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.

A retired educator warns that teachers must take pains to ensure the human student-teacher relationship remains central in schools as artificial intelligence makes inroads into the pedagogical process.

As AI penetrates public education faster than policy can keep up, educators are being asked to navigate powerful new tools with little guidance. To help fill that void, the AFT has released a framework meant to ensure AI supports teaching and...

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...

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.

UFT members supported the “RESPECT check” bill on Nov. 13 by holding teach-ins, wearing blue and tagging City Council members on social media in photos of themselves holding “RESPECT for Paraprofessionals” signs.

The Trump administration's mass deportation agenda has triggered anxiety and absenteeism in New York City public schools. Yet despite the bleakness of the situation, educators remain committed to protecting their students and advocating for them.

About 300 UFT members from schools across the city attended one of the union's immigration workshops in October and November. The sessions walked members through the steps to establish school-based committees to support and defend immigrant families...

A calmer pace. More individualized attention. Fewer distractions. Those are among the greatest benefits teachers say they’re seeing in their classrooms this year as the state class size law enters its third year of implementation.


UFT members at the six sites that make up District 31 Pre-K Centers on Staten Island are no longer staying silent in the face of mistreatment from their principal, thanks to Chapter Leader Amy Craine.

With the latest legal hurdles cleared, all city employees and pre-Medicare retirees in the GHI CBP plan and their dependents will be automatically enrolled in the new NYC Employees PPO plan on Jan. 1, 2026.

The Committee on Political Education (COPE) is the UFT’s political action arm. Learn about its importance and how members can help support it in this Q&A.

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.

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.

Let's lower the Tier 6 retirement age before we're 6 feet under!

A colorful multi-sensory space in a Queens special education teacher's classroom offers her kindergarten and 1st-grade students a range of engagement to calm themselves and self-regulate.

As a new teacher, you are bound to encounter situations with students that are challenging to navigate. If you find yourself in one of the following situations, here is some guidance for making a plan of action.

An elementary school teacher shares what a math lesson taught him about a new way to measure success in this latest installment of New Teacher Diaries.

Caring for people in need and promoting equity were top of mind in the five resolutions UFT delegates approved at the Delegate Assembly on Nov. 19, including support for disaster relief in Jamaica and LGBTQIA+ rights.

Growing up near Coney Island, Brooklyn, Ariella Moshchinsky knew early on that she would pursue a career in the sciences — and she says it was her public school education in Brooklyn schools that helped inspire her to achieve that goal.


TRS may ask retirees to complete a Retirement Allowance Verification Form annually. If you receive such a letter, don't ignore it.

The UFT is seeking retiree instructors to teach Si Beagle continuing education classes.

The UFT posthumously honored two accomplished members who died this year and presented their families with memorial plaques: Ron Jones, a former vice president for elementary schools, and Richard Miller, a former vice president of middle schools.


The UFT Welfare Fund Retiree Social Services' Nationwide Telephone Reassurance Program offers support for retirees that is just a phone call away. Retirees can chat for as long as they need about whatever issue they may wish to discuss or may be...

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

Zohran Mamdani's election is great news for union members and for the UFT. Never before have we had a mayor who is a stronger champion of workers, labor unions and ordinary New Yorkers.


More than 500 parents, caregivers and community members poured into UFT borough offices this fall for the UFT's annual parent conferences in each borough.

Some 5,500 high school students across the city explored college and career options at the UFT's two college and career fairs this fall at Brooklyn College and the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Some 265 recent UFT retirees were celebrated for their service, passion and commitment to changing students’ lives during this UFT Welfare Fund annual event.

Around 500 members networked and gathered resources at the union’s ninth annual Psychologists Appreciation Day on Nov. 7.

History teacher Sari Beth Rosenberg of the HS for Environmental Studies in Manhattan was named Teacher of the Year at the UFT Jewish Heritage Committee’s annual Tikkun Olam Awards Night on Dec. 2

About 100 attendees turned out for a round of golf to raise money for the UFT Disaster Relief Fund on Oct. 26 for the union's annual Invitational Golf Outing.

About 400 middle-schoolers from 39 schools around the city learned strategies to address and combat bullying on Oct. 23 at the UFT Middle School Division's annual Anti-Bullying Conference.

More than 150 members, family and friends gathered at the Queens borough office on Oct. 25 in a celebration of togetherness and gratitude at the UFT Asian American Heritage Committee’s first Moon Festival.

Some 150 students living in temporary housing received coats and other winter gear at the UFT's annual Thanksgiving luncheon and coat drive, organized by the UFT Middle Schools Division.


Some 300 nurses gathered for workshops, a keynote address on neurology and a festive lunch at the Federation of Nurses/UFT's Professional Issues Conference at the New York Grand Central Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Nov. 21.