Fixing Tier 6, providing adequate funding for public schools, banning cellphones in school and supporting standout union programs such as the UFT Teacher Center were top of mind as about 1,000 educators and parents traveled to Albany for UFT Lobby Day on March 10.

After their three-hour bus trip, the participants gathered in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, where they heard from union leadership, Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and other elected officials before meeting in groups with their local legislators.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew encouraged members and parents to hold state lawmakers accountable not only for supporting public schools at the state level but also for pushing their counterparts in the U.S. Congress to protect federal education funding. He also spoke about why the state should improve the pension benefits of the youngest generation of public school educators.

“I want you to talk to your state representatives about the fact that we have a shortage in all of our titles that work in the schools,” he said. “So, when we say, ‘Fix Tier 6,’ it’s not just about the unfairness of working until the age of 63, it’s also that you’re hurting the schools and the school systems of New York City and New York State.”

Hochul told the crowd that she would fight any federal education cuts and for lawmakers to pass her proposed statewide ban on cellphones in schools. “We will have a cellphone ban, a bell-to-bell ban, so you can finally teach your kids without distraction,” she said, sparking thunderous applause.

UFT Lobby Day came just as negotiations were heating up over the 2025–26 state budget, which was due on April 1. The budget bill traditionally folds in legislation on other policy issues. [As of April 9, the state Legislature and the governor had not yet reached a budget agreement.] 

Richard Sherman, a history teacher at Validus Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, explained to an aide to Sen. Jamaal Bailey of the Bronx that improving Tier 6 would help attract new teachers. New hires, who are automatically enrolled in Tier 6, must work until age 63 before they can retire with a full pension, compared with age 55 and a minimum of 30 years for Tier 4.

“We’re starting a teacher shortage right now in New York,” Sherman said. “It’s better than other states because we do offer pensions and we offer better pay than other states, but if we don’t get competitive, we’re going to lose that edge.”

Tier 6 member Devin Lupo, a special education teacher at PS 334, the Anderson School, in Manhattan, said the only way to “recruit high-level, quality teachers” who stay in the profession is if they have the same benefits as their Tier 4 peers.

English teacher Elena Piazza, the chapter leader at JHS 223 in Brooklyn, said the cellphone ban was her No. 1 issue, and Tier 6 was high on her list, too. Her school uses Yondr pouches to store student phones. “It’s great,” she said. “Now they’re not sneaking their phones.”

Science teacher Noelle Gold, the chapter leader at PS 14 in the Bronx, told an aide to Assembly Member Karines Reyes how beneficial United Community Schools sites are. Hers provides dental and vision care, a food pantry, laundry and other services.

“I’ve seen what we’ve done,” Gold said. “We’ve raised test scores 25 basis points. We have seen our attendance go to 90%.”

School counselor Tiffany Roy, the chapter leader at MS 581 in Brooklyn, said she was advocating for more state funding for the UFT Teacher Center program. Roy said she benefited greatly from her school’s UFT Teacher Center when she was a social studies teacher. “These are specialists who have taught in the classroom for many years,” she said.

English teacher Samantha Giarratano, who works at JHS 185 in Queens, said she was participating in her first UFT Lobby Day. “I’m the most excited about getting our voices heard to better advocate for our schools and to give our schools and students and teachers the services and funds that they need and deserve,” she said.

Marlon McRae, the chapter leader at PS 124 in Brooklyn, said it was his third UFT Lobby Day. The trip to the state capitol is worthwhile, he said, because elected officials see a face to go with a cause, and they are forced to consider the people that a new policy and law will affect.

“So, if they see a teacher and they hear a teacher’s story,” he said, “that could strike a chord with lawmakers emotionally and get them thinking about how they could make a difference and the changes that need to be made.”