education advocates at a City Hall press conference to call on Mayor Bloomberg to use funds from any coming federal stimulus package to repair schools and to build new ones.
Massive rally set for March 5Feb 05, 2009
UFT Chief Operating Officer Michael Mulgrew called on the Delegate Assembly to mobilize every member for the “biggest rally in the history of this union on March 5” outside City Hall for an all-out fight to save jobs and protect schools from the potentially devastating budget cuts that lie ahead.
UFT proposes cuts that don’t harm classroomsFeb 05, 2009
Weeks before the mayor’s preliminary budget proposals were announced, the UFT offered his administration numerous ways to find savings and generate added city revenue in order to avert layoffs or serious harm to classroom services.
Preliminary city budget targets 15,000 teachers for layoffsFeb 05, 2009
UFT President Randi Weingarten called the mayor’s plan to lay off 15,630 Department of Education positions — most of them teachers — in order to close the city budget deficit “shockingly disproportionate and unfair.”
Ensuring an Effective School Governance FrameworkFeb 05, 2009
As the New York Teacher went to press, the report that’s excerpted here had been approved by the UFT Executive Board and was soon to be presented to the Delegate Assembly for debate and a vote.
Fighting for Fairness coalition presses causeJan 22, 2009
Seeking to ensure that city and state budget cuts don’t come at the expense of the poorest residents, including schoolchildren and their families, the 200-member coalition One New York: Fighting for Fairness ginned up its demands at a number of protest rallies for a federal stimulus package and an effort to return progressivity to the state and city income tax structures.
Paterson’s hard-times budget targets schools, health for cutsJan 22, 2009
“The state of the state is perilous,” Gov. David Paterson told a joint session of the Albany Legislature as he delivered his State of the State address.
Providers still waiting to be paid increased market rateJan 22, 2009
After more than a year of stonewalling by the city, the fight continues over the city’s Administration of Child Services’ failure to pay New York City’s 28,000 home-based child care providers the market rate increase allocated by the state.
Union takes capital plan concerns to all districtsJan 22, 2009
Union officials in the five boroughs worked with community groups and members of the Community Education Councils over the past two months to suggest improvements to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s five-year capital plan for the schools.
UFT’s ‘Network to Work’ ATR job conference a successJan 22, 2009
The UFT held the first in a series of conferences for members in the Absent Teacher Reserve pool to teach job search skills and to tape “video cover letters” to post on the union’s new job-bank Web site.
New contract, no layoffs at Art InstituteJan 22, 2009
After very difficult, often frustrating negotiations, UFT-represented faculty at the Art Institute of New York City ratified a new collective-bargaining agreement.
KIPP charter school educators want UFT representationJan 22, 2009
Teachers at the KIPP AMP Academy Charter School in Crown Heights informed the school’s administration that they want the UFT to represent them. Meanwhile, the union is opening up negotiations for a first contract at another KIPP school where teachers are already UFT members.
PS 114K teachers, parents tell Tweed: ‘Do something about principal from hell’Jan 22, 2009
For the second time in a year, the staff from Brooklyn’s PS 114, Brooklyn — this time joined by parents — staged a protest in frigid temperatures to protest their “principal from hell” and her imperious, incompetent leadership.
Delegates call for ‘full mobilization’ against school cutsJan 22, 2009
Faced with a collapsing economy and multibillion-dollar state and city budget deficits threatening spending on schools and other public services, the UFT Delegate Assembly voted unanimously to “mount an all-out fight against disinvestment in public education.”
Fight to keep Bronx school openJan 22, 2009
MS 399 in the Bronx is one of more than a dozen schools the Department of Education plans to close next year, but the UFT is urging the DOE to save money by reducing the number of schools it plans to close and opening fewer new schools.
State rules that DOE was wrong to sideline school leadership teamsJan 22, 2009
The state ruled that Chancellor Klein improperly stripped school leadership teams of their mandated responsibility to develop school Comprehensive Education Plans when he empowered principals with final decision-making authority over the plans.
Budget fight focus of nurses’ annual conferenceDec 11, 2008
The dismal economic outlook may mean budget cuts for public health in New York State, but the more than 200 nurses at the Federation of Nurses/UFT 23rd annual Professional Issues Conference are as determined as ever to fight for their rights and for quality care for their patients.
Nation’s economic woes concern new retireesDec 11, 2008
The orchids and carnations riding high on the shoulders of retirees attending a luncheon in their honor were in sharp contrast to the harsh reminders of the economic turmoil facing the nation that both AFT/UFT President Randi Weingarten and Retired Teachers Chapter Leader Tom Pappas focused on at the New Retiree Luncheon.
UFT: Seek alternatives to layoffs, service cutsDec 11, 2008
AFT/UFT President Randi Weingarten advocated that the city take a “tripartite approach” in responding to the current economic crisis.
‘Ripped-off’ providers rally for new market rateDec 11, 2008
On a cold November evening, more than 800 New York City home-based child care providers turned up the heat in Harlem to demand an end to the city’s delay in paying them the higher wage approved by the state more than a year ago.
ATRs stage protest march to TweedDec 11, 2008
A UFT protest outside the Department of Education’s Tweed headquarters opposing the mistreatment of educators in the Absent Teacher Reserve pool was retooled after the UFT and the DOE reached an agreement intended to assist ATRs in securing full-time assignments while saving the city money.
How to read your teacher data reportDec 11, 2008
Principals will be giving grades 4 through 8 ELA and math teachers their “Teacher Data Initiative” reports, which rate teachers on the changes in their students’ statewide test scores in an attempt to identify how much of that is attributable to the work of the individual teacher.
New leave policy for cancer screening and blood donationDec 11, 2008
Department of Education employees are now eligible for an excused leave for breast cancer screening, prostate cancer screening and blood donation.
Union sues over termination of fellowsDec 11, 2008
With 88 unassigned Teaching Fellows facing termination, the UFT went to court to stop the DOE from laying them off. The judge complied for now, issuing a temporary restraining order until the union could present its arguments.
UFT: City capital plan falls shortDec 11, 2008
UFT President Randi Weingarten called for a massive public works program for schools, patterned after the New Deal of the 1930s, in testimony before the City Council Committee on Education.
Teacher’s Choice funds come this monthDec 11, 2008
Members who are paid via direct deposit received their Teacher’s Choice allocation via direct deposit this year on Dec. 4.
HS Progress Reports in: Most schools improveDec 01, 2008
More than 83 percent of 284 New York City high schools received a grade of A or B on their annual School Progress Reports this year, according to results released on Nov. 13 by the city Department of Education.
Agreement should give more ATRs permanent assignmentsNov 20, 2008
Two months after launching its “Let Us Teach” campaign on behalf of excessed educators in the Absent Teacher Reserve, the UFT reached an agreement with the Department of Education that should result in many more excessed educators securing permanent assignments.
Bringing learning home photo galleryNov 20, 2008
Modest school construction plan announced
Nov 20, 2008
With the city’s economy shrinking, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein on released a downsized school construction plan.
UFT: Chronic absenteeism must be addressedNov 20, 2008
Following an explosive new study showing that chronic student absenteeism in city schools is a far larger problem than the DOE has reported, the UFT called for a summit to tackle the problem.
Hanging toughNov 20, 2008
The road to winning their first contract has been rocky and slow for the 42 educators at the Merrick Academy Charter School in Queens Village who voted overwhelmingly for UFT representation back in October 2007.
‘Union-busting’ chants rain down on Art InstituteNov 20, 2008
The unmistakable roar of a labor union standing up to an employer’s hardball anti-union tactics was all that could be heard outside the Art Institute of New York City in lower Manhattan on the rainy evening of Nov. 13.
Effect of economic crisis on school budgets weighedNov 20, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama’s election as president and the impact of the nation’s growing economic ills on city schools were the twin focuses of the November Delegate Assembly.
City’s midyear cuts mostly from Tweed, not classroomsNov 20, 2008
In announcing a series of money-saving measures to meet new city income shortfalls of $303 million in the current year and $1.3 billion next year, Mayor Bloomberg promised that classrooms would be spared.
Bringing Learning HomeNov 20, 2008
Parents eager to partner with educators to support their children’s education came out in force for the UFT’s 11th annual Citywide Parent Conference.
Midyear education and health cuts averted in AlbanyNov 20, 2008
The union and its partners in the One New York: Fighting for Fairness coalition won a temporary reprieve from midyear state budget cuts that would have hurt core services when Gov. David Paterson and the state Legislature on Nov. 18 deferred action for now on the state’s anticipated $12.5 billion budget deficit.
Coalition urges three-pronged solution to crunchNov 20, 2008
When he shouts, Ernesto Maldonado has a voice that sounds like he eats grated glass. That was a good quality to have at the Nov. 12 protest on the City Hall steps on the day that Gov. David Paterson called for $2 billion in midyear cuts to the current state budget.
Union fights for teaching fellows facing axNov 06, 2008
The UFT has filed a grievance on behalf of approximately 130 teaching fellows who face termination on Dec. 5 because they don’t have full-time assignments.
Coalition aims to protect children, families, aged, poor from budget harmNov 06, 2008
Members of the One York: Fighting for Fairness Coalition are gearing up to try to save the very fabric of the socioeconomic safety net as the state’s financial outlook grows gloomier and gloomier.
Mayor, Council extend term limitsNov 06, 2008
Following two days of packed hearings that attracted hundreds of speakers and then an intense debate among Council members, the New York City Council voted to extend term limits by four years for city officials, including the mayor.
Art Institute faculty protests recruitment of ‘scabs’Nov 06, 2008
With their contract due to expire on Oct. 31 and management already recruiting replacement workers, UFT-represented faculty members at the Art Institute of New York City took to the street to rally public support for their negotiations.
Thefts can be preventedNov 06, 2008
With grand larcenies in schools on the rise, the UFT has been working with the NYPD School Safety Division to bring crime down.
Election of Obama-Biden a victory for schools, teachers, working familiesNov 06, 2008
In his victory address on Chicago’s lakefront to more than 1 million cheering supporters, President-elect Barack Obama acknowledged “who this victory truly belongs to; it belongs to you. It was built by working men and women.”
Why Obama is the clear choice for teachersOct 23, 2008
The contrast between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain is especially stark when it comes to their views on education.
Yet another fight looms over state school spendingOct 23, 2008
Expect another fierce fight over school spending as another round of midyear budget cuts is expected in Albany in the wake of the economic meltdown on Wall Street that has shrunken the state’s tax receipts and caused the state budget deficit to escalate.
New UFT-backed coalition will fight to preserve safety netOct 23, 2008
The UFT has joined One New York: Fighting for Fairness, a new coalition that aims to defend needed services for poor and middle-income New Yorkers in the wake of hard fiscal times.
UFT wins on 2 of 3 issues in campaign literature, button lawsuitOct 23, 2008
A federal court upheld the right of members to post political material on union bulletin boards or place it in mailboxes, but denied the union’s claim that its members had the constitutional right to wear political buttons at school.
Three resolutions on financial crisis approvedOct 23, 2008
Delegates approved three resolutions on the mounting crisis: one on term limits, another on the utilization of members in the Absent Teacher Reserve pool and a third on saving money by eliminating unnecessary central headquarters programs.
Principal to teacher: Stuff it!Oct 23, 2008
Every morning, a veteran art teacher at the HS for Art and Design in Manhattan sat in the general office of her school and stuffed envelopes on orders from her principal — even though she clearly had been ruled fit for duty by the DOE.
Problems at some schools hobble new parking systemOct 23, 2008
The Police Department was to begin enforcement of the new school parking system on Monday, Oct. 20, a date already delayed from the initial Oct. 1 implementation.
Delegates chart course through ominous fiscal timesOct 23, 2008
The Oct. 15 Delegate Assembly, the first of the new school year, had the feel of a war room as delegates tackled three major challenges.
Home day care providers rally to demand higher wage photo galleryOct 10, 2008
‘Just like in corporations’
Oct 09, 2008
Meryl Osdoby taught for seven years at a high school for pregnant teens in Queens, formerly Ida B. Wells HS, which closed in June 2007, along with dozens of other schools as part of a reorganization of District 79.
