Joe LoVerde

UFT Chapter Leader Keesha Hopkins successfully led the charge that saved her school, the Brooklyn Academy of Science and Environment, from being merged with another high school co-located in the same building.

More than 1,000 families received backpacks and other school supplies at the union's fourth annual back-to-school supplies giveaway and barbecue on Aug. 7 at PS 21 on Staten Island.

Thanks to the efforts of Chapter Leader Debbie Strack Cregan, the members of PS 69 in Jackson Heights found their voice and their collective power in their successful organizing effort to push back against a new and overbearing principal.

Michael Mulgrew, the UFT president since July 2009, was reelected to the position for the sixth time in May, receiving 54% of the votes. The independent Global Election Services, which conducted the election for the first time, announced the unofficial tally on May 31.


At the May Delegate Assembly, delegates passed a resolution opposing election interference and another endorsing City Council candidates in the June 24 Democratic primary.

A UFT contingent of 1,400 enjoyed a Mets game from in front of the outfield fence at Citi Field on UFT Night. Teacher Rose Zelwinder of PS 78 in Queens threw out the first pitch to teacher Monica Lalo of IS 96 in Brooklyn.

The new Teachers’ Retirement System’s Member Education Center has been named after Mel Aaronson, a retired UFT treasurer who served for 35 years on the TRS Board of Trustees, including four as board chair.

Fifty school nurses gathered for their chapter’s annual School Nurses Appreciation Dinner at UFT headquarters on May 7, timed to coincide with National School Nurse Day.

Some 50 members gathered at UFT headquarters on April 13 at the UFT Irish American Heritage Committee's annual dinner for an evening of connecting with one another and learning about Irish culture, art and history.

Some 200 UFT members braved storm clouds to participate in this year's 5K Family Run/Walk on Coney Island. The event raised $7,000 for the UFT Disaster Relief Fund.