After a huge citywide push driven by school chapter leaders, more than 750 New York City public schools applied for funding to lower class sizes next school year.

Union leaders and representatives from the union’s private, nonprofit and Department of Education functional chapters gathered at union headquarters on Jan. 16 to kick off a new union initiative intended to showcase and amplify the work of members in the diverse titles and collective bargaining units in the UFT.

Federation of Nurses/UFT members who are licensed practical nurses with VNS Health overwhelmingly ratified a contract on Jan. 27 that provides a 7.5% increase in base pay over two years while establishing the employer’s contractual obligation to consider factors like parking availability, travel time and level of patient need when scheduling daily caseloads.

Union members enrolled in the UFT Welfare Fund and their eligible dependents can now get eyeglasses or contact lenses more frequently, for less money out of pocket and from more optical stores than ever.

The UFT has created a new telehealth benefit for members who are not eligible for city health insurance. UFT members who are substitute paraprofessionals, per-diem teachers and members of the union’s ADAPT Community Network Chapter can now access virtual medical care through the AllyHealth Telemedicine Program.