Excessing is the process of reducing staff in a particular school or office when the number of available positions in a title or license area in that school is lower than the number of people in the school who require an assignment in that title or...

The UFT will advocate for a policy that does not require excessing to disproportionately affect UFT-represented employees or negatively impact the ability to provide services for students.

FAQ for UFT members employed in the DOE’s Division of Early Childhood Education

Information about the tentative contract agreement, excessing, school-based options, performance reviews and the 20th annual UFT School Counselors Conference.

Information about IPRs, excessing, performance reviews and probation extensions.

Information about excessing, wage increases and bonuses, individual progress reports and school counselor evaluations.

Members of the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) who have positive ratings will fill regular assignments in September in schools where they are needed.

Thanks to the union’s advocacy, the city Department of Education has agreed to take the reorganization of the Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE) off the table for this school year.

The DOE should not continue using the DESSA screener for all NYC DOE students and schools and should instead reallocate funding allotted to the implementation of the DESSA contract to providing social emotional interventions and support services to...

Information about the Open Market Transfer plan, excessing, professional evaluations for school counselors, protecting students' personally identifiable information, social-emotional learning screeners and the 19th annual School Counselors Conference...

The UFT, together with parents and education advocacy groups, spent the summer keeping the pressure on Mayor Eric Adams to reverse $469 million in school budget cuts for the coming year. But to everyone’s dismay, the school year is starting with the...

The efforts of Chapter Leader Melissa Wall of IS 109 in Queens Village saved five teachers from being excessed — and preserved the school's already approved plan to reduce class sizes in its 6th-grade classes.

Hundreds of protesters demanded that the city Department of Education restore more than $215 million in school budget cuts at a rally on June 24 outside City Hall, where the City Council was holding an emergency hearing to probe the reductions in the...

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...

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...

A new city Office of Healthcare Accountability will force all New York City hospitals to disclose what they charge for medical procedures and make it harder for them to engage in price gouging.

Summer is a good time to check on any outstanding items needed for state certification or to review state education policies if you are being appointed under a different license this upcoming school year. Read answers to common questions below and be...

When Catrina Como became chapter leader at PS 376 in Brooklyn, she faced a tricky situation: The principal was demanding, and staff did not know their rights and were reluctant to speak up for themselves. “I work with a lot of amazing teachers who...

PS 896 in Sunset Park had no chapter leader, delegate or paraprofessional representative, and an administration that placed excessive demands on the staff. The turnaround was stark after Anna Willis, a second-year, untenured teacher, took on the...

It's important to set and maintain personal boundaries, or the limits and rules we set for ourselves in our relationships with others or with work, in order to keep relationships healthy. Here are some strategies to help you.

IS 383 Chapter Leader Syreeta Dixon refused to back down when her principal violated the DOE-UFT contract in multiple ways in her Bushwick school’s teacher schedule and then threatened to lay off staff when Dixon called her on it.


The Absent Teacher Reserve pool — an initiative that wasted both teacher talent and taxpayer funds — is coming to an end. Its demise is long overdue.

When PS 315, the East Village Community School, moves on Sept. 8 into the First Avenue building that houses PS 19, the chapter leaders for the two Manhattan schools can take a bow for their work in ensuring a smooth merger that meets the needs of...

The Federation of Nurses/UFT is in a pitched battle with NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn over short staffing that the union contends is putting patients at risk.


The UFT consultation committee, led by the school chapter leader, meets monthly with the principal to discuss and attempt to resolve issues at the school level. As of May 7, more than 14,000 issues were raised in consultation committee meetings this...

The seasons, like everything in life, are transient. Before summer passes, let it remind us to rest and be gentle with our bodies and minds.

We have a City Council that is considering passing a once-in-a-generation bill that would make physical space per student into administrative code, to make it the city’s responsibility to give each child the physical space they deserve to remain safe...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew predicted that the Trump administration will attack unions and public education.

CTE Award-winning baking teacher Shamel Donigan provides his students at Food and Finance HS with the tools to find success in the culinary industry and in life.

Richard Sacher, who retired from teaching in 2005, has made acting and singing his second act.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew told delegates at the Delegate Assembly on Nov. 17 that the union plans to seek extensive member input to help shape priorities for upcoming negotiations on the next contract and health care.

The UFT strongly urges the Legislature to oppose the Governor’s proposal to increase the number of charter schools in the city and will continue to fight for fairness and equity for all New York City schools.

The state's class size law is our collective opportunity to significantly enhance the quality of education for every child in our city. Yet this historic moment is at risk due to the reluctance of Mayor Eric Adams and the city Department of Education...

All UFT pedagogues, including teachers, clinicians, school counselors and school secretaries, as well as paraprofessionals, have the opportunity to transfer to a different school under the Open Market Transfer Plan.

Geofrey Sorkin, UFT Welfare Fund Executive Director, testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education regarding high hospital costs and the impact on healthcare access.