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Cara Matthews

New York Teacher Senior Editor/Reporter

Star turn for Brooklyn UCS

Star turn

Malala Yousafzai, one of Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School's "core value mentors," surprised students this fall by serving as the school's "celebrity substitute" on the YouTube show of the same name.

Members answer call for Mamdani

Members answer call for Mamdani

Hundreds of UFT members knocked on doors across the city and worked the phones to campaign for Zohran Mamdani and the union’s other endorsed candidates in the weeks leading up to the mayoral election.

Retirees join the fight

Retirees join the fight

Retirees at the Staten Island Borough Office knit and crochet stuffed animals, blankets and other goods to support the UFT's Making Strides against breast cancer efforts, while other retirees joined members in various walks throughout the city and Long Island.
Senior citizen reading

What to know about RMDs

About three-quarters of UFT members participate in the Tax-Deferred Annuity program. Retirees who are 73 or older must withdraw a certain percentage of funds – known as required minimum distributions (RMDs) — from the tax-deferred annuity each year. Here's all you need to know about RMDs.
Retirees work the phones to elect Mamdani

Retirees work the phones to elect Mamdani

In the weeks leading up to the Nov. 4 election, the Retired Teachers Chapter held a dozen afternoon phone banks at UFT headquarters in Manhattan, where RTC members urged fellow retirees to vote for Zohran Mamdani and the union’s other endorsed candidates.
Dance to psychoanalysis

From the world of dance to psychoanalysis

Retiree Carla Levy has taken the deep listening skills and willingness to help people that she used as a dance musician at Fiorello H. LaGuardia HS of Music and the Performing Arts into her second act as a psychoanalyst.
Teacher teaching class

Education caught in cro$$fire

UFT President Michael Mulgrew warned of the serious repercussions for public schools stemming from the Trump administration’s attacks on health care and education.

Premium-free health care secured

Premium-free health care secured

Premium-free health benefits for city workers have been secured for the next five years under a new contract between the city and municipal unions establishing the NYCE PPO plan. The plan, administered jointly by EmblemHealth and UnitedHealthcare, will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Weingarten book signing

Weingarten book signing

Warning that democracy and public education in the United States are imperiled, Randi Weingarten discussed her new book — “Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy” — at the event with about 170 union members and guests.

Strides 2025

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks 2025

Hundreds of UFT members in all five boroughs and on Long Island participated in the Making Strides walks on the last two Sundays in October, raising money for breast cancer research and awareness.