Feb. 25, 2026

Petition signatures needed: Tom Brown is our endorsed candidate for TRS trustee

The UFT Delegate Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution to endorse Tom Brown for reelection as a teacher-member on the New York City Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) Board. As a chapter leader, your support is needed to get Tom's name officially on the ballot.

The law requires that the nomination of candidates to the TRS Board be made by petition. To show our full support for Tom, we are asking all in-service UFT members who are TRS members to sign his nominating petition. Those eligible to sign the petition include all regularly appointed in-service TRS members of the school staff. Please gather as many signatures as you can. Make sure each petition sheet is properly certified, as indicated at the bottom of the petition, and returned to the UFT no later than Monday, March 30.

Download the petition

Want to learn more about Tom?

Tom Brown was a classroom Spanish teacher for 29 years and a UFT chapter leader for 18 years, and he has served as a TRS trustee for 12 years, including three as chair of the board.

Throughout his career, he has fought for and won many major improvements to our pension system, including:

• Creating a five-year vesting process for Tier 6
• Changing the final average salary for Tier 6 from five to three years to increase the benefits
• Ensuring auto-enrollment for paraprofessionals

Tom is committed to the fight to fix Tier 6 and has played a key role in strategizing to help shape the union's campaign. Read more about Tom Brown's background and qualifications.

Learn more about TRS elections.

Our RESPECT check bill has been reintroduced

Our 2026 version of the RESPECT check bill has been introduced in the City Council! This milestone is due to all the work that members have put into this campaign, especially the paraprofessionals, who have met with at least 45 City Council members since the new members were sworn in this January.

We knew we would make it happen with this new administration, and now we are on the way to finally taking this over the finish line and giving every paraprofessional a recurring annual payment of $10,000.

More importantly, the bill, now called Intro 0692, includes an improvement: new language in it that creates a path for the city to eventually make this money a permanent part of our contract. Read the full legislation.

Here's what we'll do next:

• We can push City Council members to officially sign on. Our paraprofessionals' meetings with the council members these past two months have confirmed that the overwhelming support for this RESPECT check is still there and stronger than ever. Now we make it official.
• Get the legislation a hearing with the City Council Committee on Civil Service and Labor. Our new speaker, Julie Menin, supports this bill, which will make this much easier than last time.
• Get the legislation passed by the full City Council.

Thanks to City Council members Carmen De La Rosa, Lynn Schulman, Rita Joseph and Virginia Maloney for working with us to get this legislation rewritten and introduced. See answers to questions you may have about the proposed legislation in our RESPECT check FAQ. You can learn more on our RESPECT campaign page and follow @uftparachapter on Instagram for updates and more. We will not stop until we get the RESPECT check legislation passed.

Keep up the fight to fix Tier 6 by "Making It Loud" on 3/6

The most recent day of action to fix Tier 6, Make It Human on Feb. 6, was a triumph, thanks to members across the city who got personal and shared why Tier 6 matters to them. They wallpapered the internet with viral, captivating, creative content. Now we're gearing up for our final citywide day of action, Make It Loud, on Friday, March 6.

• On March 6, "Make It Loud": Pep rally inside our schools to give our turnout teams the send-off they deserve for the Albany rally.
• On March 8, Rally in Albany: Buses and cars will head up from all five boroughs and beyond to join our rally in Albany and show our state that the UFT means business.

ACTION YOU CAN TAKE: Organize a pep rally at your school to support your turnout team. Show off your strength by wearing blue and sharing pictures of the rally on social media (tagging UFT accounts) and by emailing them to uftphotos [at] gmail [dot] com (uftphotos[at]gmail[dot]com).

Get ready for virtual Lobby Day the week of March 16

UFT Lobby Day is on Monday, March 16, in Albany. As we did last year, we are organizing a virtual Lobby Day in our school chapters that same week to amplify our call to lawmakers to fix Tier 6, revamp the Foundation Aid formula and support our other legislative priorities. Check out the toolkit in this Lobby Day resource folder for all you need to make your school's virtual Lobby Day a success. Together, we'll make sure our representatives in Albany can't ignore us. Every tweet counts, and every email counts. Let's be heard loud and clear.

Apply for a fall study sabbatical by March 19

UFT members who are teachers may apply for a sabbatical leave to enhance their teaching skills. Eligible teachers have until Thursday, March 19, to submit an application on SOLAS for a fall study sabbatical for the 2026–27 school year. March 27 is the deadline for a principal's recommendation to be sent to the superintendent. Coursework must be rigorous and related to a member's teaching assignment. All teachers are eligible for a one-year study sabbatical after 14 years of service. Junior high or high school classroom teachers with seven years on the job may also apply for a six-month study sabbatical for the spring semester only. The deadline to apply for a spring sabbatical is in the fall. During a study sabbatical, whether six months or a full year, teachers earn 70% of their salary. Throughout the year, eligible teachers may also apply for a sabbatical leave to restore their health if they are ill. During a yearlong sabbatical for restoration of health, teachers earn 70% of their salary, too. Find out more in the sabbatical leaves section of the UFT website. Members can read the current guidelines and eligibility requirements in the DOE sabbatical memo, which the DOE updates and reissues each spring, and Chancellor's Regulation C-650 on Sabbatical Leaves of Absence.