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Temp agencies can’t help the DOE solve its paraprofessional shortage
The City Department of Education cannot use its inability to recruit paraprofessionals as an excuse to hire temp employees from an outside employment agency, according to the state’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
UFT statement on Democratic midterm election wins
UFT President Michael Mulgrew issued a statement about the historic Nov. 2026 Democratic midterm election victories.
UFT On Air: The NY Teacher Podcast - Episode 3
On this episode of UFT On Air, we'll get the latest on contract negotiations and hear from some members on the negotiating committee. Then we'll head over to Central Park and talk to folks who came out for the Strides Against Breast Cancer walk and others who held Pink days in their schools. Also in this episode, we’re speaking with a Chapter Leader in West Harlem about how she and her colleagues took on a broken discipline process in their school. We’ll also dig deep on two of your rights in this episode: prep periods and mentoring. And we'll take you inside the union’s anti-bullying conference.
Draining public education
U.S. public education dollars under a federal school voucher scheme will be tapped out.
Nov. 3 is Election Day
Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Early voting ends on Sunday, Nov. 1.
The UFT's national affiliate, the AFT, has issued endorsements for congressional candidates, while our statewide organization, NYSUT, has issued endorsements in congressional...
Stand up in unity and fight for your rights
UFT Vice President Karen Alford encourages members not to go it alone or accept disrespectful treatment at the workplace, and reminds members that being part of a union means they have a voice in the workplace and mechanisms for addressing problems...
Christina Rodriguez, Itinerant DHHES teacher
Meet Christina Rodriguez, an itinerant Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education Services teacher, and learn what drives her passion for her work supporting in self-advocacy, assistive technology and curriculum access.
Getting the most out of co-teaching
Co-teaching effectively can mean delivering a lesson that is better than what a single teacher could have achieved alone so it’s worth experimenting with and practicing the most effective models. 7th-grade ELA teacher Mary Samuel shares her expertise...
Wellness at work
Maintaining wellness at work is about more than work. Learn tips on how to set boundaries and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
UFT slams Hochul’s embrace of voucher deal
UFT is slamming Gov. Kathy Hochul's decision to opt New York State in to a federal voucher scheme that incentivizes taxpayers to donate to organizations that grant scholarships to private schools.
Rolling up their sleeves for Election Day
RTC rolled up their sleeves to help get out the vote for this year's midterm elections. Retirees staffed RTC phone banks, making calls in support of incumbents with pro-public education and pro-labor records. They also went door to door to canvass...
Members enjoy savings on movies and more
Through membership in the UFT, retirees have access to thousands of deals on everything from reduced-price Broadway and movie tickets to discounts on flights, hotels, cruises, flowers, meal preparation services and New York Yankees tickets.
Save with TDA & Roth option
Learn your options for saving for your retirement with the UFT's Tax-Deferred Annuity program and/or the Roth option, and remember that it's never too early to start.
UFT joins RESPECT check lawsuit
The UFT has joined on as a defendant alongside the City Council to address the Mamdani administration's lawsuit challenging the Council's passage of the RESPECT check legislation for paraprofessionals. The UFT argues the administration has no...
2 major wins for retirees
RTC Chapter Leader Bennett Fischer tells retirees of two wins in the October DA impacting securing retiree benefits: the UFT will campaign to improve the annual pension Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and a resolution supporting a City Council bill...
Contract negotiations with the DOE
The UFT-DOE contract expires in November 2027, and UFT members are already preparing for bargaining with the city DOE, starting with the convening of the 750-member UFT Contract Negotiating Committee. Learn the answers to your questions about what...
Sharing the love of reading
Retired paraprofessional Belkis Marte shares her passion for reading children in her native Dominican Republican in one of dozens of reading nooks she’s created there since her retirement.
Queens members, with UFT aid, get problem principal ousted
Members at PS 35 in Hollis, Queens, are feeling victorious after a protracted fight against a retaliatory principal results in the principal being ousted. Chapter Leader Jonathan Licata, who, with the UFT's help, led his colleagues in the battle for...
Join the fight for full class-size compliance
UFT President Michael Mulgrew extols the fact that members' hard work has resulted in the city being in 70% compliance with the state's class-size law. But he warns getting to full, 100% compliance will be difficult. He invites members to join the...
On The “SEEN” With UFT
UFT members make great things happen every day in every way. Here are just a few snapshots of members in action.
Centering humans in education
UFT, NYSUT and AFT experts and advocates joined hundreds of educators from across the state for NYSUT's 'Unplugged" conference. There, they discussed how to tackle deficits educators are seeing due to overreliance on technology, and ways to ensure...
Ohio EdChoice ruled unconstitutional
An Ohio appeals court has declared the state’s private school voucher program unconstitutional, ruling that the EdChoice program sets up a competing school system not subject to the same obligations as public schools and hurts public education by...
Tech workers win first contracts at Blizzard
Nearly 1,900 video game workers at Microsoft-owned Blizzard Entertainment won their first union contracts in September, a significant win in an industry that has been hammered with layoffs.
DOE-approved assistive tech
Assistive technology that supports student IEP goals falls outside the city Department of Education’s new screentime limits. Learn about DOE-approved AT programs that can help boost the academic performance and confidence of special needs students.
Celebrating cultural connections
This school year, the city DOE school calendar recognizes more holidays across regions and religions than ever before. Such diversity creates opportunities for educators to celebrate traditions in meaningful ways that both authentically represent...
Health care and prescriptions
All you need to know about the high-quality health benefits and supplemental coverages you enjoy as a UFT member or retiree.
US DOE officially weakens Title IX
The U.S. Department of Education has formally rescinded President Joe Biden’s 2024 Title IX regulations, which had protected students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Getting out the vote for change
Hundreds of UFT members picked up the phones and pounded the pavement this fall to campaign for union-endorsed candidates who support education and labor unions in advance of Nov. 3's midterm elections.
Preparation periods
Preparation periods are among the many meaningful contractual rights UFT members enjoy. Learn all you need to know about these periods of time for teachers to do unassigned professional work.
Stop the ‘trainsanity’
The UFT demands the city Department of Education put an end to the insanity of an increasingly expansive list of mandatory annual trainings. Covering everything from bloodborne pathogens to sexual harassment and diabetes, there just aren’t enough...
No time for mandated trainings
A Staten Island high school teacher joins many of his UFT colleagues in decrying the amount of mandated trainings DOE educators face.
Include mandates in contract negotiations
A Queens elementary teacher is outraged at the amount of uncompensated time it takes to complete mandated trainings and suggests the union include the issue in upcoming contract negotiations.
Standing union strong
Some 750 members — the union’s largest bargaining committee ever — gathered at UFT headquarters for their first in-person meeting to start the work of crafting demands and negotiating a new DOE-UFT contract.
Wanted: Designated mandated-training days
A Brooklyn school social worker advocates for the creation of designated mandated-training days.
UFT sizes up the class size struggle
The city Department of Education will likely achieve the lawful 70% compliance on class size this year, but getting the last 30% of schools to full compliance within the law by 2030 will be the toughest, and the union is ready for the fight ahead...
Thank you for premium-free health care
A Manhattan middle school teacher newly arrived from Tennessee expresses gratitude for the premium-free health care he receives as a UFT member.