WHEREAS, the United Federation of Teachers was founded on March 16, 1960 as a result of a merger between the Teachers Guild and an organization of teachers called the Committee for Action Through Unity; and

WHEREAS, the UFT will celebrate its 54th anniversary on March 16, 2014; and

WHEREAS, the success of the fledgling UFT led to a wave of teacher unionism across the country, leading to a national recognition of the importance of public education to our country's future, increased funding for schools and higher professional standards for educators along with fairer compensation; and

WHEREAS, many gains that the UFT fought so hard to win and protect are now under attack around the country, including due process protections; the establishment of the principle of seniority to guard against cronyism; decent pensions as a form of deferred compensation for years of hard work and dedication; and dignity and respect on the job; and

WHEREAS, since its founding the UFT has grown to 200,000 members with diverse job titles that include paraprofessionals, nurses, family child care providers, occupational and physical therapists, therapist supervisors, guidance counselors, school social workers and psychologists, school secretaries, speech teachers, hearing education services providers, lab specialists, administrative law judges and more; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the UFT acknowledges and celebrates this 54th anniversary of our union's founding, and honors the officers and members whose sacrifice over the years have kept the union strong in the face of adversity and made it a model of effective and progressive unionism for all those we serve.