Cara Matthews

About 300 Retired Teachers Chapter members and guests attended the RTC Luncheon, which featured performances by the New York City Labor Chorus, and Jimmy Hill and the All-starz Band, whose blues, soul and funk music got attendees dancing.
The RTC gave out 10 awards honoring members’ activism, advocacy, leadership and dedication. The chapter also recognized 50-, 60- and 70-year union members for their service.

UFT members at PS 35 in Hollis, Queens, won a hard-fought arbitration decision against a principal engaging in union animus. The decision confirms members’ rights to conduct union activity without interference or retaliation.

A sustained campaign by UFT members to reform Tier 6 of the New York State's pension system pays off with state lawmakers dropping to 58, from 63, the age at which members can retire without penalty with 30 years of service.


Retired teacher Felicia Pecoraro of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has turned personal heartache into a mission to give back and bring a bit of happiness to others as a volunteer at the gift shop at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.


The UFT Retired Teachers Chapter honored those with 50 or more years of union membership at its annual RTC Luncheon.

Scam artists and fraudsters often prey on adults over 60, targeting their savings and good credit. UFT retirees learned tips from the city's Department of Aging to avoid being victimized.

UFT District 79 Representative 
Patricia Crispino was among UFT members honored during this year's NYSUT RA. Crispino took home top honors as the year's Sandy Feldman Outstanding Leadership Award winner.

11 New York City schools made the top 100 and a Queens teacher received the Outstanding Educator Award in a national ranking of schools that excel in teaching personal finance.


In the last Delegate Assembly speech of the 25-26 school year, UFT President Michael Mulgrew extolled union victories on Tier 6 reform, Foundation Aid funding gains and more, while warning members about a coming battle over federal tax credits for donations to educational institutions, saying the measure opens the doors to school vouchers.

Whether it's creating a dance troupe of educators at JHS 157 in Rego Park, Queens, or a walking club at PS 4 on Staten Island, teachers are creating opportunities for joy and self-care for themselves and their colleagues.