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Teacher’s Choice, since it was initiated more than 25 years ago by the UFT, has been funded as a special allocation of the City Council. In a major milestone for the program that reimburses educators for some of their out-of-pocket spending on classroom supplies, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Council agreed on June 14 to allocate funds for Teacher’s Choice as part of the annual city budget.

In a big victory for the UFT, union-supported legislation curbing hospitals from charging exorbitant fees to out-of-network patients for emergency care passed both houses of the state legislature in June and now needs Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature to become law. 

Abe Levine, the first vice president for elementary schools and a steadfast presence at the UFT until his final months, died at age 89 on June 13.