Union leaders celebrated new retirees and thanked them for their service, passion and commitment to students at the UFT Welfare Fund’s New Retiree Luncheon at union headquarters on Nov. 18.

“There’s no doubt that each and every person who has retired from our school system has changed thousands of children’s lives,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the 265 new retirees and guests.

He encouraged retirees to stay involved with the UFT by becoming members of the Retired Teachers Chapter, and he congratulated them for making it through the “toughest, biggest, hardest school system in the United States.”

“Wear that badge of honor wherever you go,” Mulgrew said.

Throughout their years of service, retirees “never stopped believing in the power of education to change lives,” UFT Welfare Fund Director Geof Sorkin told the attendees.

Adam Cooper, who spent his 26-year teaching career at alternative high schools, said it was an honor to help students learn, grow and discover themselves. He retired from the Urban Assembly School for Collaborative Healthcare in Brooklyn in December 2024.

“We were a safe space,” he said of the alternative schools where he taught. “When school seemed to be a place where they failed, this was a place where they could succeed and find themselves and be filled with pride.”

Mindy Janow, who retired on July 1 after 38 years of service as a school social worker, said her job never felt like work. “Some people count the days and can’t wait to retire,” she said. “That was never me. I loved working. I loved the children. I loved getting up every day.”

But Janow, who recently went on a cruise in Japan and South Korea, appreciates the chance to now travel when she wants. “That was my first ‘I can go in October’ vacation,” she said.

At the luncheon’s vendor fair, retirees learned about a variety of union resources and programs, including the Welfare Fund’s Si Beagle Learning Centers and the union’s Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP).

RTC Chapter Leader Bennett Fischer said retirees continue to be part of the union’s social, intellectual and political life through the RTC. He gave the example of the chapter’s Labor Solidarity Project, through which retirees can support labor actions throughout New York City. RTC members also are encouraged to engage in UFT campaigns, including the push to fix Tier 6 and efforts to secure the “RESPECT check” for paraprofessionals.

The new retirees spoke about the joys of traveling and spending more time with friends and family.

Dolores Mateo, who retired on July 1 from PS/IS 210 in Harlem after teaching for 17 years, said she and her husband plan to travel across the United States, visit relatives in the Dominican Republic and see the world together. Italy is high on their list, she said. “I love pasta.”

Amada Poveda, a paraprofessional who retired in September 2024 from P352@75, a District 75 program in the Bronx, said she plans to take salsa classes. Not having to get up at 5:30 a.m. is a bonus, too.

“I wake up whenever I wake up,” Poveda said. “It’s my time now.”