The number of new teachers who turned out on Aug. 26 for the kickoff of New Teacher Week was about twice as large as last year, thanks to the surge of hiring over the summer to reduce class sizes in some 750 schools. As the new hires lined up outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn early that morning, about 100 UFT reps, including UFT President Michael Mulgrew, were on hand to welcome them and enroll them in the union.



Two years after Florida expanded a law allowing tax dollars to fund private school scholarships, school districts across Florida are facing declining enrollment and the loss of millions of dollars in public funding as more families opt for state-funded private education.

The Trump administration has unilaterally stripped hundreds of thousands of workers at four federal agencies of their union contracts after a federal appeals court overruled an injunction that had halted the plans. 


A US Supreme Court ruling allows the Trump administration to proceed with 1,400 layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education.

The UFT Delegate Assembly voted on July 8 to endorse Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor in the November elections. At a news conference at union headquarters the following day, Mamdani pledged to work with the union to protect New York City public schools and support educators and students.

Federal workers have faced a dizzying mix of reductions in force, firings of probationary workers, early retirements and deferred resignations since Trump became president for the second time. The Federal Unionists Network (FUN) in New York City is focused on organizing workers, fighting the federal attacks and forming alliances within the labor movement, including the UFT.