This school year, we will see meaningful improvements in our working conditions — and our students’ learning conditions — as a result of fights we undertook as a union for the changes we need.

This September, 60% of classrooms citywide will be under the new limits in the state class size law, up from 46% last school year. The school-based application process for class size funding — driven by the hard work of our chapter leaders — is what enabled us to meet this year’s target in the law. The new process ensured that state funding for class size reduction went to schools with available space and a plan to use that money to create smaller classes.

Our union has fought for smaller class sizes for decades, and this year for the first time more than half of all teachers will get to experience the difference it makes. We will have to continue to organize and push to meet next year’s target of 80%.

We begin the new school year with two other changes we fought hard for: a cellphone ban and a state law requiring safe temperatures in schools.

The cellphone ban addresses a longstanding concern raised by teachers: the constant distraction of phones in the classroom. Educators have long made the case that cellphones were undermining learning. The new ban is a win for our profession and for our students. But we know that any new policy takes time to take root in schools. There will be bumps in the road, and educators must not be left to handle the fallout. The UFT will be with our members every step of the way to make sure the burden of enforcing the new ban does not fall on them.

The Cool Schools Act, which took effect on Sept. 1, is another victory for us. No student should be asked to learn — and no teacher asked to teach — in a sweltering, unsafe classroom. With this new state law, school administrators will be required to take action to cool rooms when inside temperatures reach 82 degrees and to relocate classes and student support services where practicable when inside temperatures reach 88 degrees.

These three changes demonstrate what we can accomplish when we band together as union members to fight for a common cause. Progress doesn’t happen overnight; it comes piece by piece, contract by contract, law by law. But over time, the changes we achieve have the power to transform our schools and our profession.

Of course, our work is never done. Two major unfinished legislative fights remain on our agenda this year: passing the “RESPECT check” bill into law and fixing Tier 6 of the pension system.

The ongoing shortage of paraprofessionals in our schools is proof that our city needs to do better for these members who work with our most vulnerable students. We will not back down until our paraprofessionals are able to get the annual RESPECT check they deserve.

This year, we will also ratchet up the fight to allow Tier 6 members to retire with an unreduced pension at age 55 with 30 years of service. More than half of all in-service DOE-employed members now belong to Tier 6. The lack of parity between Tier 4 and Tier 6 is making it more difficult to recruit and retain public school educators at a time when the city needs thousands more teachers to reduce class sizes. Reforming Tier 6 is not an option — it’s a necessity.

​​Our union’s core mission is to improve the lives of our members so they can give their best to the students they serve. We’ve proven what persistence and unity can accomplish. Let’s carry that determination forward this school year — to lower class sizes, to win fair pay for paraprofessionals and to secure equitable retirement benefits for all UFT members.