The first annual retention bonus negotiated as part of the 2023 DOE-UFT contract will be paid on May 16 to eligible full-time employees and to eligible per diem employees on June 3.

The UFT begins its negotiations with New York City and the Department of Education today, Oct. 13, 2022, as members all over New York City wore blue today to mark the date.

After three years without their annual luncheon, UFT Retired Teachers Chapter members reunited to celebrate their service to the union and the integral role retirees play in strengthening the power of the UFT. More than 400 retirees attended the...

The benefits of 3-K are solid, with the youngest students gaining the foundation they need to succeed in pre-K and beyond as educators engage them in hands-on activities and play-based learning crucial to developing their young minds.


UFT President Michael Mulgrew told members at a virtual union town hall on Aug. 22 that one item that would not be on the bargaining table in contract talks expected to begin sometime this fall would be longer workdays in return for larger pay raises...

The UFT’s Middle Schools Conference was back on April 9 after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, with workshops on social and emotional wellness, culturally responsive STEAM classrooms, integrated co-teaching and other topics.

UFT members celebrated past, present and future union leaders on Teacher Union Day by mourning founder George Altomare on the anniversary of the union’s first strike and honoring the new school-based Contract Action Teams and others who carry on his...

Eighty UFT members will receive the $3,000 ratification bonus negotiated in the 2023 DOE-UFT contract after an independent arbitrator ruled in the union’s favor on Sept. 17. The decision resolves a union-initiated grievance challenging the DOE’s...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew submitted testimony before the 2026 Joint Legislative Budget Committee regarding the governor’s proposed executive budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Energized UFT members paired up with their fellow union members from the Philadelphia Teachers Union and AFT Pennsylvania on Sept. 21 to get out the vote for Kamala Harris in the battleground state.

The Federation of Nurses/ UFT sent a 10-day strike notification to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn on Tuesday night, Feb. 18. The Federation of Nurses/UFT's contract with NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn ends at midnight on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.

Some 200 nurses and their families filled Shanker Hall for the Federation of Nurses/UFT’s annual Nurse Recognition Day dinner on May 8 to honor members for their union activism and patient advocacy.

Eight New York City public school educators, selected from hundreds of applicants, met with education and political leaders at the “Listen Up: The reality is…” UFT Educator Panel on April 14 and detailed what they need to best help students succeed.

UFT members showed up in force for Teacher Union Day on Nov. 6 to recognize their colleagues' dedication to the union and to unite in solidarity to face the battles ahead.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew lauded Gov. Kathy Hochul’s state budget proposal, telling the Delegate Assembly on Jan. 19 that “the starting place for the budget is the best I have ever seen since I’ve been president.”

In my career, I have shared my classroom with the most wonderful assistants imaginable.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew won his sixth term as the union’s president. Mulgrew and the Unity Caucus candidates received 54% of the vote.

Third-year special education teacher Britni Maddocks takes a strengths-based approach to assessing her students’ needs in her NEST classroom at PS 59 on Staten Island to help build students’ confidence and assure them that the classroom is a safe...

More than 400 students, parents and community members filled the school yard at United Community School PS 19 in Queens on Sept. 27 for a full day of live music, food, and dance performances in a celebration of Hispanic heritage and health.

The United Federation of Teachers supports the TWU as they negotiate on behalf of their members and supports a fair contract for transit workers.

The following email was sent to DOE-employed UFT members and pre-Medicare-eligible retirees on June 2, 2025, from Geof Sorkin, Executive Director of the UFT Welfare Fund.

UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT, writes that city hospitals are not required to have adequate staffing. The game of health is allowed to proceed knowingly shorthanded, without economic penalty and at risk to...

Spring was in the air on March 19 at the UFT’s 14th annual Early Childhood Conference, where laughter, play and learning emerged after a difficult winter for nearly 400 educators — a blend of in-person participants at UFT headquarters and remote...

Premium-free health benefits for city workers have been secured for the next five years under a new contract between the city and municipal unions establishing the NYCE PPO plan. The plan, administered jointly by EmblemHealth and UnitedHealthcare...

With some reservations and a great deal of hope, I voted for the new NYCE PPO. The new city health plan includes several significant improvements over the GHI CBP plan it replaces. Most important for our pre-Medicare eligible members living outside...

I felt guilty that I was not able to understand or communicate with my pre-verbal students in District 75. I was pouring my heart and soul into lessons, only to be met with silence. The weight of these challenges pressed down on me, and depression...

The garden at PS 146 in Howard Beach, Queens, is a place of learning and encourages gratitude, and therefore responsibility, for the natural world.

The UFT-DOE contracts contain protections against a wide range of discriminatory or harassing behaviors, including sexual harassment. Federal, state and city laws also provide protections. Here is what you need to know.


UFT President Michael Mulgrew issued a statement in response to news that educators in two schools had tested positive for COVID-19.

The school-based special education committee — created as part of the 2023 DOE-UFT contract — gave Naing the tool she needed to fight to ensure special education students in her school receive the services they are entitled to.

The following email was sent to DOE-employed UFT members and pre-Medicare-eligible retirees on April 29, 2025, from Geof Sorkin, Executive Director of the UFT Welfare Fund.

In-service UFT members have the protection of a short-term disability plan that can provide valuable income when personal illness renders them temporarily unable to work.

Four UFT fall parent conferences in October and November, held virtually for the second consecutive year, drew nearly 350 parents and featured workshops, speakers, resources and surprises.

Cumulative Absence Reserve (CAR) is the formal name for the bank of “sick days” earned by UFT-represented employees who work for the city Department of Education (DOE). All full-time, school-based UFT members may earn up to 10 CAR days for the full...

Former paraprofessional Sherwin Persaud made the transition to teacher last school year, finding his niche working with autistic children and those with behavioral issues in the early grades at P233 in Forest Hills, Queens.

Workers’ compensation is insurance paid for by the employer. It covers medical costs associated with an on-the-job injury or illness, and it pays a portion of lost salary if you miss work. Full- or part-time paraprofessionals, occupational and...