UFT President Michael Mulgrew appealed to those being honored at the annual New Retiree Luncheon on Nov. 12 to remain part of the struggle to reshape public education in New York City following the disastrous years of the Bloomberg administration.

“We call on you to make our vision of education happen,” he told the crowd of more than 1,000. “You are the authentic voice to push back. We can’t do it without your help.”

Throughout the all-day celebration at the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan, many of the participants acknowledged in conversations that they would still be in the classroom if conditions had not become so untenable, an issue Mulgrew spoke of in his welcoming remarks.

“I’m sorry you had to finish your careers under the nastiness of the last few years,” he said.

At the morning ceremony honoring 83 newly retired chapter leaders, Peter Cherr of the Coalition School for Social Change in Manhattan and Lynn Plunkett of the HS of Arts and Business in Queens concurred that they were no longer teaching only because “the system is completely broken.”

Harriet Glassman of the Salk School of Science in Manhattan agreed, adding that she discovered during her 12 years as a chapter leader that teachers don’t always appreciate all the benefits of union representation.

Thirty-six-year classroom veteran Lorraine Piroso of PS 113 in Queens said she was glad to take leave of the new evaluation system, standardized testing and the Department of Education’s flawed implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards. “I feel so bad for my colleagues who are still working,” she said.

Special education teacher Wendy Kantor said a significant factor in her decision to retire was the fact that self-contained classes were now so “low on the totem pole” for funding and teacher support.

Everyone agreed it was a sad note on which to be leaving.

Tom Murphy, the Retired Teachers Chapter leader, lauded the newly retired school chapter leaders for their years of work as the “face of the union.” He noted, “You’ve had it tough with testing, evaluations and all the other issues you’ve had to deal with.”

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Jonathan Fickies

Sandi March, the UFT liaison to the RTC and a teacher member of the New York City Teachers’ Retirement Board, advised retirees to stay informed and prepared to fight the political forces that are trying to erode retiree benefits.

“Remember,” she said, “nobody gave you your benefits. You earned them, and the union protected them.”

But it was, after all, a day of celebration, and Gerri Herskowitz, the union’s director of retiree programs and the chair of the luncheon, outlined the many and varied programs designed for retirees. She also informed those planning to move out of the metropolitan area of all the UFT retiree groups across the country.

The day ended with a spirited sing-along of the Woody Guthrie labor song “The Union Maid” (“Oh you can’t scare me, I’m stickin’ to the union”) led by Sheila Dardashti on banjo. The newly retired UFT member, a reading specialist in the Bureau of Nonpublic Schools, even created an original third verse in praise of the union.

Mulgrew summed up what the day was all about. “Enjoy what you’ve earned,” he said.