About 1,500 new teachers became proud new members of the UFT at the opening day of the Department of Education's annual New Teacher Week.

"This one-on-one connection is where it starts," said UFT Vice President Karen Alford, the head of the union's new member initiative. "We tell our members who we are, how we can support them and how they can be part of something bigger than themselves."

New teachers began lining up at 7 a.m. on Aug. 27 to enter either Fiorello H. LaGuardia HS of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan or the Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Campus across the street.

The UFT rolled out the welcome wagon: A dozen exhibits informed new educators of the benefits and support that union membership confers, and every new member received a UFT tote bag full of supplies and a bento-style lunchbox. Throughout the day, UFT representatives from the UFT Welfare Fund, the union's Member Assistance Program and the UFT Teacher Center spoke with new educators about health benefits, mental health support and union-provided professional learning opportunities.

UFT experts on certification and licensing, retirement, salary and UFT Welfare Fund benefits presented at each campus to ensure that all new members understood everything from salary steps to the tenure timeline to their defined-benefit pension benefit. Representatives from the UFT Teacher Center informed educators about how their program helps educators improve their teaching practice and keep up with continuing education requirements.

Union officers and staff circulated, greeting new members and answering questions. "Sign up for the Tax-Deferred Annuity," urged one union field rep. "I've saved more than I ever could on my own."

At the morning assembly, UFT President Michael Mulgrew welcomed new teachers to the profession and told them that the UFT supports educators from the early years of their career through retirement.

Erica Berger

Joining the UFT was fast and easy, with most new members using the union's QR code to access the online enrollment form.

"You're about to start on a journey that will profoundly change your lives," he said. "You are part of the largest school system in the world. We at the UFT are here to help. We're here to help teachers because we know how hard it is."

Sarah Allam, who will be teaching art at the HS of Sports Management in Brooklyn, said she was eager to join the union because her parents are educators in upstate New York and stressed the importance of union membership.

Allam says she's excited to explore the wealth of professional development workshops and educational programs that the UFT offers. "You can be ambitious — you can pursue your dreams," she said. "Being a union member lets you have an extraordinary career instead of just an ordinary one."

Israt Jahan, who emigrated from Bangladesh in 2023, will be teaching biology and Living Environment at New Directions Secondary School, a transfer school in the Bronx. She believes that her experience as a recent immigrant and English language learner gives her a uniquely compassionate perspective on the city's wave of newcomers. "I can connect with them," she said.

Jahan was thrilled to join the union that morning. "We cannot do anything on our own. But together we can do anything."