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UFT Political Action

The UFT Political Action Department is the political arm of our union. The UFT takes part in a variety of political battles on behalf of our members and the children and families we work with. Electing politicians who fight for public education and a robust health care system goes hand-in-hand with the UFT’s work of strengthening communities and fighting for the common good, whether that is protecting immigration and voter rights, demanding lower class sizes or fighting for fair school funding for all neighborhoods.

Local and state politics deeply affect the New York City public school system and life in our city. Indeed, some of the most important decisions that affect city parents, students and teachers are taken in the State Senate and Assembly in Albany. For this reason, we work to influence those decisions in collaboration with our statewide affiliate, the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). Past efforts have included fighting for more education funding in the state budget and better governance rules over city schools.

See a list of our community partners »

Our commitment is to quality public education for all of New York City’s children, workplace rights for all the employees we represent, and social and economic justice for the communities in which our students, patients and families live. Political action — electing politicians who support children and schools, pressuring those who stand in the way and working side-by-side with our community allies — is critical to achieving these ends.

For more information or to get involved in political action, contact the department at 212-598-6850. You can also contact a member of our team or your borough’s political action coordinator below:

Political action team

Vanecia Wilson, Political Director
Brigit Rein, City Hall Liason
Dermot Smyth, Political Special Representative
Louis Cholden-Brown, Policy Advisor/Counsel
Samantha Wilner, Policy Analyst
Maria Lisa Spencer, Administrative Assistant 

Borough political action coordinators

Brooklyn: Greg Monte
Bronx: Margaret Borrelli
Manhattan: Dennis Gault
Queens: Lamar Hughes
Staten Island: Donna Coppola