Is anyone listening?Oct 09, 2008
An excessed English Language Arts teacher who had taught at Canarsie HS, a school which is being phased out, discusses his experience as an ATR in this powerful letter.
‘Worse for the kids’Oct 09, 2008
A novel in his jacket pocket, an ongoing love of literature and S-ratings behind him, Matthew Miller’s future is in limbo.
Loved, just not hiredOct 09, 2008
“ATRs are licensed, experienced teachers who are being pushed out of the school system due to downsizing or a loss of funding for various programs,” said Camille LoParrino, who was teaching for 18 years when the principal at PS 83 in the Bronx cut out Reading First two years ago.
Two for the price of oneOct 09, 2008
“There’s little honor in being paid for a job that I’m not allowed to do,” said Greg Hinckson, who has been working as a floating substitute this school year at Beach Channel HS, the same school where he was a popular math teacher until he was excessed in June 2008.
Feeling blacklistedOct 09, 2008
Anna Torres was thriving as a 4th-grade collaborative team teacher with a solid track record of S-ratings when her school closed.
‘Burning to teach’Oct 09, 2008
The multi-talented David Hedges — licensed in English, French and orchestral and choral conducting — was an S-rated teacher for 18 years when Brooklyn Comprehensive Night HS closed down in June 2008.
UFT to Tweed: Let ATRs teach!Oct 09, 2008
The UFT reiterated its call for the DOE to help hundreds of seasoned and solid educators do what they want to do and are paid to do: teach kids on a full-time basis rather than fill day-to-day vacancies in schools.
UFT proposes steps to protect classrooms from cutsOct 09, 2008
With the Wall Street lending collapse figuring to blow a hole in city income, City Hall on Sept. 26 ordered all mayoral agencies, including the Department of Education, to cut spending by 2.5 percent this year and 5 percent for the next.
DA moved up so delegates can weigh in on term limitsOct 09, 2008
Citing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the mayor is making a bid to extend term limits through legislation in the City Council. The UFT moved up its DA to Oct. 15 to discuss the issue and the troubling economy.
Brooklyn principal continues abusive waysOct 09, 2008
Recrimination, retaliation and multiple breaches of contract continue unabated again this year at IS 393 despite repeated attempts by the UFT to bring order and stability to the Bedford Stuyvesant school.
Labor rallies for bailout fairnessOct 09, 2008
Hundreds of union workers rallied across from the New York Stock Exchange to call for fairness in any bailout plan for the country’s banks.
Hot-button issue: Union fights for right to wear political pins in schoolsOct 09, 2008
Breaking with decades-long practice, the Department of Education instructed principals in its Oct. 1 Principal’s Weekly to deny school staff the right to wear buttons or apparel in support of a political candidate while in school or during school activities.
Home day care providers rally to demand higher wageOct 09, 2008
More than 200 UFT home day care providers filled the canyons of lower Manhattan with songs, chants and speeches demanding that the city pay them the higher wage rate that the state approved a year ago.
Data reports can’t be used to evaluate teachersOct 09, 2008
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and UFT President Randi Weingarten reached an agreement that closes the door on using student test score data to evaluate teacher performance.
25,000 postcards protesting overcrowded schools delivered to mayorOct 09, 2008
The UFT, as part of a coalition of parents, community organizations and elected officials, delivered to the mayor mail bags stuffed with 25,000 postcards from parents and educators asking him to address school overcrowding in the coming capital plan.
89 staffs to receive schoolwide bonusesSep 25, 2008
UFT members in 89 of 160 high-need elementary and middle schools that participated in the pilot schoolwide bonus program last year will be getting bonuses for meeting targets on the Progress Reports.
Teachers’ hard work helps raise Progress Report gradesSep 25, 2008
Improved test scores and a 94 percent parent approval rating of teachers helped Progress Reports climb among elementary and middle schools.
Union's 'TONE' campaign aims to make schools saferSep 25, 2008
The UFT kicked off its “School TONE” campaign in September in an effort to make schools safer for members, parents and students.
UFT mobilization makes difference in key, close primariesSep 25, 2008
With a boost from UFT members’ political action efforts, most UFT-backed candidates were big winners in the Sept. 9 primary.
Huge grievance victory for long-term subsSep 25, 2008
Scores of long-term substitute teachers will now be paid on the regular teacher payroll with benefits thanks to a grievance filed by the UFT on their behalf.
In NYC, more F schools than A schools in good standing with NCLBSep 25, 2008
Chapter leaders told: All jobs safe
Sep 25, 2008
Hundreds of chapter leaders turned out for a “nuts and bolts” citywide chapter leader meeting at UFT headquarters where they were briefed on the union’s major initiatives and asked questions about parking problems and other issues that had arisen in the first weeks of the school year.
Report on ATRs ignores many factsSep 25, 2008
Despite having 1,395 teachers from closed or downsized schools serving in an absent-teacher reserve, the DOE hired 5,400 new teachers this September and has yet to find classroom assignments for 229 of them.
UFT launches effort to solve overcrowding woesSep 25, 2008
Parent groups, elected officials and the UFT have launched a campaign to make sure the city’s new five-year capital plan for schools due in November will alleviate overcrowding and reduce class size.
New UFT ad a good listenSep 12, 2008
The UFT started running a back-to-school radio ad on Sept. 2 asking public officials and school communities to listen to teachers and provide the support and resources they need. “Because teachers know that higher test scores aren’t enough. To educate the whole child, we must start in the classroom,” the ad concludes.
UFT: K-2 testing pilot a ‘bad idea’Sep 12, 2008
The Department of Education’s plan to give standardized tests to children as young as kindergartners has sparked outrage among parents and teachers already concerned that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein are too focused on standardized testing in measuring school progress.
Members urged: Join COPE now!Sep 12, 2008
While politics is a key arena where unions fight for their members, federal law prohibits unions from using members’ dues for any political or legislative activities not related to servicing members or collective bargaining. That means the cost of doing one vital type of union work has to be borne by voluntary donations, and from members only. That’s why you need UFT COPE. That’s why UFT COPE needs you, now.
Weingarten boosts Obama at DNCSep 12, 2008
Addressing the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 25, AFT/UFT President Randi Weingarten offered an education agenda she said could be secured with an Obama presidency. “Our No. 1 priority is, as it has always been, strengthening our public schools to better serve our students,” she said. “Let’s do what we do in our best schools in all of our schools."
Public schools spared mid-year state cuts; property tax cap avertedSep 12, 2008
When Gov. David Paterson made his summer doomsday announcement that the growing state deficit required midyear cuts in a state budget inked just three months earlier, it seemed that education spending was about to be hit. But schools were spared thanks in part to the efforts of the UFT and its allies in public education advocacy.
Hard work by all pays off in improved graduation rateSep 12, 2008
The city’s four-year graduation rate rose two points last year, making it the highest on-time graduation rate in at least two decades. Announcing the results with Mayor Bloomberg, UFT President Randi Weingarten said, “Today is a day to congratulate teachers, principals, students and parents for all their hard work in keeping the graduation rate going in the right direction.”
Union’s Green Dot ‘adventure’ beginsSep 12, 2008
Green Dot Public Schools, a successful and labor-friendly charter school operator, in partnership with the UFT, officially opened its high school in the South Bronx on Sept. 2. The partnership between the UFT and Green Dot marks the first time that a teachers union has opened a new school in collaboration with a charter school operator.
Good first impression: Hardly a glitch in ‘one of the smoothest’ school openingsSep 12, 2008
At schools across the city on Sept. 2, teachers reconnected with students and parents as the new school year got off to a mostly problem-free start. “Today’s opening of schools was one of the smoothest I can remember. If every day could go as smoothly as today, this will be a great year,” said UFT President Randi Weingarten.
Arbitrator upholds three-month time limit for placing letters in fileSep 12, 2008
An arbitrator ruled in July in the UFT’s favor that a member can file a grievance to remove a letter in his or her file when the letter is written more than three months after the incident it describes.
Union gets hazardous conditions repaired at Queens schoolSep 12, 2008
The dilapidated and decaying disaster that was PS 256 in the Rockaways has been scrubbed and made safe for students and staff, thanks to the UFT, but staffers worry that hidden problems might remain.
UFT, city reach parking agreementSep 12, 2008
The UFT and city reached an agreement that preserves all on-street and off-street school parking spots while aligning the number of placards with the number of spots.
Million dads step upSep 11, 2008
41,500 take advantage of 55/25 plan
Sep 10, 2008
UFT members have opted in! Some 41,500 members enrolled in the 55/25 early retirement plan by the Aug. 25 deadline.
UFT mobilizing for Silver, McMahon in fall primariesAug 07, 2008
The UFT has started its stepped-up member mobilization campaign on behalf of both Lower East Side Democratic Assemblyman and Speaker Sheldon Silver, and City Councilman and Staten Island-Brooklyn Democratic congressional hopeful Michael McMahon.
Union: DOE needs plan to solve school overcrowding in District 2Aug 07, 2008
This summer, the UFT has joined parents and others in fighting school overcrowding in Manhattan’s rapidly growing District 2.
Faulty city targeting of state Contract for Excellence funds blasted at hearings do-overAug 07, 2008
The new round of hearings, like the first round, heard speaker after speaker lambaste the city Department of Education for not aggressively lowering class size or using the funds in a manner that directly assists students.
Members sent to ‘rubber rooms’ will receive fairer, more timely treatmentAug 07, 2008
The UFT and DOE reached an agreement that will reduce the backlog of teachers sent to a “rubber room” for alleged misconduct.
Chapter leader sues ‘tyrant’ principalAug 07, 2008
The battle for justice at MS 393 in Bedford Stuyvesant shifted to a new front when a chapter leader — at the urging of the UFT — filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court on July 3 against Marian Bowden, the school’s principal, and the Department of Education.
Obama ‘honored’ by union’s endorsementAug 07, 2008
The 3,500-plus delegates to the AFT convention — including 620 UFTers — voted overwhelmingly on July 13 to endorse the presidential candidacy of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
Weingarten elected AFT presidentAug 07, 2008
While taking on the additional responsibilities of leading the national union, Randi Weingarten will continue to serve as UFT president for the time being.
Delegates tackle excess of excessingJul 02, 2008
A crowded agenda at the year’s final Delegate Assembly featured a discussion on containing an epidemic of excessing in the city’s public schools.
UFT charter schools serve their students wellJun 26, 2008
Students at the two UFT charter schools greatly outperformed their home district on the ELA and math tests this year, quieting critics who claim that teacher union contracts are obstacles to educational improvement.
Joining ‘hands’Jun 26, 2008
UFT President Randi Weingarten joined thousands of parents, students and community activists in a Hands Across New York City rally at City Hall to protest the school-budgets cuts ordered by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.
City students shine on 2008 ELA and math testsJun 26, 2008
The percentage of New York City students meeting math and English Language Arts standards took a huge leap forward this year.
Final city budget contains no classroom cutsJun 26, 2008
After a protracted fight, the city kept most of its funding promises to the schools.
Last chance to opt in to 55/25 early-retirement planJun 26, 2008
It's now or never! The deadline for enrolling in the 55/25 early-retirement plan is this Monday, Aug. 25. More than 31,000 UFT members have opted in to date.
Member survey: Chancellor, DOE must do betterJun 26, 2008
New York City educators have told Chancellor Joel Klein in stark terms that he needs improvement via confidential UFT surveys designed to hold the chancellor and the DOE accountable for their performance.
Coalition kept up pressureJun 26, 2008
More than 200 actions pressure officals to fully fund schools
AFT exec council: Obama’s the one for teachersJun 26, 2008
Citing his commitment to take on the key challenges facing AFT members and the nation as a whole, the 41-member AFT executive council voted unanimously on June 23 to approve a motion recommending that delegates to the 2008 AFT national convention endorse the candidacy of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for president of the United States.
Concerns over GHI-HIP mergerJun 26, 2008
The impending change in the HIP-GHI health organization from nonprofit to for- profit status prompted delegates to approve a resolution raising concerns that a for-profit structure would compromise GHI and HIP’s longstanding commitment to city employees by letting health care deteriorate.
