As part of their fight for a fair contract, educators across the city on March 30 set out to make their heavy workload visible to their school communities and to the city during a citywide grade-in.

Negotiations between the UFT and the city are expected to shift into higher gear now that the members of District Council 37, the city’s largest union, have overwhelmingly ratified a new pattern-setting five-year contract with the city.

Community School 55 in the Morrisania section of the Bronx has a Success Academy charter school co-located in its building, but the disparity in their resources and the student populations they serve make them anything but co-equal.

Federation of Nurses/UFT members who are Licensed Practical Nurses with VNS Health overwhelmingly ratified a contract that provides a 6.6% increase in base salaries over two years while preserving current premium-free health benefits and establishing a forum to address the crucial issue of caseload.

Victoria Lee, a veteran teacher who became a UFT pension representative in 2016, was elected to fill out the remainder of UFT Treasurer Debra Penny's term on the Teachers' Retirement System board.

UFT members are prepared to fight for the contract they deserve. That was the message resonating across the city on Jan. 30, as educators gathered in their schools for “teach-ins” led by members of each school’s Contract Action Team.