Bill Thompson campaigned with educators on Staten Island on Sept. 4, starting with a trip on the 7 o’clock ferry from Manhattan, where he greeted passengers, and ending with a tour of neighborhoods still suffering the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

UFT members in blue UFT “Bill Thompson for Mayor” T-shirts met the candidate in the Staten Island terminal, where Thompson posed for pictures and engaged commuters on their way to Manhattan. They were joined by UFT President Michael Mulgrew, AFT President Randi Weingarten and State Sen. Diane Savino.

When asked about how he’d reach a contract agreement with the UFT if he were to become mayor, Thompson scolded the Bloomberg administration for its inability to achieve contracts with any of the municipal workers’ unions.

“We have the best municipal workforce in the country and the fact that they are all still without contracts is a disgrace,” Thompson said.

Thompson was then led by Mulgrew on a tour of the South Beach and Midland Beach communities, where many homeowners have been unable to return to their homes and many businesses have yet to reopen or have closed for good almost a year after the storm.

When that tour was complete, Mulgrew traveled to the borough’s Stapleton section to visit with educators at PS 78/PS 14, one of the new additions to the UFT’s Community Learning Schools network.

Mulgrew discussed the Community Learning Schools model with the staffs from both schools, who then met Vice President Karen Alford, the point person for the union's initiative.

PS 78 Chapter Leader Gloria Morales said her colleagues are excited about the possibilities of the relationship.

"Our children have a lot of needs," she said. "Many come to school without coats in the winter, for example. Now teachers will be able to just concentrate on teaching."