This summer, the union launched Childcare Connection, a benefit to help UFT members find out if they qualify for free or reduced-cost child care as well as to find home-based child care providers near their home or work.


Membership in the UFT means never having to figure it out all alone, with union support and resources across the spectrum of financial, physical and mental wellness. Here is a list of resources available to UFT members.

Kindergarten teacher Samantha Shekian created a “request a selfie” station to give students the chance to request a photo of themselves and the work of which they are proud. Then she sends the photo to their parents.

New special education teacher Emily Hang Duong, who teaches math and science at IS 234 in Brooklyn, motivates her students by never letting them forget that they have every opportunity to grow.

Harlem 4th-grade teachers Melody Naccarato and Pura Luna let their students get their hands dirty as they learned about plants and biodiversity during a class trip to the historic Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum in the Bronx.

Hundreds of families packed the schoolyard at PS 21 on Staten Island for the UFT's third annual back-to-school backpack giveaway, where children received needed backpacks and school supplies, served alongside food and fun.

UFT members and parent volunteers handed out back packs and other school supplies to more than 1,000 students during this year's Harlem Week festivities.

About 1,500 new teachers became proud new members of the UFT at the opening day of the Department of Education’s annual New Teacher Week.


Take advantage of all that August offers for your mental and physical health by following these tips for summer bliss, relaxation and safety.

While the slower pace of the summer months presents an opportunity to improve our private habits and routines, we can also turn our attention to an aspect of health that’s too often ignored in an individualistic culture: our social relationships.