Teacher’s Choice, since it was initiated more than 25 years ago by the UFT, has been funded as a special allocation of the City Council. In a major milestone for the program that reimburses educators for some of their out-of-pocket spending on classroom supplies, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Council agreed on June 14 to allocate funds for Teacher’s Choice as part of the annual city budget.

In a big victory for the UFT, union-supported legislation curbing hospitals from charging exorbitant fees to out-of-network patients for emergency care passed both houses of the state legislature in June and now needs Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature to become law. 


During the final Delegate Assembly of the school year on June 12, UFT President Michael Mulgrew talked about how the new DOE-UFT contract has given members a greater voice in their workplaces this year.

Nine public school teachers were among the honorees at the annual Blackboard Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding educators on June 10 at the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

Abe Levine, the first vice president for elementary schools and a steadfast presence at the UFT until his final months, died at age 89 on June 13.

UFT members Connor Valvo, a teacher at Kingsborough Early College Secondary School, and Janu Williams, a school counselor at the HS for Sports Management, both in Brooklyn, were honored by the city DOE in June for providing lifesaving assistance to colleague Elizabeth Kullman last November.

The UFT family grew by nearly 1,000 new teachers on June 17, as the Department of Education welcomed its newest cohort of New York City Teaching Fellows at an event at City Tech in Brooklyn.

The UFT is open for business throughout the summer on a modified schedule.

"You are the best," schools Chancellor Richard Carranza told 17 Big Apple Award winners at the seventh annual awards ceremony at the city Department of Education headquarters in Manhattan on June 11. In addition to their Big Apple honors, the 17 educators will form the Chancellor’s Teacher Advisory Group.

With the UFT’s support, Farah Louis won the special election on May 14 to fill the New York City Council seat left vacated by Jumaane Williams when he became the city’s public advocate.