March 26, 2026

Tell Albany we're not playing when it comes to Tier 6

Our legislators in Albany are stalled on Tier 6 reform. This week, UFT members made it clear that fixing Tier 6 is not negotiable by swarming legislators' social media. We told our elected officials that any budget that doesn't include significant Tier 6 reform should be a no vote.

We are doing a great job keeping the heat on Albany. If you haven't yet, take one minute to send a pre-written email to your legislators telling them to vote no on any budget that fails to fix Tier 6.

Send the email

UFT members are not backing down, giving up or going away. We're in this fight until we win it.

The RESPECT check is at the top of the UFT's city legislative priorities

The UFT released its legislative budget priorities for New York City in 2026. On March 23, UFT President Michael Mulgrew testified before the City Council to outline our key goals for the city budget. Chief among them is RESPECT for paraprofessionals. We're asking the City Council to pass our RESPECT check legislation, Int. 0692-2026, to give paraprofessionals an additional $10,000 per year. Forty-six City Council members, a veto-proof supermajority, have signed on as sponsors of the bill, thanks to lobbying efforts by UFT paraprofessionals and other UFT members.

Our other priorities include:

• Class size: The School Construction Authority must update the capital plan so that it creates the new seats we need to fully comply with state-mandated class size reduction.
• Child care: We are eager to partner with the mayor and the City Council to fulfill the promise of truly universal 3-K and to ensure the successful rollout of 2-K for families across New York City.
• Fund UFT programs: We're asking city legislators to continue to support vital UFT programs like the Teacher Center, United Community Schools, the Member Assistance Program and the Positive Learning Collaborative.

Read more about the priorities

Final call for Tom Brown petitions

This is the last week to collect and submit signatures for the petition to nominate Tom Brown for teacher-member trustee of the TRS board. Tom is the current chair of the Teachers' Retirement System and was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of the UFT Delegate Assembly to seek reelection and help all of us secure our financial futures.

This election determines who represents and makes decisions on behalf of all TRS contributors, including you and your chapter members. To get Tom on the ballot, the UFT is asking for your help making sure your members sign our petition.

What we need from you:

Please gather signatures from members who have not yet signed our petition. But remember, contributors can sign only one petition. If someone signs more than one petition, their signature may be voided. This applies even if the additional petition they signed was for a candidate other than Tom Brown.

Make sure each petition sheet is properly certified, as indicated at the bottom of the sheet, and returned to the UFT no later than Monday, March 30.

Your support is essential to keeping our pension system stable for all UFT members.

Resources:

• Learn more about Tom Brown.
• Download the petition to nominate Tom Brown.
• Support Tom with the Tom for TRS toolkit.

Summer school application process is open

The DOE is accepting applications for its Summer Rising 2026 program. The program is open to all students in grades K–12 who wish to attend. Teachers will receive mandated pre-service training on Monday, June 29, and Tuesday, June 30. Instruction for K–8 students, which is Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, begins on July 1. Summer school for high school students begins on July 9. You can see the Summer Rising calendar and individual postings for further schedule details. Once you have reviewed the job posting for your job title, you can apply via the DOE's Summer Rising online application system. Each Summer Rising applicant must re-register on the website as a new user. Retention rights must be claimed and will be honored for all positions. The deadline to apply for a summer school position is April 30.

Learn more

Encourage your school leadership team to host a table at our Spring Education Conference on May 16

The Spring Education Conference, the UFT's premier event to celebrate, support and empower our work as public school educators, is fast approaching! Organize a group of members from your school to attend this year's event.

• Date: Saturday, May 16
• Time: 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
• Where: New York Hilton Midtown

As always, there will be a town hall at breakfast, CTLE workshops, an exhibit fair at which career and technical education students show off their skills and a gala luncheon. This year's workshops will delve into the ever-evolving nature of education and technology.

School chapter leaders, in conjunction with their school leadership team, can use this school purchase order to buy a table for members at their school. The purchase order deadline is Friday, April 17. Online registration is open now.