News for Chapter Leaders

UFT President Michael Mulgrew emphasized in his Delegate Assembly report on May 22 that, besides 2024 being a presidential election year, New York State Congressional races might be just as important.


The UFT consultation committee, led by the school chapter leader, meets monthly with the principal to discuss and attempt to resolve issues at the school level. As of May 7, more than 14,000 issues were raised in consultation committee meetings this school year, 539 of which were escalated to the district because they were not resolved at the school level, according to the consultation notes submitted by chapter leaders.


PS 896 in Sunset Park had no chapter leader, delegate or paraprofessional representative, and an administration that placed excessive demands on the staff. The turnaround was stark after Anna Willis, a second-year, untenured teacher, took on the chapter leader role last fall.


Chapter leaders have taken the Delegate Assembly’s Fix Tier 6 presentation on the road. Chapter Leader Lillian Crespo at PS 216 in Brooklyn and her UFT district representative, Adam Shapiro, showed it to PS 216 members at a Jan. 22 chapter meeting. 


When Catrina Como became chapter leader at PS 376 in Brooklyn, she faced a tricky situation: The principal was demanding, and staff did not know their rights and were reluctant to speak up for themselves. “I work with a lot of amazing teachers who just want to do their jobs,” she said. “I needed to make sure that they were in an environment where that could be accomplished.”