The Delegate Assembly on Dec. 11 marked a notable milestone: It was the last such meeting under the Bloomberg administration, noted UFT President Michael Mulgrew. His remarks brought the delegates to their feet with loud cheers and applause.

He praised members for their activism at a time when public-sector unions, particularly teachers unions, around the country are under siege.

“Mayor Bloomberg wanted to dismantle our school system and make it a marketplace,” Mulgrew said. “And he did not, and it’s because this union stood and stopped him.”

Mulgrew warned the delegates that the road ahead would not be easy.

“Yes, we have a mayor who shares many of our views, but our opponents are already lining up against us,” he said.

Mulgrew also reported that the fact-finders’ nonbinding recommendations that will be the basis of a contract settlement will be released in mid- to late January.

Although the incoming administration in City Hall promises to be more sympathetic to union concerns, he said national trends are worrisome. He noted that a bankruptcy court in Detroit ruled that public workers’ pensions can be cut as the Motor City attempts to restructure its debts, notwithstanding Michigan’s constitutional guarantees that protect public pensions. Detroit unions are appealing the court decision.

“It’s a horrendous decision,” Mulgrew said, noting that New York State’s constitution has the same guarantees. “It’s not workers’ pensions that caused the bankruptcy, but they will bear the ramifications.”

Of even greater concern, he said, is the new state law in Illinois — where all the seats of power are held by Democrats — that reduces the pension benefits of current state employees. That law is being challenged in court by unions on the grounds that it violates the state constitution.

Mulgrew also facilitated a discussion among the delegates about changes they would like to see in teacher evaluations and how the city’s Department of Education should be restructured in the post-Bloomberg era.

Prior to the meeting, a moment of silence was held in memory of UFT representatives Murray Sussman and Gene Prisco; the children and teachers killed in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting one year ago; and Nelson Mandela.