Precedent-setting attendance and letter-in-file arbitration victory celebratedJun 26, 2008
A member’s challenge of his principal’s reprimand ended in a major arbitration victory for every UFT member.
Local candidates endorsedJun 26, 2008
Besides approving a resolution on the presidential race, the delegates debated an Executive Board-recommended slate of candidates.
Maternity workshops held for new generation of UFT membersJun 11, 2008
The UFT Queens borough office has given birth to a new idea: workshops "for mommies to be."
Another whistle-blower sent to rubber roomJun 05, 2008
When a teacher reported irregularities in the grading of Regents exams and the way Title I funds were spent at his school, he never expected to find himself banished to a Temporary Reassignment Center, a “rubber room.”
School secretaries feted as professionals, union fightersJun 05, 2008
Union boils over DOE’s inaction during heat wave
Jun 05, 2008
In nearly 100-degree heat, with a white sun beating down unmercifully, UFT President Randi Weingarten announced that the union has asked the state Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau to cite the DOE for violating state health laws by failing to protect students and staff in city schools during the early June heat wave.
Educators to evaluate Klein, DOEJun 05, 2008
Using the New York City Department of Education’s Learning Environment survey as a model, the UFT is asking its 100,000 public school educators to evaluate the performance of the chancellor and the Department of Education.
‘She’s my rock’Jun 05, 2008
An effective mentoring experience is crucial to student achievement, as one first-year teacher in District 2 discovered.
Chapter leader banished to rubber roomJun 05, 2008
A chapter leader who notified city and state education officials that his principal failed to provide state-mandated services to special education kids was removed to a Temporary Reassignment Center (TRC) — commonly called a “rubber room.”
‘We’re one city’Jun 05, 2008
The divide-and-conquer budget ploy attempted by the mayor and chancellor failed to drive a wedge between teachers, school principals, parents and community activists united in demanding full city funding for the public schools.
UFT: Build schools where they’re neededJun 05, 2008
Unlike the Department of Education operating expense budget, where the mayor cut some $450 million in promised funding, the School Construction Authority’s five-year capital spending plans were untouched.
Klein’s cuts ‘unconscionable’Jun 05, 2008
After Chancellor Joel Klein defended the city’s cut of $450 million for school funding, UFT President Randi Weingarten excoriated the chancellor and mayor for blaming the state — which fully funded the schools, just as the Keep the Promises Coalition demanded — for forcing cutbacks.
Contract for Excellence hearingJun 05, 2008
Keep the Promises Coalition town hall meeting
Jun 05, 2008
Education coalition presses on in drive to restore city funding for schools
May 23, 2008
125 happy applicants win spots in UFT-Green Dot charter
May 22, 2008
Dozens of anxious parents and children were on hand on May 12 for the admissions lottery for the Green Dot New York Charter HS to select 125 students out of nearly 500 applicants.
Cops’ arbitration decision provides pay increaseMay 22, 2008
A arbitration panel awarded New York City police officers a retroactive 9.7 percent pay increase over two years and, in exchange for significant concessions, raised starting pay — which had been slashed to $25,100 in a 2005 contract that crippled recruitment — to $35,881.
‘No way on earth’ contract will be reopenedMay 22, 2008
UFT delegates flatly told the city that they would not reopen the UFT contract if the Department of Education bids to find a way to fire excessed teachers.
PIP gets rave reviewsMay 22, 2008
Two principals discuss what’s right about the union’s program to help struggling teachers — at a time when the DOE won’t increase its funding, despite sharply rising costs.
Weingarten: Let’s create permanent coalition as advocacy voice for kidsMay 22, 2008
UFT President Randi Weingarten announced a plan to explore the creation of a permanent coalition to protect the interests of the city’s 1.1 million schoolchildren and vowed to continue to expand the union’s work with parents and the community.
Klein urged to seek input on using CFE fundsMay 22, 2008
Parents, teachers, community leaders and UFT officials are calling on Chancellor Joel Klein to work together with them to create a strong citywide plan for spending the $360 million secured last year in the resolution of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit and earmarked by the state for six specific purposes.
Campaign expands to TVMay 22, 2008
Kids don’t get a second chance. That urgent message, the bottom line of a major radio campaign, is also the powerful theme of a television ad campaign that blanketed the metropolitan area.
Staten Island protest draws 500May 22, 2008
Approximately 500 irate Staten Island parents, community members and teachers turned out to protest the mayor’s budget cuts to their schools and joined Queens City Councilman Tony Avella in chanting, “Klein must go! Klein must go.”
Education coalition presses on in drive to restore city funding for schoolsMay 22, 2008
May has been a hectic month for the Keep the Promises Coalition as it focuses on getting the city to do what Albany did in April when the Legislature restored proposed cuts in school funding.
School labeled ‘dangerous’ by state works to improve — but still waits for DOE’s helpMay 08, 2008
The staff and the principal at Staten Island’s PS 14 — which landed on the State Education Department’s “persistently dangerous schools” list last August — are working together to make it a safer school. But every day, in the words of guidance counselor Pat Torricelli, is like “triage” as they cope, with little support from the DOE, with a small group of troublemakers.
Radio ad: Call 1-800-961-6198 to protest cutsMay 08, 2008
One day after the mayor broke his funding promise to public school students in his executive budget, the Keep the Promises coalition saturated the air waves with radio ads and blitzed local newspapers with public service alerts about the damage that schoolchildren will suffer as a consequence.
Mayor doesn’t keep his word on education fundingMay 08, 2008
The headlines reporting the mayor’s stripped-down May 1 executive budget, including some $450 million in cuts to education, could have read: “Bloomberg to schools: You are not the priority anymore.”
Nearly 300G to reduce class size — and it increased!May 08, 2008
PS/IS 71 in District 8 used to be a high-functioning, well-regarded neighborhood school, according to Chapter Leader Carol Griffin. But that was before Principal Lance Cooper decided to shoe-horn a “prep academy” of 7th- and 8th-graders into the building.
Leader of UFT Charter Elementary School steps downMay 08, 2008
As the UFT Elementary Charter School rounds out its third year, the guiding hand and an architect of the unique experiment — the only union-run school in the country — has announced she will leave at the end of the school year.
UFT: Tweed created job barriers for ATRsMay 08, 2008
Having failed to achieve one of its principal objectives in the 2005 and 2006 contracts – namely firing excessed (displaced) teachers – the DOE has enlisted a non-profit organization with millions of dollars in DOE contracts to issue a report that recommends firing ATRs, who have rock-solid job security under the contract.
5% salary increase starts May 19May 08, 2008
UFT-represented educators will get a 5 percent raise on May 19, the same day the new five-year longevity for members who have completed five years of service in the New York City school system takes effect.
Report shows DOE refused to make headway on class size despite $153M of new fundsMay 08, 2008
Despite committing $152.7 million to reduce class size this year, the DOE actually allowed class sizes to grow in one-third of almost 400 targeted schools, a UFT-commissioned report has found, leading the city comptroller to promise a thorough review of DOE’s class-size spending.
Julia Richman: The award-winning school that Klein would destroyApr 24, 2008
Closing large high schools and redesigning them into smaller ones has been one of the education changes that predated Schools Chancellor Joel Klein but that he has nonetheless championed. That would not explain, however, his plan to bulldoze the Julia Richman Education Complex, one of the city’s best examples of the small school movement where the graduation rate exceeds those of both the city and the state.
GHI-HIP conversion to for-profit status raises concernsApr 24, 2008
The GHI-HIP merger into Emblem Health and its effect on health benefits was discussed during the question period at the Delegate Assembly.
Call to fight Klein’s ‘disinformation’ campaign on tenureApr 24, 2008
The Delegate Assembly unanimously passed a resolution excoriating Chancellor Joel Klein “for spending weeks putting out misinformation” about the facts in the tenure fight.
DA launches phase two of budget fight targeting City HallApr 24, 2008
Now that the state, despite new economic uncertainty, kept its promises to children, UFT President Randi Weingarten told delegates at the April DA to prepare for the fight against he mayor’s and the chancellor’s steep budget cuts.
State delegates endorse Weingarten’s bid for AFT presidentApr 24, 2008
UFT President Randi Weingarten’s candidacy for president of the AFT was endorsed overwhelmingly by NYSUT, the UFT’s statewide affiliate, during its annual Representative Assembly at the New York Hilton.
More time to teachApr 24, 2008
In District 32, teachers regained more control of their classrooms in January 2007 when they won the flexibility they needed to adapt the rigid workshop model to individual classroom needs. They made their gains using districtwide professional conciliation — Article 24.
UFT secretary blasts Klein on tenureApr 24, 2008
At a Panel for Educational Policy meeting, Chancellor Joel Klein also got an earful from UFT Secretary Michael Mendel about his misguided efforts to link tenure to test scores.
Psychologists to chancellor: Help us do our jobApr 24, 2008
More than 100 angry school psychologists at a Panel for Educational Policy meeting hammered away at Schools Chancellor Joel Klein about their overwhelming workloads and, because of DOE decisions, their growing inability to serve kids appropriately.
SED: Tweed fails to provide IEPs to appropriate staffApr 10, 2008
The State Education Department has upheld charges the UFT brought to it of widespread failure by the New York City school system to provide school staff with copies of the IEPs of children they are responsible for.
UFT VP: State regs should be revisedApr 10, 2008
UFT Vice President Carmen Alvarez deplored the failure of the proposed regulations to ensure that teachers of special education students be included in key meetings and receive copies of any agreements resulting from those meetings.
Huge grievance victory for school secretariesApr 10, 2008
In a stunning decision, an arbitrator ruled on March 21 that the Department of Education violated the UFT contract — and federal law — by giving school secretaries’ work to non-licensed personnel. He ordered the DOE to “cease and desist” from its practices. “This is a major victory for the chapter and the broader labor movement that was made possible by the dozens of school secretaries who were willing to come forward,” UFT President Randi Weingarten said. “The union made the arbitrator aware of more than 300 instances in which school aides, school business managers, parent coordinators and family paras were being given secretarial work to do.”
State budget agreement keeps ed funding promisesApr 10, 2008
Despite facing one of the largest budget deficits in recent memory, the state Legislature and Gov. David Paterson kept their promises to New York City schoolchildren by fully restoring all promised state education aid to city schools.
Thousands flock to UFT’s 55/25 info sessionsApr 10, 2008
More than 5,000 UFT members, excited about the new 55/25 retirement option, attended the first round of informational sessions that the union recently held in all boroughs.
Bronx marks Green Solidarity DayApr 10, 2008
In the Bronx, teachers and administrators celebrated “Bronx Green Solidarity Day” on April 1 by dressing in green
Union adopts ‘better safe than sorry’ approach on PCBs in schoolsApr 10, 2008
In the wake of concerns raised by a front-page Daily News story about PCBs in school-building exterior caulking, the UFT began taking a series of steps to mitigate the potential risk to students and staff.
UFT sues Tweed for age discriminationApr 10, 2008
The UFT filed a lawsuit alleging that hundreds of teachers serving in the Absent Teachers Reserve (ATR) are victims of the DOE's year-old school funding system that, despite the April 2007 "hold harmless" agreement, creates a financial disincentive for principals to hire senior teachers. According to DOE data cited in the lawsuit, 81 percent of teachers in the ATR pool are over 40 years of age, compared to 57 percent of the entire public school pedagogical staff.
Union wins battle on tenureApr 10, 2008
State legislators and the governor agreed with the city and state teacher unions and the New York State School Boards Association on budget language saying tenure decisions can be based on how a teacher uses test data to shape instruction — but not on how a teacher’s students perform on standardized tests.
UFT proposes new accountability systemMar 27, 2008
UFT President Randi Weingarten unveiled a new UFT-developed accountability report on March 13 that goes far beyond test scores in judging school effectiveness.
UFT fights to protect Holy Thursday religious observance rightsMar 27, 2008
On the same day as the massive City Hall budget rally, the UFT’s legal team and UFT Secretary Michael Mendel were in court fighting to protect members’ right to take Holy Thursday as a religious observance day.
