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A UFT chapter is born
After a five-year fight for recognition as a bargaining unit, the UFT's newest chapter, the Division of School Facilities Supervisors Chapter, is negotiating its 1st contract with the city Department of Education.
Federation of Nurses/UFT Win 14% Increase With Staten Island University Hospital Northwell Health
Members of the Federation of Nurses/UFT ratified a new contract Friday night that raises nurses' salaries at Staten Island University Hospital- South (SIUHS) by a compounded 14 percent, protects their premium-free healthcare and requires the hospital...
Therapists win 9th session
The diligent advocacy of the UFT and OT/PT members has resulted in the city Department of Education finally implementing a long-delayed policy allowing occupational and physical therapists to work a voluntary ninth session for additional pay.
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
This Q&A answers many common questions regarding IEP planning and meetings, including updates from the 2023 DOE-UFT contract.
Per-session activities
Learn all the rules and know your rights with regard to "per-session" activities done outside regular classroom hours.
The DOE fails students with special needs
The DOE’s failure to adequately staff our schools is unacceptable. We have long known that our related service providers were stretched thin, but the numbers from the survey show how untenable the DOE has let the situation become.
Fireside chat with Norman and Velma Murphy Hill
UFT members had the rare opportunity to hear a first-hand account of the creation of the Paraprofessionals Chapter more than 50 years ago from Velma Murphy Hill, the chapter’s founder and first chair, and her husband Norman Hill.
3.25% rai$e on Sept. 14
UFT-represented employees covered by the DOE-UFT contract will see a pay raise of 3.5 percent on Sept. 15.
Extensive staff shortages leave thousands of special education students without services, despite city’s promises
Thousands of special education students in city public schools remain without the services they are legally entitled to because of massive shortages of school-related professionals.
The grievance process
If you feel your contractual rights have been violated, it’s time to speak up and seek a fair resolution. If informal measures don’t fix your issue, your chapter leader can assist you in preparing and filing a grievance, which is the formal way that...
RESPECT check legislation makes headway
At the March Delegate Assembly. UFT President Michael Mulgrew said significant progress had been made toward passage of the RESPECT check bill during a report where he also provided updates on the impact of the state's increased funding for 3K and 2K...
Union fights outsourcing of therapy work in schools
The UFT is pushing back against the DOE's use of part-time therapists from private agencies rather than operationalizing the ninth session negotiated in the 2023 DOE-UFT contract to enable full-time therapists to do this work.
FAQ on the functional chapters of DOE school related professionals
School related professionals play an essential role in supporting the varied needs of students. Meet the chapter leaders of the UFT's functional chapters and learn more about their role.
3% rai$e on Jan. 18
The salaries of UFT-represented employees covered by the Department of Education-UFT contracts will increase by 3% on Jan. 18, 2025.
Our RESPECT bill has been introduced
We have big news. Our 2026 version of the RESPECT check bill has been introduced in the City Council! We knew we would make it happen with this new administration, and now we are on the way to finally taking this over the finish line and giving every...
Our fights yield better working conditions
UFT President Michael Mulgrew writes that we will see meaningful improvements in our working conditions — and our students’ learning conditions — this school year as a result of fights we undertook as a union for the changes we need.
2.5% raises take effect May 14
The salaries of UFT-represented city Department of Education employees will increase by 2.5% effective May 14, 2020.
Bingo Night for COPE awareness
More than three dozen UFT members turned out for fun and games at Bingo Night at the union’s Queens borough office on Nov. 22 to raise awareness of COPE, the union’s political action arm.
The FAQs on SRPs
School-related professionals playan essential role in supporting the varied needs of students. This issue of the New York Teacher is dedicated to these UFT members. They number more than 46,000 in total in the New York City public school system and...
Special education gets the shaft
UFT President Michael Mulgrew is calling on the city to fill vacant school-related professional positions in order to fulfill the special education requirements of at least 9,000 students across the city.
Union offers new tool to help members track their pay
Curious if you’re being paid what you deserve? Check out the new UFT Salary Checkup tool in the UFT Member Hub.
Parent engagement
Increasing member autonomy was a priority in the negotiations leading up to the 2023 DOE-UFT contract. That’s why in all single-session schools as well as District 75 schools that choose to use the default workday in the contract, teachers and...
Salary, steps and longevity
In addition to the regular pay increases negotiated in each DOE-UFT contract, UFT-represented teachers and other pedagogues receive differentials, step payments and longevity increases based on their level of education and years of service.
Salary, steps and differentials
In addition to the regular pay increases negotiated in each contract, UFT-represented teachers and other pedagogues receive differentials, step payments and longevity increases based on their level of education and years of service.
Kudos to Amanda Dutton, PS 134, Manhattan
Amanda Dutton, the chapter leader at PS 134 in Manhattan, has stood up again and again for students with disabilities and the UFT members who work with those students at her school.
Raising our voices for special education
UFT Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese writes that our special education teachers, paraprofessionals and related service providers do incredible work supporting children with IEPs, but the DOE too often has not fulfilled its part.
Testimony of Michael Mulgrew on the DOE's provision of special education services
UFT President Michael Mulgrew submitted testimony before the New York City Council Education Committee’s oversight hearing on the DOE's provision of special education services.
Better tool to assure special ed compliance
The new contract establishes school-based Special Education Committees and annual training of all staff on special education rules and regulations. Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese writes that these new rights will empower members...
UFT HERstory celebration
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler joined the UFT’s HERstory event, an annual celebration of Women’s History Month, to discuss the history and future of women in the labor movement, telling about 100 UFT members at the March 4 online event that "women kept...
Using Teacher’s Choice
Teacher’s Choice, initiated by the UFT over 30 years ago, allows school staff members to exercise their professional judgment to purchase supplementary supplies and materials to improve the educational experience for their students. Here are answers...
The future is already here!
As part of its contract negotiations with the UFT, the DOE revised the 2023-24 school year calendar in late June to add four more days off for students and educators and issued calendars for the following two school years at the same time.
School Counselors Chapter Newsletter - June 2023
Information about the tentative contract agreement, excessing, school-based options, performance reviews and the 20th annual UFT School Counselors Conference.
Past-due payments
One of an employer’s most basic obligations is to pay its employees in a timely fashion. Yet over and over again, the city Department of Education falls short in this regard.
Excused absences
You are entitled to be absent from work but still get paid without using your sick bank for bereavement, jury duty, graduations, screenings and blood donations, and some health-related absences.
Obtaining required CTLE credits
The New York State Board of Regents requires certain teachers and paraprofessionals to collect and track professional learning credits called CTLE hours to maintain their state certifications. The following Q&A will help you learn more about these...
Academic High School Awards
About 250 UFT members from the city's academic high schools gathered on April 25 at union headquarters to honor outstanding educators and schools and to celebrate 10 years since the UFT's first Academic High Schools awards.