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Union takes its case to Albany

The UFT told state lawmakers during budget hearing in Albany that it wants them to deliver on a number of priorities key to best serving New York City educators and the students they serve, including fixing Tier 6, revising the state education...

Partnering with paraprofessionals

When teachers and paraprofessionals are on the same page, the classroom becomes a place of unity and students are the beneficiaries. Teachers across the city discuss the benefits of forging strong, healthy relationships with the paraprofessionals...

Per-session activities

Learn all the rules and know your rights with regard to "per-session" activities done outside regular classroom hours.

Care for city’s youngest on tap

At the Delegate Assembly on Jan. 14, UFT President Michael Mulgrew updated delegates on the union’s work to expand access to affordable child care and addressed a range of national, state and city issues affecting educators.


Sabbaticals

UFT members who are teachers or other pedagogical staff — including school counselors, social workers and school psychologists — are eligible to take a sabbatical leave to enhance their teaching skills, restore their health if they are ill or achieve...

Provide for providers

The UFT welcomes New York mayoral and gubernatorial support for expanding 3-K and pre-K and launching a new 2Care program to care for the city's youngest children, but argues that the city's home-based, family child care providers must be fairly...

Protect U.S. workers

The UFT urges U.S. senators to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act to give federal workers the right to collective bargaining and safe workplaces and a way to redress grievances.

Members stand with Minneapolis

After the UFT Delegate Assembly passed an emergency resolution in support, hundreds of UFT members joined thousands of demonstrators in Manhattan on Jan. 23 to show solidarity with Minneapolis-St. Paul, where ICE fatally shot a Minnesota substitute...

Well deserved

A Staten Island paraprofessional presses for passage of the "RESPECT" check, reminding the public that she and her colleagues are as deserving as any of greater compensation.

Need for ‘RESPECT’ is great

The chapter leader at PS/IS 384 in Brooklyn urges his fellow UFT members to fight to "Fix Tier 6" and improve retirement and pension benefits.

Show paraprofessionals they’re valued

A Brooklyn paraprofessional says passage of the "RESPECT," saying she and her colleagues deserve to be shown they're valued.

Chapter Leader appreciation

A retiree praises the efforts of Chapter Leader Amy Craine of District 31 Pre-K Centers on Staten Island with whom he once had the pleasure of working.

Get in the fight to ‘Fix Tier 6’

Paraprofessional Luis Garcia of PS 55 in the Bronx opines on the challenges city schools face without a "RESPECT check" to help ease the shortage in his ranks.



City must ‘build’ capacity

The UFT is taking aim at the School Construction Authority as it forecasts that when New York City public schools enter year four of the phased implementation of the state’s class-size reduction law, they will fall slightly short of the 80%...

Members ‘Make It Visible’

The UFT in December launched its “6” Days campaign to “Fix Tier 6 in ’26.” Members across the city are making the issue visible, making it human and making it loud, with educators set to head to Albany on March 8 to rally and lobby state lawmakers to...

Katrina Thomas, PS 289, Brooklyn

Discarded plastic bottles inspired Katrina Thomas, the chapter leader at PS 289 in Brooklyn, to take the initiative to raise money to build a kindergarten in Ghana.

Samuel Berck, math teacher at Rikers Island

District 79 math teacher Samuel Berck instructs incarcerated students at the East River Academy at the Rikers Island jail complex.


"Jewels” sparkle at Radio City

Middle school teacher Rachele Domond and paraprofessional Daquan Harris of the Catherine and Count Basie Magnet School for Multimedia and Performing Arts, in Jamaica, Queens, took on the roles of choreographers and proudly watched their middle school...

Social study of old New York

Queens 8th graders explore themes of cultural identity, community and adaptation through the stories of families who lived in New York City tenements during a class trip to the Tenement Museum.

Shake off the winter doldrums

The cold, short days of late winter can drain even the most enthusiastic teachers and students. Seasoned educators know that keeping kids — and themselves — engaged and energetic requires some strategic planning. Here are a few tips from veterans to...

Turning hallways into happy places

Queens middle school teacher Laeticia Charles offers a sense of emotional connection and safety to the students she teaches in her second year at MS 137, elevating her students' academics in the process.

Getting into character

Middle school teachers Cristina Cappiello and Arielle Schwartz showcase an inventive way to teach the classic novel "The Giver" in their classroom at MS 245 in Manhattan.

Clinicians Appreciation Day

Nearly 1,300 attendees gathered online and at UFT headquarters for the 20th annual UFT Clinicians Appreciation Day for a mix of professional development, networking and for the first time, an awards ceremony honoring the School Psychologist and...

Optional drug rider reimbursement up to $900

Beginning in March, UFT retirees can expect a partial reimbursement from the UFT Welfare Fund -- for as much as $900 for some retirees -- for the cost of an optional prescription drug rider.

SHIP 2026 premium notices

SHIP 2026 premium notices were sent in early January to retirees who did not elect to pay premiums via automatic pension deduction.

Required minimum distributions

UFT retirees who are turning 73 in 2026 and have a tax-deferred annuity (TDA) account have to begin making annual withdrawals from their TDA (called a required minimum distribution or RMD).

Retirees rally for unionists

The RTC's Labor Solidarity Project offers retirees an outlet to practice their union activism, proudly standing with striking nurses and with other causes.

1099 tax forms

The Teachers’ Retirement System issues 1099 tax forms each January to people who received distributions from TRS in the previous year.

Save money with SHIP

UFT retirees who are members of the Retired Teachers Chapter can join the Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP) during their first year of retirement and recoup hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars for out-of-pocket medical expenses...

Feeding the soul in retirement

Elizabeth Tremberger, a retired Bronx science teacher, was looking for a way to serve her community after retirement. She found it in a local food pantry, where she orders and hands out food to those in need.

Leading from the front

RTC Chapter Leader Bennett Fischer hails the power of unionists like those of the UFT to preserve democracy and stand up to tyranny in the wake of the killings of laborers Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

RESPECT campaign update

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.

Resolution to endorse Thomas M. Brown for re-election to the NYC Teachers’ Retirement Board

The United Federation of Teachers endorses Thomas M. Brown for election as a Teacher-Member of the Teachers’ Retirement Board of the City of New York for a three-year term beginning in 2026.

Testimony of Michael Mulgrew on mayoral control

UFT President Michael Mulgrew submitted testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Education's oversight hearing on mayoral control.

UFT VNS Health nurses win 12% increase in new 2-year pact

Federation of Nurses/UFT members, who are registered professional nurses with VNS Health, overwhelmingly approved a new 2-year contract that provides a 12% compounded salary increase over the course of the agreement, preserves healthcare benefits and...

NYC educators turn up the heat for pension reform on Friday, 2/6

This Friday, 2/6, thousands of New York City public school educators are turning up the heat for pension reform by sharing their personal stories about why it's needed.