Cuts blasted at Brooklyn community meetingMar 27, 2008
Teachers, principals, parents, elected officials, community leaders and UFT officers seeking to roll back the city’s budget cuts to public schools exchanged ideas and vented their anger at a town hall meeting in Brooklyn.
10,000 flood City Hall to demand restoring ed budget cutsMar 27, 2008
More than 10,000 teachers, principals, parents, students and elected officials braved a soaking rain on March 19 to rally outside City Hall to protest $800 million in budget cuts threatening New York City public schools.
Paterson sworn inMar 27, 2008
UFT President Randi Weingarten was one of the attendees at the standing-room-only swearing-in ceremony of Lt. Gov. David Paterson as the state’s 55th chief executive.
Give city schools the promised fundingMar 27, 2008
For the 1,300 teachers riding to Albany, the message to state lawmakers was simple: provide the full state operational and building aid that was promised last year to New York City schools in the resolution of the CFE lawsuit.
PEP votes to end social promotion for 8th-gradersMar 27, 2008
At a noisy, contentious meeting filled with angry protestors, the Panel for Educational Policy voted on March 17 to support the elimination of social promotion for 8th-graders.
NYPD, UFT meet on safety problems in schoolsMar 27, 2008
The UFT and officers from the school safety division of the New York Police Department held a series of meetings in February in an effort to foster more dialogue about ways to make schools safer.
Bronx school to close despite protestsMar 13, 2008
No sooner had PS 79 in the Bronx been cited for excellence by the state than it got the ax from the city.
Weingarten to Council: Checks and balances matter mostMar 13, 2008
“When it comes to overseeing how the schools run,” UFT President Randi Weingarten told City Council Education Committee members at a March 3 oversight hearing on mayoral control and school governance, "there are not the required checks and balances or transparency.”
Governance: The countdown is onMar 13, 2008
The UFT School Governance Task Force on Feb. 28 wrapped up a series of forums held to get input from the public in evaluating the city’s governance of New York City’s public schools.
Delegates approve student-removal process resolutionMar 13, 2008
UFT delegates passed a resolution pledging the union to “use any grievance or legal means necessary to mandate” that the DOE establish and enforce a student removal process in every school.
Grievance win entitles members to take off Holy ThursdayMar 13, 2008
Holy Thursday is March 20 this year. If members wish to take a religious observance day, they should request an OP-201 form from their school secretary and fill it out.
Progress on paperworkMar 13, 2008
UFT President Randi Weingarten told the March 5 Delegate Assembly that there has been progress in tackling excessive paperwork.
Striking food-service workers applaudedMar 13, 2008
UFT President Randi Weingarten invited to the Delegate Assembly about 100 UNITE HERE food-service workers and their union leader who had been rallying just down the street on Broadway that afternoon as part of a continuing battle against Aramark Corporation.
UFT on Progress Report revisions: It’s not enoughMar 13, 2008
The DOE has tempered its harsh A-through-F grading system by adding additional grades and additional ways that schools can earn credits. Two major criticisms, however, are not addressed.
School psychologists, social workers ‘overwhelmed, disrespected’Mar 13, 2008
School psychologists and social workers have long dealt with increased workload and paperwork that would clog any smooth-running operation, but this year they claim the burden has become overwhelming.
Providers begin negotiating first UFT contractMar 13, 2008
Negotiations opened to secure a first contract for the city’s 28,000 newly UFT-organized home child care providers.
More reason to rally on March 19Mar 13, 2008
Giving new urgency to the March 19 rally against state and city budget cuts to city schools, City Budget Director Mark Page on March 4 ordered all city agencies to make an additional 3 percent cut to their budgets. That would mean that the Department of Education could face another $200 million cut in September on top of the $324 million cut that was already slated.
Honored for fighting back when necessaryMar 13, 2008
Work together when we can, fight when we must, was clearly the theme throughout the Delegate Assembly on March 5.
New TV ad plants ‘seeds of knowledge’Feb 28, 2008
A new television campaign sponsored by the UFT takes the broader view of what it takes to fully educate a child.
What you can do when kids don’t get their special servicesFeb 28, 2008
A revised Special Education Complaint Form designed to track trends of problems in the city’s public schools is posted on the UFT Web site, www.uft.org.
Speak out on 8th-grade promotion policyFeb 28, 2008
The Department of Education is holding “Town Hall meetings,” where members of the community can weigh in on the DOE’s proposed, more stringent 8th-grade promotion policy.
Program would target troubled middle schoolsFeb 28, 2008
A new program offering help for the city’s most struggling middle schools was a prominent recommendation by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
55/25!Feb 28, 2008
A 55/25 retirement option long sought by the UFT took effect on Feb. 27 when Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed the legislation needed for it to become law. The landmark pension bill enables eligible UFT-represented educators to retire with unreduced benefits five years sooner than they could before.
Rally to make state, city ‘Keep the Promises’Feb 28, 2008
March 19. That’s when the UFT joins its fired-up allies in the education community in hosting a rally opposing current and future cuts in education funding.
Parents want smaller classes, not high-stakes testingFeb 28, 2008
Dissatisfied with both the questions posed in the DOE’s Learning Environment Survey of parents last spring and the way in which the mayor characterized the parent responses, Class Size Matters set out to conduct its own “independent parent survey.” The results were significantly different.
UFT: High School ratings were biasedFeb 14, 2008
UFT officials have charged that the Department of Education’s School Progress Reports reflect a bias against students with learning disabilities because high schools with large numbers of special education students were much more likely to receive a poor grade.
Union’s SLT conference provides training, hopeFeb 14, 2008
The school leadership team at IS 72 in Manhattan is a model for what can be accomplished through SLTs, according to parent Charlene Benymon.
Some principals seek union’s help in dealing with cutsFeb 14, 2008
The impact of $100 million in citywide midyear budget cuts was felt throughout the city and some principals reached out to UFT chapter leaders and district representatives for help.
‘Keep the Promises’ coalition forms to reverse city, state ed funding cutsFeb 14, 2008
A diverse coalition of education advocacy groups, community organizations, clergy, labor unions and dozens of elected officials has launched a major campaign to fight state and city budget proposals that could cost New York City public schools $700 million.
Weingarten to state pols: Keep the promisesFeb 14, 2008
Promises were made to the children of New York City’s public schools and those promises must be kept, UFT President Randi Weingarten told legislators in Albany.
55/25 legislation passes in SenateFeb 13, 2008
The 55/25 retirement option long sought by the UFT cleared another important hurdle on Feb. 13 when the State Senate passed the legislation needed for it to take effect. Two days earlier, the State Assembly passed its version of the bill. Now the legislation needs Governor Spitzer’s signature to become law. The governor, who is expected to sign the bill, has 10 days to act from the date that it is sent to him.
Join us in class-size fax blitzJan 31, 2008
The UFT is urging state lawmakers to support changes in the Contracts for Excellence legislation to require class size reductions in every schoolroom.
Mayor calls for education budget cutsJan 31, 2008
Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for a 4.3 percent cut in spending in virtually every city agency, including his biggest cut ever to the Department of Education.
Mayor praises CTE in State of City addressJan 31, 2008
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's State of the City address came replete with plans for supporting and improving the city’s Career and Technical Education programs.
Spitzer’s proposed budget cuts city school aid increaseJan 31, 2008
Gov. Eliot Spitzer presented the Legislature a proposed state budget on Jan. 22 that bows to the deteriorating financial outlook sweeping national, state and local governments.
Hillary callingJan 31, 2008
What do you do when, in the midst of a heated Delegate Assembly discussion of city efforts to deny teachers parking permits, you receive a telephone call from U.S. Senator and union-backed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton?
Majority call for halt to paperwork overloadJan 31, 2008
Three resolutions passed overwhelmingly at a fired-up Jan. 16 Delegate Assembly.
Cheers for members battling abusive principalsJan 31, 2008
The union’s “principals in need of improvement” campaign, aimed at bad principals either shaping up or shipping out, is having a positive effect.
UFT objects to DOE teacher measurement pilotJan 31, 2008
The UFT and the Department of Education are headed for battle over a new teacher measurement experiment that could be a precursor to DOE attempts to tie teacher evaluations to student test scores.
Ruling: Fellows can finish out termJan 22, 2008
An independent arbitrator agreed with the UFT that the Department of Education did not have the right to terminate teaching fellows on Dec. 5. The fellows are guaranteed employment through the end of term, which is Feb. 2, and will be given one month’s vacation pay this summer.
Local pol rains on ‘excellence rewards’ paradeJan 17, 2008
The growing agita about the school system’s relentless focus on high-stakes testing was on display at the Department of Education’s news conference in PS 46 in Bayside on Jan. 3 to announce “excellence rewards” for 134 schools.
Charter throws up roadblockJan 17, 2008
The Board of Trustees of the Merrick Academy Charter School in Queens has hired Jackson Lewis, one of the nation’s heavyweight union-busting law firms, after educators and employees of the school voted overwhelmingly in October to unionize and join the UFT.
Union wins letter-in-file suitsJan 17, 2008
Three State Supreme Court judges have ruled that the New York City Department of Education cannot place purely disciplinary letters in educators’ files without providing them the due process required by Article 3020a of the state Education Law.
DOE violates state special ed law, union saysJan 17, 2008
The UFT has called upon New York State officials to investigate the Department of Education’s “widespread failure” to comply with a state law designed to help students with disabilities.
Leading the way to disasterJan 17, 2008
The staff at PS 114 in Brooklyn finds itself in a battle with a "Principal in Need of Improvement."
No more DOE stalling on harassment grievancesJan 17, 2008
In a significant win for the union, a recent arbitration decision has put a stop to the delaying tactics of the Department of Education over Special Complaints.
Klein apologizesJan 17, 2008
Staff Director Jeff Zahler — who retired Jan. 1 — thanked the more than 1,000 members who participated in the Nov. 26 candlelight vigil at Department of Education headquarters.
DOE faulted for failing to comply with federal safety standardsJan 17, 2008
Eight resolutions ranging from health and safety concerns to the Department of Education’s efforts to fire tenured teachers were debated at the Dec. 12 Delegate Assembly.
UFT helps DOE create new ‘warts-and-all’ class-size reportJan 17, 2008
What schools and districts have the largest classes? Just how big are early-grades classes in your district? How many classes are still over contract limits in October? Such questions often could not be answered.
UFT: Help schools state failedJan 17, 2008
The State Education Department has designated 60 New York City elementary and middle schools as failing under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, prompting UFT President Randi Weingarten to call on state and city officials to send more resources to the affected schools and devise more accurate accountability systems.
Wagner HS teachers vindicated after release of cheating scandal reportJan 17, 2008
Teachers at Susan Wagner HS feel vindicated after the release of a report by the Department of Education’s Office of Special Investigations on a Regents cheating scandal that rocked the school in June 2006.
State strips principal of Regents exam responsibilityJan 17, 2008
The State Education Department has instructed city education officials that the principal of Susan Wagner HS in Staten Island will not be allowed to have any involvement in the administration of Regents exams which will be given starting Jan. 22.
Fresh start for SOJO as principal resignsJan 17, 2008
A great sigh of relief was breathed by parents, teachers and community leaders in Bushwick late last month when Acorn HS for Social Justice (SOJO) Principal Joseph Parker resigned.
LeRoy Barr named UFT director of staffJan 17, 2008
LeRoy Barr, former Manhattan special representative, was named UFT director of staff effective Jan. 1, replacing Jeff Zahler who retired.
Safety lesson learnedJan 17, 2008
Fast action by the UFT has resulted in a revamped safety plan for Information Technical HS in Queens after a gas leak in December sent students and staff scurrying into the streets with no clear evacuation plan.
Mayor’s parking permit edict riles educatorsJan 17, 2008
Educators and the UFT were up in arms when Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city would eliminate 20 percent of the parking permits issued to city employees.
UFT: Educators’ housing project must be union-madeDec 06, 2007
After a bumpy few days, the UFT is working with construction trade unions to ensure that an affordable work force housing development for educators gets built by union workers.
