About three-quarters of UFT members participate in the Tax-Deferred Annuity program. Retirees who are 73 or older must withdraw a certain percentage of funds – known as required minimum distributions (RMDs) — from the tax-deferred annuity each year...

Retiree Carla Levy has taken the deep listening skills and willingness to help people that she used as a dance musician at Fiorello H. LaGuardia HS of Music and the Performing Arts into her second act as a psychoanalyst.

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’m proud that the UFT led the charge at the bargaining table and even prouder that we modeled participatory unionism at its best in the process leading up to the Municipal Labor Committee’s final vote on the new plan on Sept. 30. From the beginning...

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


Amber Carlin-Mishkin doesn’t just teach science — she teaches her students to think like scientists. Through a new partnership with the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, the 5th-grade teacher at PS 118 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, helps her students view their...

Joining more than 7 million protesters nationwide, more than 200 UFT members marched up Sixth Avenue alongside members from other New York City unions as part of the No Kings March in Manhattan on Oct. 18.

More than 1,200 of the roughly 3,000 South Carolina students who received school vouchers last school year later withdrew or were removed from the taxpayer-funded program due to eligibility concerns, according to state Department of Education data.

The Trump administration is targeting the jobs of more than 450 workers in the U.S. Department of Education as part of a reduction-in-force during the ongoing government shutdown. Among the casualties would be the office responsible for oversight of...

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plans to lay off thousands of federal workers during the government shutdown, siding with unions, which have argued that the dismissals were illegal.

The UFT is making it easier for NYC families to find child care. NYC Childcare Navigator is an expansion of an online tool the union launched a year ago to help members find child care options and apply for programs that could offset the cost.

While it may seem counterintuitive to use technology to teach social-emotional skills, online resources make SEL strategies and curriculum more accessible and engaging, which helps boost their use.

Paraprofessional Unique Robinson of Murrow HS in Brooklyn acted quickly to advocate for a solution when presented with the need to safely and comfortably meet the toileting needs of her paraplegic student.

A handful of New York City teachers, as part of the citywide Journalism for All initiative, are leading a revival: bringing back student journalism to public high schools.


In addition to the regular pay increases negotiated in each contract, UFT-represented teachers and other pedagogues receive differentials, step payments and longevity increases based on their level of education and years of service.

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...

The UFT offers a range of programs for members facing a cancer diagnosis that combine compassionate support with access to top-quality clinical care. The 3D mammogram, a sophisticated new tool, is a recent addition to the mix.


The Trump administration is exploiting federal workers as bargaining chips and imposing unfair burdens on them during the government shutdown.


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.

Teacher Robyn Matty speaks to the challenges teachers and students face in the wake of a severe shortage in paraprofessionals.

School librarian Jennifer Hermus-Washburn praises Staten Island restaurant owner and New York City public school grad James McBratney.

Paraprofessional Diana Judge advocates for City Council passage of the $10,00 "RESPECT check" for paraprofessionals.

Teacher Jennifer Drinkwater-Rodriguez gives the state's new UFT-backed cellphone ban a hearty endorsement.

A Manhattan teacher who has been injured on the job expresses appreciation for a recent Q&A on the Issues in the New York Teacher informing members what to do if they suffer a line of dury injury (LODI).

The state’s new UFT-backed cellphone ban is getting rave reviews from educators who say students are more engaged in class — and rediscovering “old-fashioned” pastimes like reading, playing board games and simply talking to one another.

Members throughout the five boroughs wore pink on Oct. 15 in support of breast cancer research and to show solidarity with colleagues fighting the disease.

Warning that democracy and public education in the United States are imperiled, Randi Weingarten discussed her new book — “Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy” — at the event with about 170 union members and...

About 60 paraprofessionals, including members in their first year and veteran paraprofessionals, gathered to network and meet their union representatives at the Manhattan Paraprofessionals Meet and Greet.

The UFT Pride Committee convened its first panel on the state of the LGBTQ+ community, focusing on the challenges facing New Yorkers — including educators — amid the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights under President Donald Trump.

Hundreds of UFT members in all five boroughs and on Long Island participated in the Making Strides walks on the last two Sundays in October, raising money for breast cancer research and awareness.

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 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.

Sound homework policy should meaningfully support learning with overwhelming students or teachers. Veteran educators share their strategies for creating homework that’s worthwhile and effective in the age of artificial intelligence



Dual-language pre-K teacher Gema Campusano of the District 25 Pre-K Center in Queens has found that bilingual education not only supports students' language development but also builds their confidence and a strong sense of identity.


Cara Cifferelli, an ELA teacher at John Dewey HS in Brooklyn, encourages her students to write full-length novels in her classroom as part of National Novel Writing Month. The students' work is displayed in a classroom bookcase.

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...