UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the Delegate Assembly on Nov. 18 that the midterm elections earlier in November had put many statehouses firmly in the hands of conservative governors and legislators whose agenda would inflict harm on public schools, unions and working Americans.

“This is going to lead to more attacks on unions, public education and working people,” Mulgrew said.

Extremely low turnout nationally played a part in the election results, he said. In New York State, only 28.8 percent of voters participated, which contributed to the loss of some candidates backed by NYSUT for the state Senate.

One hard-fought victory was in Buffalo where Democrat Marc Panepinto defeated three opponents to represent the 60th Senate district.

Mulgrew also spoke about the 94 schools in Mayor de Blasio’s new School Renewal Program. The UFT will work closely with the Department of Education to determine what interventions are needed at the different schools, he said.

One certainty for all the schools is that there will be an emphasis on building a collaborative environment for teachers, administrators and other staff that is based on professional integrity and mutual trust, he said.

In this type of environment, UFT members may not always agree with their principals, but they can trust that their principals are, like them, acting in the best interests of students and their education.

Mulgrew said he and the chancellor agree on this: “We have to move this profession from being an individual profession to a team profession. The job is too hard. We do better by working with each other.”

Fariña is also firm that the administration needs to “support the staff at the school level,” Mulgrew said.

To build and maintain a collaborative teaching environment, UFT members must have a voice in the school. A key part of using that voice is through monthly consultation meetings between each chapter’s consultation committee and the principal, Mulgrew said.

“I can’t emphasize this enough,” he told delegates. “It is our right and obligation and responsibility to hold consultations every single month. If there is a school issue, it needs to be brought up in consultation first.”

If it can’t be resolved at the school level, he said, then the chapter leader should notify the UFT district representative.

During the question-and-answer session, Delegate Charlie Flisser from PS 112 in the Bronx said that his school is among the 94 in the School Renewal Program.

He asked what kind of support the UFT would bring to the school during this process.

Mulgrew said that one of the first steps, which will take place soon, is to bring together a team from each of the identified schools to meet with the UFT and representatives from the DOE to ensure a coordinated approach.

“If we give a school the right support, we can move it in the right direction,” he said.