Food pantries run by schools in the UFT’s United Community Schools network are lifelines for hundreds of needy families across New York City. The need was especially felt in late fall as a federal government shutdown delayed SNAP benefits for many and a surge in ICE detentions made immigrant populations wary.

Roughly 1,500 UFT members raised more than $198,000 for breast cancer research and patient services in this year’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks. On two Sundays in October – Oct. 19 and Oct. 26 – members walked in all five boroughs and on Long Island to raise awareness and needed funds.

The UFT organized social events in each borough this year where the union’s newest members made connections, learned more about the UFT and built community. New members took part in bowling, painting, a scavenger hunt and immersive team-building games across the city.

UFT members citywide participated in the union's May 6 Day of Action to turn the heat up on state lawmakers to fix Tier 6 of the pension system. Members in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan held simultaneous rallies; Bronx members passed out leaflets at three major transit hubs; and  Staten Island members held in-school actions. Their top demand:  Allow public school educators to retire with an unreduced pension at age 55 with 30 years of service.

About 250 UFT members from the city’s academic high schools gathered on April 25 at Shanker Hall at UFT headquarters to honor outstanding educators and schools and to celebrate the 10 years since the UFT’s Team High School gave its first awards to academic high school educators.

Almost 350 school psychologists gathered in-person at Shanker Hall and virtually on Nov. 8 for their chapter’s 8th annual Psychologists Appreciation Day and professional development. Coming together under the theme “Wellness: Make It a Priority,” the psychologists learned about strategies to support students utilizing an integrative approach — physical and mental health.

About 1,500 UFT members, families and friends gathered at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 3 to celebrate the organizers, activists and leaders who advanced the union’s mission over the past year. The annual fall event, which commemorates the 1960 strike that won collective bargaining rights for the UFT, honored 179 in-service and retired members.

On June 4, the UFT hosted the 55th annual Albert Shanker College Scholarship Awards at union headquarters, where families and educators came together to honor a diverse and high-achieving group of students. The union awarded $5,000 scholarships to 189 high school students for undergraduate study and nine scholarships of between $2,000 and $8,000 to college seniors for graduate study.

About 300 UFT members from academic high schools gathered at UFT headquarters on May 31 to enjoy “A Night to Remember.” They celebrated 10 Team High School honorees and 26 individual award winners and enjoyed a prom for adults.

At the 18th annual Better Speech and Hearing Month Celebration on May 30 at Shanker Hall, members of the UFT’s Speech Improvement Chapter and their students were honored for exceptional projects completed in speech therapy this year. The 32 projects displayed the wide variety of therapies that speech language teachers provide.

The artwork of 23 UFT members — both active and retired — were on display at the New York City Art Teachers Association/UFT’s Dreams Art Show on May 10 at the Bernie Wohl Center in Manhattan.

More than 500 family child care providers and their guests filled Shanker Hall at union headquarters for the 11th annual Provider Appreciation Awards Ceremony on May 10. During the ceremony, more than 50 members were honored for providing exemplary service to the young children and families of New York City.

At the Federation of Nurses/UFT’s annual awards dinner on May 9, more than 200 nurses and their guests celebrated 21 honorees for their exemplary dedication to patient care and union service. The Federation of Nurses/UFT has chalked up some hard-fought contract and arbitration wins in recent months, and members took the opportunity to cheer those colleagues who have been instrumental in protecting patient safety and labor rights.

The UFT School Nurses Chapter celebrated its members at the union’s annual School Nurses Appreciation Dinner at UFT headquarters on May 8, National School Nurse Day. “I make it my business to go all out on National School Nurse Day,” said School Nurses Chapter Leader Cynthia Bennett, who organizes the dinner every year. “The nurses are hidden figures in our schools.”

Keynote speaker Eric Litwin, the original author of the “Pete the Cat” series, told stories and sang songs as he encouraged the 400 members who attended the UFT’s 16th annual Early Childhood Conference at UFT headquarters to put their whole selves into reading and acting out books for young readers. Members attended hands-on workshops about creating literacy activities, activities for English language learners, fun math games and more.

Nearly 700 paraprofessionals attended the UFT’s annual Paraprofessionals Festival & Awards Luncheon on March 23 at the New York Hilton in Midtown Manhattan. Fifteen paraprofessionals were honored for their outstanding service. Attendees participated in workshops to strengthen their practice and enjoyed a carnival featuring games and self-care. This year’s theme was “Superheroes of Education: Celebrating our Paraprofessional Powers.”

Hundreds of school counselors gathered at UFT headquarters for their chapter’s 20th annual conference. Eager to connect and network with colleagues, counselors heard from UFT leaders and speakers in the field and participated in a day of professional development workshops.

The UFT Muslim Educators Committee celebrated its first Iftar dinner on March 15 at UFT headquarters. Members broke their Ramadan fast, prayed, socialized and celebrated.

More than 350 UFT members, family and friends gathered at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown on March 15 for the UFT Asian Heritage Committee’s annual Lunar New Year banquet.

Hundreds of UFT career and technical education educators and family members, as well as industry and city Department of Education partners, attended the CTE Awards Recognition Ceremony, the theme for which was “Igniting Excellence in CTE.” At the Feb. 9 event at UFT headquarters, Manhattan, CTE educators from every borough received awards that recognized their achievements and commitment to student success.

More than 1,400 recently retired teachers attended one of two New Retiree Luncheons at the New York Hilton Midtown to celebrate the new chapter in their lives. The Nov. 22 reception was for members who retired from September 2021-August 2022. The Nov. 29 luncheon was for members who retired from September 2019-August 2021, a time when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented large gatherings.

UFT members across the city protested the mayor's harmful budget cuts to schools during a Day of Action on June 22, 2022.

UFT members across the city wore orange on June 3, 2022, for National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

The UFT selected eight teachers from hundreds of applicants to serve on its “Listen Up: The reality is…” panel on April 14 at union headquarters in Manhattan. The panelist were invited to tell education policymakers what their students – and public schools – need to recover and thrive after teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Educators gathered in person on April 9 for the first time in two years for the UFT Middle Schools Conference in Shanker Hall at UFT headquarters in Manhattan. They attended workshops on topics including wellness, social studies projects with Google Earth, integrated co-teaching and culturally responsive STEAM curriculum at the conference.

UFT volunteers, including public school parents and members, partnered with local restaurants and food banks to distribute 20,000 meals to hungry New Yorkers. The initiative included events in each of the five boroughs at which 1,000 meals per week were given away in each borough over a four-week period.