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.

Find out about excused absences — occasions aside from personal illness — when UFT members (teachers, appointed pedagogues and other titles, such as paraprofessionals) are entitled to be absent from work but still get paid without using their CAR, or...

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...

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.

Michael Mulgrew, the UFT president since July 2009, was reelected to the position for the sixth time in May, receiving 54% of the votes. The independent Global Election Services, which conducted the election for the first time, announced the...

Students in Integrated Co-Teaching classes are intentionally grouped together based on similarity of need to receive specially designed instruction. Specific protocols have been established to ensure this model is successful for all participants...

Pedagogical DOE employees who are injured or made sick on the job are covered by the Line of Duty Injury provision of the DOE-UFT contract — not workers’ compensation. The following Q&A answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Line...

About 1,700 UFT members and guests marked the union’s 65th anniversary at this year’s observance of Teacher Union Day on Nov. 2 by honoring union members past and present for their efforts to improve working conditions and strengthen members’ rights...

In the four years since the introduction of A+ credits as part of the 2018 DOE-UFT contract, the course offerings have expanded for teachers working toward their MA+30 salary differential.

UFT Vice President MaryJo Ginese writes that a half-century after the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which required an "appropriate education" for students with disabilities, the city DOE still has work to do.

The UFT in 2018 was the first municipal union in New York City to secure paid parental leave for its members. Parents of any gender may be eligible to take UFT parental leave following the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child under the...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew joined City Council Education Committee Chair Rita Joseph and other Council members outside City Hall on Jan. 30 to announce proposed legislation that would provide a recurring annual payment of $10,000 to full-time...

New York City schools, particularly in District 75, are in dire need of paraprofessionals, who provide essential support services for children with disabilities. The shortage won’t get resolved until the city Department of Education streamlines its...

The UFT has turned up the pressure on City Council leaders to bring the "RESPECT check" bill for paraprofessionals to a committee hearing and a vote. Forty-seven of 51 City Council members have co-sponsored the bill and more than 104,000 people have...

"If you're a paraprofessional, please stand up," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said to the crowd at Teacher Union Day on Nov. 6. As scores of paraprofessionals stood to thunderous applause, he turned to Shelvy Young-Abrams, their just-retired chapter...

Decades of UFT advocacy bore fruit for the union’s paraprofessionals on Oct. 29 as a newly enacted state law guaranteed all UFT-represented full-time paraprofessionals — on the job now and in the future — will automatically become members of the...

Michelle Lowe-Calixte has been an exemplary chapter leader the last three years — all while also serving as the District 23 paraprofessional coordinator.

Priscilla Castro was elected on May 25 as chapter chair of the Paraprofessionals Chapter for the term ending June 30, 2024. Castro had been serving as interim chapter chair since Shelvy Young-Abrams retired in October 2022.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams blocked the “RESPECT check” bill from coming to a vote before the full City Council this year.
But the UFT plans to redouble its efforts to get the bill across the finish line in the new year.

An administrative law judge has ruled that Bronx teacher Brenda Cartagena had been the victim of retaliation by her school’s principal for standing up for her members’ rights as school chapter leader.

If you want a new opportunity, wish to work closer to home or have been placed in excess, the Open Market Transfer Plan gives you the chance to apply for a position at another school. This Q&A addresses the most commonly asked questions about the...

Our paraprofessionals have waited long enough. It’s time for the New York City Council to pass the bill providing a $10,000 annual “RESPECT check” for all New York City public school paraprofessionals.

In the few weeks since the new City Council members were sworn in, we’ve hit the ground running. Our paraprofessionals have met with at least 45 members of the City Council so far, and more appointments have been scheduled.

Thousands of paraprofessionals mobilized throughout 2025 to fight for the $10,000 annual "RESPECT check," only to have City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams block it. The UFT will redouble its efforts in the new year.

As a paraprofessional interested in an education career, the UFT’s Career Training Program helped me obtain a DOE voucher to earn my bachelor’s in early childhood education and psychology

The UFT has initiated an outreach program to determine how the union can best support retired paraprofessionals. The Retired Teachers Chapter includes approximately 7,600 paraprofessionals.

United Federation of Teachers staff and officers delivered testimony before the City Council Committee on Finance on New York City's executive budget for fiscal year 2027.

Every three years, UFT members vote for chapter leaders, delegates and paraprofessional representatives. For this election cycle, we are reverting to the pre-pandemic election procedures that were in place for decades. See some answers to common...

It’s a new year, but the fight for our paraprofessional RESPECT check continues.

It’s a new year, but the fight for our paraprofessional RESPECT check continues.

The hydroponics lab at P141K at IS 71, a District 75 site that serves students with profound learning challenges, allows students to participate in gardening activities year-round. The students have the opportunity to witness the plant life cycle...

Information about 55 minutes for remote work, repurposed time and hours, student services managers and suspensions.

"You have all gone above and beyond the call of duty," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said at the UFT's annual Teacher Union Day on Nov. 7 that honored the courage and hard work of members during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Ready to apply for a new opportunity or wish to transfer to a new school? This Q and A explains what educators need to know about the Open Market Transfer Plan.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew warned of the serious repercussions for public schools stemming from the Trump administration’s attacks on health care and education.


This summer, the union launched Childcare Connection, a benefit to help UFT members find out if they qualify for free or reduced-cost child care as well as to find home-based child care providers near their home or work.