A tangled webDec 06, 2007
The principal of Susan Wagner HS is at the center of the Regents investigation — as well as many other things.
Wagner HS cheating scandal report delayedDec 06, 2007
Six months after Schools Chancellor Joel Klein promised that a report on a cheating scandal at Susan Wagner HS in Staten Island would be released, it is still being kept under wraps, much to the consternation of teachers who reported the cheating.
Teacher resignations hit record highDec 06, 2007
Resignations among certified New York City teachers and other pedagogues for reasons other than retirement or problems with licensure hit a record high of 4,303 last school year.
City’s revised Contract for Excellence only ‘a good first step’Dec 06, 2007
The DOE issued a revised five-year plan to lower class size to 20 students on average in grades K-3 and 23 students on average in the higher grades by 2012, but the UFT and other public school advocates said the plan does not go far enough.
Time to make low class size a realityDec 06, 2007
A detailed plan for helping low-performing schools in the city by substantially lowering class sizes was unveiled Nov. 27 by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.
Union: School closings ‘a major upheaval’Dec 06, 2007
The UFT called the city’s decision to close 14 schools earning Ds and Fs on the new Department of Education Progress Reports “a major upheaval for all involved” and said the city needed to see “every effort is made to ensure that everyone affected is treated with care, dignity and respect.”
NAEP shows weak results for cityDec 06, 2007
Long-awaited national test scores for 11 large urban school districts, including New York City, were by and large disappointing for New York.
Nothing holds a candle to mentoring, professional developmentDec 06, 2007
Sal Emanuele, who is happy in his work as guidance counselor at Jamaica HS, came to the candlelight vigil because he has “spoken with too many teachers who have between 12 and 22 years experience and have never before gotten a U-rating and all of a sudden they’ve gotten U’s.
Shining a light on respectDec 06, 2007
Holding white candles, more than 1,000 teachers and other UFT-represented educators and friends gathered outside the Department of Education’s Tweed headquarters on the evening of Nov. 26 for a solemn vigil to protest the establishment of a unit headed by a prosecutor to help principals go after tenured teachers for incompetence.
Union: DOE to blame for District 79 chaosDec 06, 2007
After District 79 Superintendent Cami Anderson testified to the City Council Education Committee that the district’s reorganization was smooth sailing, UFT Vice President Michael Mulgrew set the record straight.
Union:‘Older’ ATRs face hiring discriminationDec 06, 2007
The UFT is exploring a lawsuit charging that the DOE’s new school budgeting formula has hurt older teachers seeking positions through the “open market” transfer plan, UFT President Randi Weingarten said.
Queens charter school chooses UFTNov 15, 2007
Teachers at the Merrick Academy — Queens Public Charter School have overwhelmingly demanded representation by the UFT and the union is moving swiftly to make that a reality.
‘We’ve come a long way’Nov 15, 2007
“We’re a union of many people and many hearts,” UFT President Randi Weingarten said to the 1,300 educators gathered for Teacher Union Day at the Waldorf Astoria on Nov. 4.
New UFT VP for academic high schoolsNov 15, 2007
Leo Casey, widely recognized for his extensive advocacy and writing on education, civics, unionism, politics and related issues, was elected vice president for academic high schools by the Executive Board.
Proposals given to DOENov 15, 2007
Justice delayed is justice denied. That basic principle of American law is a cornerstone of the proposals the UFT submitted to the Department of Education to end the warehousing of members in temporary reassignment centers and bring about a fair and fast resolution of their cases.
Union working to improve conditions, communicationNov 15, 2007
Life in a Temporary Reassignment Center cannot replicate the joys of the classroom, but neither can it be allowed to be a dungeon.
Rubber rooms of despairNov 15, 2007
The Department of Education’s rooms of despair are not where New York City educators planned to spend their careers.
DOE progress reports have many confused and concernedNov 15, 2007
Using a complex, new assessment system that assigns the most weight to students’ year-to-year progress on standardized tests, the Department of Education on Nov. 5 gave every school except those in District 75 a grade from A to F.
These winners practiced teamworkNov 15, 2007
For the first time, the union presented its UFT School Partnership Award at the 2007 Teacher Union Day, which honors both chapter leader and principal at schools exemplifying the spirit of collaboration.
Honor rollNov 15, 2007
Here's a list of some of the winners honored on Teacher Union Day.
Green Dot gets green lightNov 01, 2007
Green Dot, one of the only unionized charter school operators in the country, whose schools in Los Angeles graduate 98 percent of the seniors, 78 percent of them going on to four-year universities, is set to open its doors in the South Bronx.
UNION YES!Nov 01, 2007
The city’s 28,000 home child care providers have voted overwhelmingly to become part of the UFT in the largest successful organizing drive in the last half century.
Governance task force lays groundworkNov 01, 2007
With mayoral control of the school system due to sunset in June 2009, near the end of Michael Bloomberg’s term as mayor, the UFT task force on school governance held its third meeting on Oct. 23 at union headquarters.
Schoolwide bonus program FAQOct 31, 2007
On Oct. 17, the UFT and the city completed negotiations on the implementation of two provisions of the 2005 contract: pension improvements and a new, voluntary schoolwide bonus pilot program.
UFT reaches out to schools after boy’s deathOct 30, 2007
Responding to faculty concerns after a 7th-grade student died as a result of a drug-resistant staph infection, a team of UFT officials met with educators at IS 211 in Canarsie on Oct. 26 to assure them that the union was acting to make sure the school is safe. The UFT also put together a Q&A so members have the facts on this infection.
DOE sets up employee helplineOct 22, 2007
The Department of Education has launched a multi-million-dollar information call center called HR Connect to better serve its 135,000 employees when they have critical questions related to their jobs.
Union’s efforts to fix NCLB intensifyOct 22, 2007
The UFT — in conjunction with its national union, the AFT — is “ratcheting up” its efforts to make better, not worse, the No Child Left Behind law.
UFT’s ‘Open School Week’ guides headed for schoolsOct 18, 2007
To encourage more parents to visit schools, the UFT has revised and reissued its “Welcome to Open School Week” guide in English and Spanish.
Large HS class sizes swell due to funding disparities, IBO report saysOct 18, 2007
A study of the DOE's new school funding formula shows that differences in class size are related to disparities in school allocations, and that large high schools receive a smaller portion of overall funding while small high schools get more per student and maintain smaller classes.
Coverages now pensionableOct 18, 2007
The UFT’s 2002 court victory making per-session work pensionable became a little sweeter this October when the city and the Teachers’ Retirement System agreed that coverages should be pensionable.
Delegates debate, then endorse accordOct 18, 2007
Delegates on Oct. 17 voted overwhelmingly to endorse the union’s decision to enter into the implementation agreement. But first, they engaged in a spirited discussion of the voluntary schoolwide bonus pilot program.
Some changes in Quality ReviewsOct 18, 2007
The Department of Education will again conduct Quality Reviews of all New York City public schools throughout this school year — with a few new wrinkles.
UFT, city agree on 55/25 retirement option, voluntary schoolwide bonus pilot programOct 18, 2007
The UFT, the city and the Department of Education on Oct. 17 agreed on mechanisms to implement two outstanding provisions of the 2005 collective-bargaining agreement: an option to allow educators to retire at age 55 with 25 years of service, and a program offering school-wide bonuses in 200 high-needs schools.
TRS to fund affordable housing starts for city educatorsOct 18, 2007
A new housing investment initiative by the Teachers' Retirement System, working with City Comptroller Bill Thompson and the city's Housing Development Corporation, aims to help attract and retain educators.
Workshops provide tools to boost achievementOct 18, 2007
Parents who attended the UFT Parent Conference workshop “What’s on My Kid’s Test?” went home with a copy of the entire 2007-08 calendar for city and statewide assessment.
All in the familyOct 18, 2007
Nearly 3,000 people took part in the UFT's annual Citywide Parent Conference — a fellowship of family and educators — where they gained new insights into ways they can help their children succeed in school.
Weingarten advises principals: Partner with teachersOct 18, 2007
Running a school isn’t a zero-sum game, UFT President Randi Weingarten told aspiring school heads and recently appointed principals who attended two separate Department of Education training sessions.
Say no to mandated individual performance pay for teachersOct 04, 2007
We need to send a second wave of faxes on No Child Left Behind to Washington, D.C.
Battle over NCLB heats upOct 04, 2007
Previous high marks from labor notwithstanding, Rep. George Miller’s actions in running the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind law through the House is highly problematic.
Chapter leaders key to teacher power at school levelOct 04, 2007
“In my judgment, you do the most important job in the union,” UFT President Randi Weingarten said as she stared out at a sea of more than 1,000 chapter leaders’ faces at the Brooklyn Marriot Hotel on Sept. 25.
IBO report: Early-grade class size above recommended numberOct 04, 2007
A new analysis by the city’s Independent Budget Office found that 61 percent of public school kindergarten to 3rd-grade classrooms in New York City in the 2006-07 school year exceeded the state-recommended standard for early grades.
Number of oversized classes drops, but 4,300 still exceed limitOct 04, 2007
The number of overcrowded classrooms in the New York City public schools dropped from 6,243 last year to 4,303 this year.
Comptroller: Tweed fails to report all safety incidentsOct 04, 2007
City Comptroller William Thompson accused the Department of Education of failing to make sure that all violent and disruptive incidents in the school system are reported to the state.
The lost children of District 79: Poorly planned reorganization still causing chaosOct 04, 2007
Three weeks into the new school year and last spring’s abrupt Department of Education reorganization of District 79 is still causing chaos and confusion for students and staff alike.
They beg to differ: NAEP, state tests give contrary picturesOct 04, 2007
The good news in newly released math and reading scores from the 2007 NAEP is that across the country, many students are improving in reading and math. But the story does not end there.
Safety, poor leadership among concernsOct 04, 2007
Chapter leaders had plenty to report at the Sept. 15 citywide meeting at the Brooklyn Marriott. Here are some examples:
Union aims to clear out ‘rubber rooms’Sep 24, 2007
UFT President Randi Weingarten told the union’s Executive Board on Sept. 17 that she is initiating “a full-scale effort” to clear out the Department of Education rubber rooms — or Temporary Reassignment Centers, as they are called by the chancellor.
More members use new right to transferSep 20, 2007
More teachers than ever before are settling into classrooms in schools of their choice this new school year as a result of the open market transfer plan.
Unions in push to repair NCLB lawSep 20, 2007
With Congress taking up reauthorization of NCLB, UFT officials are increasingly concerned that some of the changes being contemplated are inadequate or wrongheaded and they are urging union members to get involved in the debate by lobbying their national representatives.
Union to DOE: ATRs should fill vacanciesSep 20, 2007
Decrying the waste of money, talent and experience, UFT President Randi Weingarten called on the DOE to fill vacancies or lower class size with teachers who were excessed from closing schools and are now serving as Absent Teacher Reserves.
UFT radio ads get message acrossSep 20, 2007
A UFT radio campaign heralding the importance of principal-teacher partnership aired throughout the New York metropolitan area from Sept. 4-17.
Asbestos problem fixed after UFT actionSep 20, 2007
Fast action by a UFT squad of safety and health experts, UFT staffers and a chapter leader led to remedial action to abate an asbestos problem at Westinghouse HS just days before the start of the school year for students.
Partnership stressed as schools openSep 20, 2007
For a year that promises significant changes to the school system, the first day of school this year went relatively smoothly.
PBS concert is music to our earsSep 20, 2007
If you care about public education, tune in to PBS's Channel 13 this Thursday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. for an inspiring one-hour concert honoring America’s teachers.
Ready to make a positive impactSep 06, 2007
From the bright-eyed college graduate to the professional with 20 years in the workforce, the city’s newest teachers are ambitious, inspired and gung-ho about starting to mold young minds to embrace unlimited possibilities.
‘Call your union rep’Sep 06, 2007
In the calm before the storm of facing their first classrooms in less than two weeks, some 2,100 newly hired New York City schoolteachers were praised, encouraged and catered to at a daylong orientation session.
UFT helps solve summer challengesSep 06, 2007
At every site in the city where its members staffed summer programs, union representatives appeared frequently to ensure contractual compliance and to troubleshoot a variety of problems.
