Praising the work of the UFT’s newest retirees in “changing thousands of lives in the toughest school system in the country,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew made a strong plea to help the union in the “heavy political season ahead.”

“We love our retirees,” he told the 900 new retirees attending the UFT luncheon in their honor at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 24. “You are the biggest asset we have.”

Citing the upcoming presidential election and the union-busting Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case now before the U.S. Supreme Court, Mulgrew said, “The only people left to stand up are unions — unions are the only ones trying to save the country from soaring inequality.”

He warned of the deep-pocketed right-wing forces working to turn every state into a right-to-work state and take over the White House.

“So we will be asked to send help around the country,” he said. “That’s what this group is all about.”

Retirees who were honored at the luncheon for serving as chapter leaders during their careers had a few observations about the changes to public education that took place during the Giuliani and Bloomberg mayoralties.

Jose Cardoza, who taught special education for 28 years, most recently at the Holcombe Rucker School of Community Research in the Bronx, said he found teaching changed with the advent of high-stakes testing. “There was no freedom to teach, too much pressure,” he said.

By the end of her 25 years, Sonja Johnson of Bronx HS for Communications said the “teacher-centered profession I started in now feels like assembly-line work.”

Brenda Preisner of MS 145 in Concourse Village minced no words: “I was a damn good teacher, but I could no longer be that teacher.” As she explained, “I was not ready to retire, but I was angry and frustrated at the way Common Core was dumped on us.”

Richard Waltzer, who taught physical education at MS 301 in the Bronx, noted how his students had changed in recent years. “In the last five years, I had more kids who were unprepared, more from homeless shelters and without winter coats,” he said. Waltzer, who was a chapter leader for 24 years, has a son who is now a UFT chapter leader.

As a chapter leader for 13 of her 26 years, Cindee Steinhaus of PS 38 on Staten Island said she made sure new teachers understood what it would be like without a union. “I made them aware of what it’s like to be a teacher in Texas, what it would be like without job security,” she said.

Penina Steinberg, who taught at PS 212 in Manhattan, said she had second thoughts about retiring given the changes that have occurred in public schools since Bill de Blasio became mayor. “I almost didn’t want to retire because he has restored education to a place of honor,” Steinberg said.

Retired Teachers Chapter Leader Tom Murphy commended the former chapter leaders for their work helping harassed and struggling teachers. He reminded the newest retirees — the UFT retiree chapter has about 65,000 members in all — “We are strong when we stand together.”