UFT members join union rally to decry attacks on worker and immigrant rights.
The New York City Labor Council, AFL-CIO, organizes a rally every May 1 to mark International Workers’ Day. But the size of this year’s event dwarfed those in years past as more than 15,000 union members, including hundreds of UFT members, marched from Foley Square to Bowling Green in lower Manhattan to denounce the Trump administration’s attacks on worker, immigrant and union rights.
Members of the UFT Member Action Committee and the Retired Teachers Chapter Labor Solidarity Project turned out for the mobilization.
Francisca Gachett, a teacher and chapter leader at P9Q, a District 75 school in Queens, said threats of federal cuts to education programs and Medicaid were top of mind for her.
“I marched not just for myself, but for my members and my students,” Gachett said. She noted that Medicaid reimburses the city Department of Education for the occupational and physical therapy services that her students rely on.
Rob Roszkowski, the chapter leader at P993Q, another District 75 program in Queens, said political activism by UFT members was important now more than ever.
“Unfortunately, if we don’t turn out, we’re not going to be heard,” Roszkowski said.
Since Trump took office, more than 260,000 federal workers have been fired, taken buyouts, retired early or been earmarked for termination. At a post-rally gathering at UFT headquarters, several federal workers who were targets of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency spoke about their experiences and how they are fighting back. They are organizing as part of a new group, the Federal Unionists Network, to build solidarity.
“These guys are courageous because they’re still on the front lines trying to get their jobs back, yet they’re not afraid to speak truth to power,” said UFT Director of Parent and Community Outreach Nicholas Cruz, who organized the gathering.