New law helps parents of special needs kidsSep 06, 2007
The governor signed legislation placing the burden of proof in special education hearings back onto school systems in New York State in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that placed the burden on parents.
Comptroller hits sloppy monitoringSep 06, 2007
The city comptroller charged that the DOE “has provided woefully inadequate oversight of its delivery of service” to mainstreamed special education students.
New agreement will expand nursing services to more kidsSep 06, 2007
The UFT, District Council 37, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Education have agreed to ground-breaking changes in the assignment process for school nurses that will enable more schools to have a nurse on site.
Phone call campaignSep 06, 2007
The word is out and the news is good. Already more than 700 child care providers have volunteered to work to get out the vote.
Enthusiastic rally jump-starts providers’ voting processSep 06, 2007
If you could harness the raw energy, vitality, enthusiasm. motivation and lung power of the more than 500 family child care providers who filled the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem on Aug. 28 for a Get Out the Vote campaign rally, the power would provide electricity to the whole city for years.
Stolen laptop may contain some UFT retirees’ personal infoSep 06, 2007
A laptop computer that may contain personal and financial information of UFT and other New York City retirees was stolen from a consultant working for the city’s Financial Information Services Agency (FISA) in August.
Union criticizes state report on dangerous schoolsSep 06, 2007
UFT President Randi Weingarten criticized the State Education Department on Aug. 22, saying its list of persistently dangerous schools “is both misleading and incomplete.”
UFT hails city’s new middle school initiativeSep 06, 2007
UFT President Randi Weingarten joined City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Aug. 13 as he endorsed several of the recommendations put forward by the Council to improve academic performance and provide more resources to the city’s middle schools.
DOE efforts to increase therapists’ workloads defeatedSep 06, 2007
The Department of Education cannot require occupational therapists and physical therapists in District 75 to work a ninth direct treatment session, an independent arbitrator ruled over the summer.
Judge: Paras not required to attend faculty meetingsSep 06, 2007
Paraprofessionals cannot be required to attend after-school faculty conferences, an independent arbitrator has ruled.
UFT’s fight for smaller classes continuesSep 06, 2007
The UFT’s fight for smaller classes continued unabated over the summer, this time focused on the city’s plan for spending $248 million in new state education aid.
New school year brings...Opportunities and ChallengesSep 06, 2007
Principals who don’t yet understand will have to learn pretty quickly that they need you as partners if they want their schools to work.
The fight for District 79Sep 06, 2007
A vigorous effort by the UFT prevented some 750 educators from being thrown to the wolves this summer when the Department of Education announced at the end of May a top-to-bottom restructuring of District 79.
City to pay poor families for students’ test scoresAug 09, 2007
City Hall announced on June 18 that it is launching a new program this fall that will pay low-income families for, among other things, attending parent-teacher conferences, getting a library card and graduating high school.
Math test results impressiveAug 09, 2007
The news was all good on math scores this year, with 65.1 percent of New York City students in grades 3-8 meeting standards, up 8.1 percentage points from 2006.
UFT to partner with Green Dot in new Bronx charter schoolAug 09, 2007
In what will be the first collaboration of its kind in the nation, the UFT and Green Dot Public Schools announced on June 28 a partnership to bring Green Dot, a prominent nonprofit charter school operator from California that openly embraces unionism, to New York City.
State certifies home-based child-care providers’ right to vote to join a unionAug 09, 2007
Thousands of New York City home-based child-care providers are one giant step closer to joining the UFT family!
City’s spending plan slights class-size reductionAug 09, 2007
Following an outcry from educators and parents at public hearings, the Department of Education on July 16 made modest improvements to its plan for spending $248 million in new state aid, but critics, including the UFT, said that it did not go far enough.
‘I won’t give up’Aug 09, 2007
When he was sent away to the Tibetan Children’s Village boarding school at 6 years old, the principal gave him a piece of paper that said Roll No. 5622, Home 21.
‘Remarkable’Aug 09, 2007
The auditorium at UFT headquarters in lower Manhattan was the scene of unbridled jubilation on June 5 when the union awarded $1 million in college scholarships to 176 worthy high school graduates.
City budget funds UFT prioritiesAug 09, 2007
Strong lobbying by UFT members and a responsive City Council resulted in a city operating budget with ample funding for the schools as the Council on June 15 ratified its $59 billion fiscal year 2008 budget.
Questions loom as mayor, Council hash out record budgetJun 07, 2007
The city’s budget deadline is June 30 and, as the New York Teacher went to press, talks between the City Council and the mayor are ongoing on what looks to be a record-breaking $60 billion city budget.
Whistle-blower bill becomes lawJun 07, 2007
Educators who report harm against children, including risk to their “educational welfare,” will be protected from retaliation under a bill that became law on June 5.
Denied a transfer unfairly? Tell unionMay 24, 2007
The union has reserved its right to pursue a grievance against the inclusion of teacher salaries in the Open Market Transfer Plan if there is evidence that senior teachers are being unjustly denied transfers.
Proposal to set rally deadline defeatedMay 24, 2007
The delegates defeated a motion by Manhattan high school chapter leaders to put on next month’s agenda a resolution to set an actual date in late June for a rally to fight for changes in the reorganization.
Weingarten: Principal required to collaborate on budget prioritiesMay 24, 2007
UFT President Randi Weingarten reminded the Delegate Assembly that principals must meet with the chapter leader and the UFT chapter committee to discuss, explain and seek input on the school budget.
Delegates hear from support providersMay 24, 2007
UFT delegates on May 9 got to hear firsthand from a representative from each of the support organizations that are offering their services to city schools starting next September.
Deputy mayor outlines plan for city’s futureMay 24, 2007
UFT delegates were briefed on the mayor’s Plan for the Future.
Special deliveryMay 24, 2007
Moving full-speed ahead in their organizing drive, the UFT and ACORN on May 17 delivered cards signed by more than 12,000 home-based child-care providers saying they want the UFT to represent them.
Celebration timeMay 24, 2007
A few hours after the governor signed the executive order giving home-based child-care providers the right to join a union, the UFT welcomed several hundred providers to union headquarters for a party to recognize the value of their work that became a victory celebration.
Home-based child-care providers win right to unionizeMay 24, 2007
The UFT reached a milestone in its campaign to organize the city’s home-based child-care providers when Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed an executive order granting the right to unionize to the 52,000 home-based child-care providers in New York State.
Congressional leaders Schumer, Rangel popular ‘Soapbox’ speakersMay 10, 2007
This year’s Operation Soapbox had a different format, but the end result was the same: it was a learning experience and a time to be encouraged.
‘Feeling and looking brand new’May 10, 2007
In what for many is a highlight of the Spring Education Conference, the Hilton’s huge exhibition area once again took on the feel of a carnival.
This year, it took a ‘village’ to win Dewey AwardMay 10, 2007
The presentation of this year’s UFT John Dewey Award was a virtual mini-rally with 14 winners on the dais. And that was fitting, since 13 of them were groups that are part of a coalition to put the public back in public education.
DOE seeks teachers’ opinions in grading schoolsMay 10, 2007
The Department of Education is conducting a citywide survey of teachers’ views on school performance and environment.
Task force: Emphasis on high-stakes testing has had serious negative effectsApr 26, 2007
The Delegate Assembly on April 11 approved a much-anticipated report by the UFT Task Force on High Stakes Testing.
Survey says: Paperwork cuts into teachingApr 26, 2007
Teachers spend nearly five hours and 15 minutes of class time — the equivalent of a day-and-a-quarter of instruction — each week on mandated assessment-related paperwork, according to the preliminary results of a new UFT teacher survey.
Whistle-blower bill passesApr 26, 2007
By a vote of 43-to-1, the City Council passed the UFT-supported “Whistle-blower Bill,” which is meant to encourage reporting of acts against students as well as to protect what it calls “educational whistle-blowers” from harassment and retaliation by school supervisors.
DA votes to postpone City Hall rallyApr 26, 2007
In light of the gains made in the previous week’s agreement with the mayor and the chancellor, UFT delegates voted by a 95 percent margin at a special Delegate Assembly on April 24 to postpone the rally planned for May 9.
Fact sheetApr 26, 2007
Here are the key components of the agreement reached between New York City, the Department of Education and member organizations of the Coalition to Put the Public Back in Public Education.
Coalition reaches agreement with city on planned reorganizationApr 26, 2007
The mayor and the chancellor reached an agreement with the UFT and its coalition partners on April 19 that addressed some of the group’s core concerns about the reorganization.
Beware of pitches from private vendorsApr 12, 2007
The union has received reports that private firms are coming into schools to sell financial products to UFT members, especially members who are considering their retirement options.
Record state budget will lower class sizesApr 12, 2007
The record $120.9 billion state budget includes substantially more money for New York City schools, requires the city to lower class sizes and breaks up the old, inequitable education funding formula.
DA approves major rally, petition driveApr 12, 2007
The UFT delegate body voted unanimously on March 28 to join with the union’s coalition partners for a major citywide demonstration near City Hall on May 9 to “Put the Public Back in Public Education.”
No split assignments for professional periodApr 12, 2007
Principals do not have the right to give teachers split assignments for their professional period, an independent arbitrator has ruled.
Weingarten re-electedMar 29, 2007
Randi Weingarten has been overwhelmingly re-elected as UFT president with more than 87 percent of the votes cast.
Staten Island — Buttons for breakfastMar 29, 2007
Staten Island Borough Representative Emil Pietromonaco had a fail-safe method for getting members charged up on Button Day.
Manhattan — A good platformMar 29, 2007
State Sen. Eric Schneiderman joined in to support teachers at IS 143.
Queens — Cold times, hot wordsMar 29, 2007
Despite the frigid temperatures, sleet and ice across the Brooklyn-Queens border, at PS 120 in Flushing, the educators’ fervor remained warm.
Brooklyn — DOE: The HMO of education?Mar 29, 2007
At a Button Day chapter luncheon at PS 8 in Brooklyn Heights, teachers had a lot to say about why the Department of Education should listen to educators.
The Bronx — neither sleet nor slush nor ice …Mar 29, 2007
Teachers, paras, parents and students marched and raised their voices to protest systemwide restructuring plans outside PS 31, just off the Grand Concourse on East 156th Street.
Button up!Mar 29, 2007
UFT members by the thousands gave visible vent to their frustrations at being ignored by school system administrators on March 16.
DOE to honor summer retention rightsMar 29, 2007
This summer, the UFT will not have to grieve individuals’ retention rights.
Get ready to rallyMar 29, 2007
Another rally to “Put the Public Back in Public Education” is being planned for early May, this time outdoors in the City Hall vicinity.
DOE to institute tenure-alert systemMar 29, 2007
Chancellor Joel Klein announced a new computer-alert system that will notify principals when a teacher’s probationary period is drawing to a close and prompt them to indicate whether the teacher is on track to achieve tenure.
‘Conceptual’ state budget agreement good newsMar 29, 2007
agreement” on a $122 billion budget. While final budget details were still being negotiated between the governor and the state Legislature as the New York Teacher went to press, it appears the state legislators kept their word about the resources.
Whistle-blower axed — againMar 15, 2007
Seven months after a state hearing officer said that it no “longer makes sense” to keep a 37-year veteran teacher out of the classroom, whistle-blower David Pakter is serving a second stint in a Teacher Reassignment Center.
1,500 lobbyists bring class size message to AlbanyMar 15, 2007
“This is our last, best chance to get class sizes down,” UFT President Randi Weingarten told a fired-up, foot-stomping crowd of teachers, parents and students who traveled to Albany on March 13.
Stop, look and listen!Mar 01, 2007
It was a sight not seen in years in New York City: parents, educators, students and elected officials gathered en masse to defend public education.
Strike averted as UFT nurses settle at Lutheran MedicalMar 01, 2007
What looked like a bargaining standoff that would lead inexorably to a March 1 walkout by UFT nurses was averted when management at Brooklyn’s Lutheran Medical Center dropped its key, weeks-long giveback demand.
