Battle won in war for RESPECT

Nearly two years of fighting for respect and financial relief for UFT-represented paraprofessionals took a critical leap forward with the historic enactment in August of the RESPECT check legislation, but the battle continued as the city took the City Council to court, alleging the law is illegal.

The UFT vows to continue fighting tooth and nail for this key legislation in support of paraprofessionals. The $10,000 to be paid under the legislation is critical for the city’s 26,000 UFT-represented paraprofessionals. Starting salaries for paraprofessionals are just over $32,000 — not enough to live on in New York City.

“The financial struggle for us is real,” said UFT Paraprofessionals Chapter 2nd Vice Chairperson Undrea Polite, who shared she once ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a year so she could pay off her student loans. “We are struggling with housing insecurity, food insecurity and a salary that is so low, it is awful.”

The law, which the City Council passed unanimously on July 16, automatically took effect on Aug. 19 after Mayor Zohran Mamdani failed to either sign or veto it. However, his administration filed a lawsuit against the City Council alleging that the RESPECT check law undermines the state collective bargaining law for public employee unions.

That is wholly inaccurate, said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. The UFT worked closely with City Council members to ensure the legislation’s carefully crafted language does not violate the law. In response to the city’s lawsuit, the UFT is requesting that the court let the union sign on as a defendant to aid in fighting the suit.

The dispute is the latest in what has been years of talks between the UFT and the city about developing a permanent solution to the paraprofessional crisis. There are thousands of vacant positions because the city can’t hire or retain enough paraprofessionals due to the low pay. “We hope the mayor will work with us, keep his promise, respect the paraprofessionals and solve this injustice,” Mulgrew said.

During the vigorous RESPECT check campaign that began in January 2025, thousands of paraprofessionals signed petitions, emailed City Council members and the mayor, tagged them on social media, rallied outside City Hall and met with council members personally to explain the urgency of the legislation.

Last month, UFT Paraprofessionals Chapter members urged the mayor to drop the lawsuit and permanently fix the broken system of pattern bargaining that is at the heart of why the paraprofessional title remains among the lowest paid of DOE educators. Under the system, every city worker gets the same percentage increase, regardless of their base pay. The practice leaves lower-paid workers behind as the wage gap widens. The current DOE-UFT contract expires in November 2027, and work starts this school year on a successor contract.

At a news conference on July 16, Manhattan Alternate Learning Center Chapter Leader Katrina Long, a paraprofessional and single mother of two, said the RESPECT check is about more than just a check — it’s about survival, recruitment, retention “and of course, it’s about respect.

“If we want qualified, dedicated paraprofessionals in every classroom, we must provide wages that allow them to live with dignity,” she said.

Forty-nine members of the City Council voted for the legislation in July, with several members making impassioned statements about the need for it. Council Member Carmen De La Rosa laid out the rationale for the one-time payment in numbers: Paraprofessionals make only $32,000 to $54,000 a year, there are between 1,600 and 3,000 vacancies, and the city spends $1.5 billion annually on lawsuits from families who aren’t getting mandated special education services.

“We have solid support for this legislation because we recognize that this is an equity issue,” De La Rosa said of the workforce, which is predominantly made up of women of color. “Workers in our city must not be facing eviction and having to pick up food at a food pantry when they’re helping our most vulnerable New Yorkers.”

The high vacancy and low retention rates for paraprofessionals made passing the RESPECT check legislation a must for council members, said Council Speaker Julie Menin. “Failure to act means we’re perpetuating a system where our paras are extremely underpaid,” vacancies continue and special education lawsuits against the city continue to balloon, she said.

Paraprofessionals Chapter Chairperson Priscilla Castro said the battle for paraprofessionals will also continue at the bargaining table. “In collective bargaining,” she said, “we will insist on ensuring that the paraprofessionals in New York City receive the pay that they deserve.”