The United Federation of Teachers will testify today in support of the City Council's proposed "RESPECT check" legislation that would provide every New York City paraprofessional an annual $10,000 payment in addition to their regular salary.

The UFT Contract Negotiating Committee, made up of over 600 members, will begin in June to chart union strategy for negotiating the next DOE-UFT contract.

More than 1,600 members of the United Federation of Teachers rallied outside City Hall Wednesday, calling on the City Council to support legislation to provide paraprofessionals with an additional $10,000 annually.

The UFT vows to continue fighting tooth and nail to get paraprofessionals the RESPECT they deserve. RESPECT check legislation providing paraprofessionals with a $10,000 payment became law in August, but the battle continues as the city has taken the...

UFT members are prepared to fight for the contract they deserve. That was the message resonating across the city on Jan. 30, as educators gathered in their schools for “teach-ins” led by members of each school’s Contract Action Team.

The UFT will continue to raise our collective voices towards achieving a fair, just and representative contract.

UFT members employed by the ADAPT Community Network overwhelmingly ratified a two-year contract on Nov. 22 that provides solid wages increases and creates a new process to resolve health and safety issues at the worksites.

As a paraprofessional in the Vision Education Services Chapter, which serves about 900 blind and visually impaired students citywide, Lucio Medina acts as a guide and advocate for the students he supports.

Federation of Nurses/UFT members who are Licensed Practical Nurses with VNS Health overwhelmingly ratified a contract that provides a 6.6% increase in base salaries over two years while preserving current premium-free health benefits and establishing...

Minneapolis educators approved a new contract nearly three weeks after going on strike for higher wages, smaller class sizes, protections for educators of color and mental health support.

As a one-on-one paraprofessional in a third and fourth grade DHHES classroom at PS 333 in the Bronx, William Valentin supports Deaf and hearing impaired students with their communication, educational and behavioral needs.


After a 19-day strike, workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Oct. 16 ratified a contract agreement with management that includes 14% raises over three years, a higher hourly wage, paid parental leave and reduced health care costs.

UFT members supported the “RESPECT check” bill on Nov. 13 by holding teach-ins, wearing blue and tagging City Council members on social media in photos of themselves holding “RESPECT for Paraprofessionals” signs.

Thirty-five members donated at the March 13 blood drive sponsored by the UFT Paraparofessionals Chapter and the union's Staten Island Borough Office.

Marian Thom, a dynamic force for Asian American causes and a founding member of the UFT Paraprofessionals Chapter, died on Sept. 4 after a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 88.

As part of their fight for a fair contract, educators across the city on March 30 set out to make their heavy workload visible to their school communities and to the city during a citywide grade-in.

The UFT will survey all members to identify needs, shape priorities, and set contract demands and the negotiating committee shall be formed promptly, allowing sufficient time for training on collective bargaining.

Federation of Nurses/UFT members employed by NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn on Feb. 24 overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract that provides solid salary increases while making inroads in addressing the universal problem of staffing shortages.

Teaching artists at Lincoln Center, who are represented by the UFT, have reached agreement on a new five-year contract with significant economic gains and more input to help shape the type of education they provide.

Federation of Nurses/UFT members employed by NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn on Feb. 24 overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract that provides solid salary increases while making inroads in addressing the universal problem of staffing shortages.

Testimony of educators and community members submitted in support of the "RESPECT check" bill for New York City paraprofessionals at the Nov. 13, 2025 City Council hearing.

Testimony of educators and community members submitted in support of the "RESPECT check" bill for New York City paraprofessionals before the City Council Committee on Civil Service and Labor.

The UFT launched a television ad campaign calling on members of the New York City Council to pass legislation aimed at providing paraprofessionals an additional $10,000 annually.

The following notification was emailed to all members as part of the UFT Update on June 11, 2025.

Thousands of UFT members wore blue to work in solidarity with their paraprofessional colleagues on April 2, which was national Paraprofessionals Appreciation Day and the union’s citywide Day of Action.

More than a year into its operation, the Retired Paraprofessional Support line has proved more successful than anticipated — both for those calling in and for those answering the phones. 


UFT President Michael Mulgrew, UFT officers, educators and elected officials called on City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to schedule a public hearing on the proposed "Paraprofessional Respect" bill.

The New York City Council unanimously passed the "Respect Check" legislation which will provide each NYC public school paraprofessional a $10,000 payment outside of collective bargaining in the coming school year.

Administrative tasks get in the way of their students’ learning, according to 87% of educators in the union's new survey of its school-based members, who handed out a leaflet with the poll results across the five boroughs during a Week of Action in...

More than 1,600 paraprofessionals and fellow UFT members came together from across the city on April 2 to call on the New York City Council to pass legislation to give paraprofessionals an annual “RESPECT check” of $10,000.

Paraprofessionals fanned out across the city in January to sit down with City Council members to urge them to support a revised "RESPECT check" bill that would provide an annual check of no less than $10,000 to the educators whose ranks are suffering...

This school year, PS 133 in Harlem has three newly minted teachers who were employed as paraprofessionals at the school the previous year. The three, who have fashioned a mini support group for one another, are grateful for the help of the union and...

Members of the Federation of Nurses/UFT ratified a new contract that raises nurses' salaries at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn by a compounded 15.8 percent and requires the hospital to hire 100 nurses to address chronic understaffing.

The UFT Paraprofessionals Chapter launched a new RESPECT campaign at its Nov. 21 paraprofessional representatives meeting to demand that the Department of Education pay paraprofessionals more, value their work and uphold their rights.


The UFT has created a new telehealth benefit for members who are not eligible for city health insurance. UFT members who are substitute paraprofessionals, per-diem teachers and members of the union’s ADAPT Community Network Chapter can now access...

Federation of Nurses/UFT members at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn on Feb. 26 overwhelmingly ratified a contract that provides a 15.8% raise compounded over two years and includes new commitments from the hospital to address the chronic shortage of...