Weingarten urges state lawmakers to dedicate funding to reduce class sizeMar 01, 2007
UFT President Randi Weingarten on Feb. 27 urged a joint Senate and Assembly committee reviewing Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s proposed education budget to “close the CFE chapter” by both enacting the governor’s basic proposals and with an amendment dedicating a significant chunk of the extra state education money to lowering class sizes in New York City.
On the hot seatFeb 15, 2007
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has tried to promote good will among parents and teachers by holding a series of “roundtables” across the city, but instead has faced much criticism.
Resolution opposing military recruiters in schools passesFeb 15, 2007
High school students Gigi Martino and Lamia Harper felt so strongly about military recruiters having no business in the schools that they had to tell the Delegate Assembly.
Lafayette principal now wants outFeb 15, 2007
Less than a month after UFT delegates voted unanimously to condemn the abusive principal at Lafayette HS, she announced to her staff that she wants to be reassigned, the school’s chapter leader told the Delegate Assembly.
Big turnout expected for Feb. 28 rallyFeb 15, 2007
“It’s time to put the public back in public education.” So says a new coalition of classroom educators, parents, elected officials and students who are coming together under the banner of the Working Families Party to oppose Chancellor Joel Klein’s proposed reorganization.
Staff fighting to save TildenFeb 15, 2007
When the Department of Education announced in mid-December that Tilden HS in Brooklyn would be phased out, the school’s educators and students vowed not to go quietly.
Message is right on the buttonFeb 15, 2007
t’s not just kids who should listen to teachers. “The people who need to be most educated are the adults who are running the school system,” UFT Vice President Michelle Bodden said to an assembly of educators who couldn’t agree more.
Expanded public awareness campaign approvedFeb 15, 2007
UFT delegates went on the offensive against the Department of Education’s proposed reorganization, voting to support a variety of actions intended to hold Chancellor Joel Klein’s feet to the fire.
20,000 faxes!Feb 15, 2007
The fax campaign demanding Albany legislators make lower class size their No. 1 budget priority is on a roll.
A promise keptFeb 15, 2007
After years of famine, city schools may finally be heading toward a period of real nourishment.
Ruling should halt DOE violation of grievance timelineFeb 13, 2007
The UFT won an arbitration decision on Feb. 7 that union officials believe will eliminate a huge backlog of grievances in the chancellor’s office while stopping the Department of Education from dragging its feet in the future.
Union:Test scores and tenure shouldn't be linkedFeb 01, 2007
The UFT put Chancellor Joel Klein on notice on Jan. 18 that it unequivocably opposed the use of student test scores as the basis for tenure decisions.
New financing plan will penalize stable schools, say UFT, budget expertsFeb 01, 2007
Chancellor Joel Klein plans to introduce a new school financing system that he calls simpler and fairer, but school budget experts and the UFT believe it will penalize schools with stable faculties and encourage high turnover.
Standing tallFeb 01, 2007
Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised International HS at Prospect Heights 11th-grader Chime Dolma for her achievements.
Principal can’t read — and it pays off for teachersFeb 01, 2007
Some teachers at IS 192 in the Bronx are celebrating an arbitration victory and waiting for the Department of Education to send each of them $922 award checks — all because their principal couldn't read.
Fax-hike in AlbanyFeb 01, 2007
There’s a blizzard of white descending on Albany, and it’s not the cold and wet kind. What’s pelting the state capital is the storm of UFT faxes demanding smaller class sizes for New York City public schools.
UFT to top state lawmakers: 'Use CFE funds to lower class size'Feb 01, 2007
UFT President Randi Weingarten called on state legislative leaders on Jan. 16 to seize the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” offered by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court case to lower class sizes in all grades.
Shaking up the system — againFeb 01, 2007
Mayor Bloomberg on Jan. 17 announced yet another major reorganization of the city school system — the third in five years — which union officials warned would cause unwelcome instability and turmoil for students and educators.
Spitzer proposals ‘giant step toward keeping his promise’ to public schoolsFeb 01, 2007
UFT President Randi Weingarten said Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s educations proposals "are a giant step toward keeping his promise to the children of New York to improve the education of all public school students across the state.”
Whistle-blower exoneratedJan 18, 2007
A former chapter leader from John F. Kennedy HS in the Bronx and powerful witness in last year’s City Council whistle-blower hearing was exonerated of all charges brought by the Department of Education.
Take action!Jan 18, 2007
Here's how you can help the UFT reach its goal of lowering all class sizes.
‘Best shot’ to lower class sizeJan 18, 2007
With Governor Spitzer committed to enforcing the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court decision, the UFT has launched a lobbying and fax campaign to seize the opportunity to tell state lawmakers that lowering class size should be the No. 1 education-budget priority.
Two grievance victories in District 32Jan 18, 2007
The solidarity of teachers in Brooklyn’s District 32 has paid off once again as they celebrate two more grievance victories.
New contract ratified: Members approve pact by 9-to-1 marginJan 18, 2007
In a resounding thumbs-up, UFT members ratified an early two-year contract with the city by a 9-to-1 ratio.
Money to pay holiday bills!Jan 08, 2007
All UFT-represented full-time educators this month received a $750 lump-sum payment — the first dividend from the new contract.
Union cheers bond sale for school constructionDec 07, 2006
Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Nov. 16 announced the sale of $650 million in school bonds — backed by the first installment of the unprecedented amount of state aid for New York City school construction approved in the last legislative session.
Court punts CFE ball to AlbanyDec 07, 2006
Now that the state’s highest court has ordered at least $1.93 billion more a year for New York City schools, educators are gearing up to fight to ensure that Campaign for Fiscal Equity money gets to city schoolchildren and is wisely spent.
Process more democratic and inclusive than everNov 16, 2006
The 300-member negotiating committee made up mostly of rank-and-file members guided the process toward the new contral proposal every step of the way.
New 5-year longevityNov 16, 2006
The tentative contract provides a new five-year longevity for teachers, paraprofessionals and other titles.
Strategy almost year in the makingNov 16, 2006
The long and contentious battle surrounding the 2005 contract produced a resolve among UFT members to do things differently this time.
Paid sessions of extracurricular work up by 12Nov 16, 2006
The proposed new contract has big gains, but there is plenty to write home about even the smaller improvements.
Drug co-pay cap, medical leave for secretaries and lab specialistsNov 16, 2006
The Memorandum of Agreement provides for several new and enhanced health-care benefits — including more money for the union’s Welfare Fund and the restoration of medical leave for school secretaries and lab specialists.
An early contract!Nov 16, 2006
The union and the city reached a tentative agreement on an early contract that has no erosion of working conditions, no additional work time, an upfront cash payment of $750, and a 7.1 percent across-the-board raise.
New resource for teachers facing incompetence chargesNov 13, 2006
Educators who face incompetence charges have an additional resource available to them under the proposed new contract.
Campaign to promote role of teacher, bipartisan committee on DR selection processNov 13, 2006
Saying that the extraordinary work that teachers do often goes unrecognized, UFT Vice President for Elementary Schools Michelle Bodden introduced and urged adoption of a resolution crafted to remedy that disconnect.
DA resoundingly recommends ratification of contractNov 13, 2006
After a wide-ranging, hour-long debate, UFT delegates at the Nov. 8 Delegate Assembly resoundingly recommended that members ratify the proposed contract agreement.
UFT continuing to bargainNov 02, 2006
The UFT met with the city on Oct. 19 and again on Oct. 25 to exchange contract demands.
You’re closer to owning that home!Oct 19, 2006
Thousands more UFT members will qualify for breaks on home mortgages under an agreement reached by the UFT and the community group ACORN with Bank of America and Citigroup.
After 13 years, is school funding case near settlement?Oct 19, 2006
A showdown hearing may end the long-running Campaign for Fiscal Equity school funding case.
UFT, city OK job security for parasOct 05, 2006
The UFT has reached an agreement with DOE negotiators on final language in the contract for paraprofessionals.
UFT wins more funds to help educators do their jobsOct 05, 2006
More funding for copying machines, faculty furniture and Teacher’s Choice were added to the city’s final budget — thanks to the City Council and UFT lobbying.
When sharing isn’t goodOct 03, 2006
Forty teachers and two dozen students demonstrated outside the Taft HS campus in the Bronx on Sept. 19 to protest overcrowded classes.
UFT files 6,399 grievances for classes above contract limitsOct 03, 2006
The UFT, working closely with chapter leaders, filed demands for arbitration over oversized classes using the expedited grievance procedure in the contract.
A school to show what worksSep 21, 2006
The UFT Secondary Charter School, an ambitious effort to show that schools can offer an excellent education to lower-income children, has opened its doors.
School chapters are the lifeblood of the unionSep 21, 2006
The school chapter is the lifeblood of the union. With that in mind, the UFT is ramping up its efforts to prepare chapter leaders so they have the tools and information they need to create and maintain effective chapters.
For openers, lower class size pushedSep 07, 2006
New York City notables joined UFT President Randi Weingarten in welcoming everyone back to school, but also to call attention to the ongoing problem of oversized classes.
Despite some glitches, teachers pave way for smooth openingSep 07, 2006
At schools across the city on Sept. 5, teachers reconnected with students and parents as the new school year got off to a mostly smooth start.
Ruling on speech teachers proves added 37.5 minutes not a teaching periodSep 07, 2006
Principals and other supervisors can no longer order speech teachers in non-District 75 schools to work an additional regular teaching period during the 37.5 minutes.
For safety’s sake, UFT launches online reporting systemSep 07, 2006
The mayor and the schools chancellor boast of steady improvements in school safety and that is true in some schools, but in many others educators report anecdotally that many disciplinary problem incidents remain.
17 unions, including UFT, unite in bargaining coalitionAug 17, 2006
UFT President Randi Weingarten joined with the leaders of 19 other municipal unions on the steps of City Hall on June 23 to announce that they had banded together as a coalition to bargain on wages and benefits with the city.
Senate overrides Pataki veto of home day-care providers billAug 17, 2006
The battle to win organizing rights for home day-care providers in New York City crossed a crucial threshold during the final hours of the legislative session in June when the New York State Senate voted to override the governor’s veto of a bill giving the providers the right to form a union.
Home day-care workers to governor: Sign the bill!Jun 08, 2006
Chants of “Sign the bill! ¡Firme la propuesta!” echoed down 3rd Avenue on May 24 as more than 1,000 home day-care providers and their supporters gathered outside Gov. George Pataki’s Midtown office to call on him to sign legislation allowing them to unionize.
Small-class-size TV ad: Let voters decideJun 08, 2006
New Yorkers for Smaller Classes aired a television ad campaign as part of its drive to let voters decide if the city should invest in lower class sizes for public school students.
Coalition fighting for smaller classes hits streetsJun 08, 2006
Supporters of the broad-based coalition New Yorkers for Smaller Classes blanketed the five boroughs on May 25, handing out fliers that urged the public to think big about classrooms by “thinking small.”
Dental benefits get needed boostMay 25, 2006
The UFT is infusing $15 million into the union Welfare Fund to improve dental benefits for members, UFT President Randi Weingarten announced at the May 17 Delegate Assembly.
‘We can lower class size’May 25, 2006
UFT President Randi Weingarten sounded a call to arms on class sizes in early May when she urged educators, parents, community leaders and elected officials to mobilize a major effort to bring the issue to voters.
NYSUT, NEA/NY mergeMay 11, 2006
Delegates at the NYSUT Representative Assembly in Rochester May 5 voted unanimously to unite with the National Education Association in New York State.
Teachers, parents relaunch uphill battle to lower class sizeMay 11, 2006
An injection of $11.2 billion in new construction money, added to an earlier court order for billions more in day-to-day school aid, made smaller class sizes a real possibility in the city for the first time in decades.
CTT teacher: Just give us a chanceMay 11, 2006
The Department of Education’s about-face on collaborative team teaching is also good news to Erik Raschke, a CTT teacher at an upper Manhattan middle school who thinks team teaching works when given the chance.
Yea, team!May 11, 2006
The Department of Education dropped its challenge to a UFT-won arbitration and directed principals to ensure that students mandated to receive collaborative team teaching (CTT) for “all” periods receive the services of both a general education teacher and a special education teacher, “consistent with students’ IEPs.”
DA says ‘no’ to more work time in future contractsMay 11, 2006
The UFT’s highest policy-making body on April 26 passed five resolutions that together set major parts of the union’s strategic course over the next 18 months.
Ed funding intact as state budget battle endsMay 11, 2006
The overrides of Gov. George Pataki’s vetos ended the budget battle with the state Legislature with an increase in education funding, a big boost in school construction dollars, and no diversion of funding for vouchers in the guise of education tax credits.
‘Wrong Man’ (not the movie) plays in QueensMay 11, 2006
Cardozo HS English teacher Ara Muradyan was greeted with cheers from his colleagues and students when he went back to work on April 27 after a trip through the horrors and injustices of the New York City legal system.
UFT seeks balanced cell-phone policyMay 09, 2006
The UFT has urged Schools Chancellor Joel Klein to change the city’s cell-phone policy. It supports continuing the ban on student use of cell phones in schools but lifting the outright ban on students carrying cell phones.
‘Heroes’ of the education systemApr 13, 2006
Executives at public television went back to their roots last month by sponsoring a two-day event honoring teachers.
Union begins to prepare for 2007 negotiationsApr 13, 2006
Kicking off the 2007 negotiations, the UFT’s new, 346-member negotiating committee met for the first time on April 5 to discuss core values and start mapping out strategy.
Weingarten proposal: Taylor Law should require automatic COLAApr 13, 2006
UFT President Randi Weingarten has proposed changing the Taylor Law to establish the presumption that municipal workers are entitled to wage hikes that at least keep pace with increases in the cost of living.
State budget is good news for city’s public schoolsApr 13, 2006
It might be too early to pass out the proverbial cigars, but advocates for public education cheered the state Legislature’s support for school construction and a tax credit for all parents after an on-time state budget was approved in Albany for the second year in a row.
CFE gets jump-start as court again orders state to boost school aidMar 30, 2006
On March 23, New York City public school children inched one step closer to an adequately funded education.
Parent power adds punch to lobby messageMar 30, 2006
Holding high a “CFE Now” sign, Sharon Bailey roared her approval as speaker after speaker said New York City public schools deserve more money from the state.
Fighting together for what kids needMar 30, 2006
Setting a new precedent, parents parted ways with the Department of Education and opted to travel to Albany with the UFT on Lobby Day 2006. The alliance was a natural.
Districts 6 and 2 are in the houseMar 30, 2006
Among the 1,400 teachers who lobbied for the UFT in Albany earlier this month was a group of some 40 teachers from schools in District 6, where overcrowding continues to be a major problem.
Teachers, parents to Albany: Fund CFE nowMar 30, 2006
In an unprecedented display of unity, nearly 1,000 parents and students and a contingent of City Council members joined with 1,400 teachers and other UFT members on March 14 at two separate rallies and in visits to legislators’ offices to demand better financing for city schools.
Perfect class-size storm might be formingMar 30, 2006
Class-size reduction — always a simmering issue in New York City — looks set to reach the boiling point in the next few weeks as four major events converge.
Stossel accepts challenge to teach for a weekMar 30, 2006
So “20/20” co-anchor John Stossel thinks teaching in a city public school is a cushy job? He’s about to find out.
UFTers rally at ABC to demand fairnessMar 16, 2006
More than a thousand chapter leaders, delegates and other UFT members picketed ABC-TV headquarters last week to protest John Stossel’s “20/20” segment, “Stupid in America.”
Expanded contract negotiating committee approvedMar 16, 2006
In preparation for the 2007 contract negotiations, the UFT is creating an expanded negotiating team to steer the next round of negotiations.
How the law would workMar 16, 2006
Here's how the proposed amendment to the city whistle-blower law would enhance protection for “whistle-blowing” educators.
‘Whistle-blowing’ educators recount chilling stories of retaliationMar 16, 2006
Several wrenching stories of retaliation were recounted by teachers at a March 2 City Council Education Committee hearing on proposed legislation to protect “whistle-blower” educators.
Amnesty policy offered in wake of scandalMar 02, 2006
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein announced an amnesty program for Department of Education employees who live outside the five boroughs and who are sending their children to New York City schools without paying the annual fee in lieu of tuition.
1,500 march in Albany for tax creditMar 02, 2006
About 1,500 schoolchildren and educators from Catholic schools and yeshivas thronged the steps of the Capitol on Feb. 14 to urge lawmakers to back a proposal by Gov. George Pataki to provide a tax credit that could be used to pay private or parochial school tuition.
SED: City middle school doesn’t comply with curriculum requirementsMar 02, 2006
In a decision that could have far-reaching implications for the city’s middle schools, a State Education Department investigation has found that IS 228 in Brooklyn, a middle school that is similar to many in the city, failed to comply with state mandates on curriculum.
Special investigator releases scathing report on McCaskillMar 02, 2006
Richard Condon, the city’s Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District, released a scathing report last month on former Brooklyn Technical HS principal Lee McCaskill.
UFT joins mayor, Council speaker in urging Albany to give court-ordered school aidMar 02, 2006
In a rare joint appearance, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and UFT President Randi Weingarten stood side by side at a City Hall press conference on Feb. 13 to ramp up the pressure on Albany to comply with a court order mandating billions of dollars in additional aid for New York City schools.
Bus chaos causes tears, confusionFeb 16, 2006
Staten Island students got a lesson they will never forget last week — right up there with Everyday Math, Shakespeare and the Classics: Don’t count on government leaders to get you back and forth to school on time.
First day of new contract implementation a mixed bag, union saysFeb 16, 2006
The launch of the new tutoring sessions on Feb. 6 was rocky at some schools while the transition to new schedules and split dismissals went more smoothly in others.
Delegates OK resolution to explore alternative contract strategiesFeb 16, 2006
In preparation for the 2007 contract negotiations, UFT delegates agreed on Feb. 8 to explore adopting two new approaches to bargaining.
After the ordealFeb 16, 2006
The Delegate Assembly last week welcomed as heroes a delegation of teachers from Brooklyn Tech who were part of the nucleus of the group that stood up to Lee McCaskill and his administration’s campaign of harassment and intimidation.
Brooklyn Tech principal retires in disgraceFeb 16, 2006
Embattled Brooklyn Tech HS principal Lee McCaskill abruptly “retired” under fire last week.
Family mattersFeb 16, 2006
In 2006, the Bronx’s schools in District 12 are aflame with union fervor and activism.
Weingarten to MLC: Consider Coalition BargainingFeb 16, 2006
UFT President Randi Weingarten urged her fellow municipal labor leaders on Jan. 26 to consider bargaining as a coalition in the next round of negotiations.
Union hits DOE with age discrimination chargeFeb 16, 2006
The UFT has filed an age discrimination complaint against the Department of Education and accused it of condoning illegal acts in forcing teachers to retire.
DA blasts ABC over teacher-union-bashingFeb 02, 2006
The UFT delegate body overwhelmingly approved on Jan. 18 a plan to organize a petition drive and rally outside ABC headquarters to protest a Jan. 13 “20/20” segment that maligned the union and its members.
Delegates have their sayJan 19, 2006
Nearly 50 UFT members voiced their concerns at an unprecedented “Speak Out” at the Delegate Assembly last month.
Adult ed chapter’s letter of censure hits DOEJan 19, 2006
In a gesture of deep unhappiness, the UFT’s adult education chapter sent a scathing letter to the adult ed program’s administration, censuring it “for its gross negligence, blatant incompetence and deliberate disregard for the teachers and students.”
Dead end for ‘Passages’Jan 19, 2006
Rather than fix health and safety problems at a Bronx Alternative to Detention site, the city announced last month that it was terminating the 30-year-old program in March and sending new students back to regular middle and high schools.
UFT charter schools get $1 million grantDec 08, 2005
The UFT Charter School, the first union-run charter school in the country, has received a grant of up to $1 million — and a huge vote of confidence — from a Los Angeles-based philanthropic foundation that ordinarily doesn’t fund individual schools or union-initiated ventures.
Council to vote on whistle-blower billDec 08, 2005
Legislation to protect Department of Education employees from retaliation for reporting wrongdoing in their schools will likely be voted on by the City Council in December.
Weingarten: Para release time is safeDec 08, 2005
UFT President Randi Weingarten sought to assure paraprofessionals that their Career Ladder Program remains intact.
UFT: DOE must protect educators against blood-borne infectionsDec 08, 2005
UFT President Randi Weingarten has raised the plight of a Queens paraprofessional to demand that the Department of Education protect educators at risk of exposure to contagious and life-threatening pathogens in blood and bodily fluids.
Disaster relief lapel pins, resolution garner approvalNov 17, 2005
Before passing a resolution last week supporting hurricane victims along the Gulf Coast, members of the Delegate Assembly had the chance to purchase “UFT Relief Fund” lapel pins for $10 upon entering the meeting.
UFT members ratify contractNov 17, 2005
Ending a long and bitter battle for a fair contract, UFT-represented educators across the city approved a 52-month pact with the Bloomberg administration that provides a 15 percent pay increase in exchange for a slightly longer school day and other tradeoffs.
Para reps get answersNov 17, 2005
Gains for paras in the new contract dominated discussion at last month’s citywide meeting of UFT paraprofessional representatives.
Read it and win!Nov 17, 2005
It really does pay to read the New York Teacher! Just ask Susan Soler, a teacher at PS 3 in Greenwich Village, whose classroom was “gift-wrapped” with a big red ribbon across the door when the kids came to school on the morning of Sept. 29.
State reading gains overstated?Nov 03, 2005
Newly released scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) nationwide student tests, which were given to 4th- and 8th-graders across the country last spring, present a very different picture from what statewide exams reported earlier this year.
UFT, NYSUT help unionists make history in MexicoNov 03, 2005
UFT and NYSUT scored a major victory last spring in their effort to support a fledgling independent teachers’ union in Central Mexico: the first-ever secret ballot election in a country where labor is typically controlled by the government.
District 32 schools earn their freedomNov 03, 2005
Solidarity in District 32 in Bushwick put teachers in 19 schools ahead of the game when they won the right in June to ease the Department of Education’s lockstep mandates, including its edict, “the workshop model or else,” that has had teachers everywhere up in arms.
Will ‘free trade’ claim schools as next victim?Nov 03, 2005
Is schooling, like the melon and the memory chip, a salable, tradable commodity? It could be, if U.S. negotiators succeed in including education in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) treaty.
NLRB ruling against UCP upheldNov 03, 2005
The UFT scored a major victory in its ongoing battle with United Cerebral Palsy when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Oct. 14 affirmed a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that teachers and specialists at its Brooklyn site were not supervisors, as UCP officials had claimed.
No way to treat a new teacherNov 03, 2005
The brand new teacher was starting to “feel good about my lessons and teaching persona,” had figured out how to help Ralphie get his thoughts on paper and finally tamed an unruly class. Then she was excessed.
‘Why should education stop at 16 or 17?’Nov 03, 2005
There is an eagerness to learn among students at the Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center, a stable hub in the DOE’s tuition-free adult education program, which serves 28,000 students citywide.
Teachers picket Brooklyn TechNov 03, 2005
Teachers at Brooklyn Technical HS picketed during Open School Night last week and were suppported by students and alumni, including a UFT retiree who graduated in 1959 and drove from Pennsylvania to show his support for the harassed educators.
Adult ed dying from neglectNov 03, 2005
The Department of Education’s adult ed program has closed classes and cut staff for three years in a row even as state funds for adult ed have increased.
DOE’s own report cites its special ed failuresNov 03, 2005
UFT Vice President for Special Education Carmen Alvarez knew that the harm being done to children had worsened exponentially since the Bloomberg-Klein reorganization. Now she can cite backing from a welcome if unlikely source: the city’s own special education report.
Brooklyn ‘Wreck’Oct 06, 2005
The diabolical spirit of Savonarola the book-burning monk, the remnants of virulent anti-Semitism and the policies of 1930s misogynists who thought a woman’s place was in the home have helped destroy the morale of teachers at one of the city’s premier high schools.
