The UFT awarded $5,000 Albert Shanker college scholarships to 189 high school seniors at the 53^rd annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony & Reception on June 7 at UFT headquarters in Manhattan. The scholarships go to academically excellent and financially eligible New York City public high school seniors and post-graduate students. Eight post-graduate students also received scholarships.

UFT members across the city wore orange on June 3, 2022, for National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

The UFT’s annual Spring Education Conference on May 21, which attracted more than a thousand union members, featured a panel discussion led by city educators, workshops on building resilience and teaching multilingual learners, an exhibit fair showcasing the work of career and technical education students, speeches from top city and state officials and a keynote address by UFT President Michael Mulgrew

At the Federation of Nurses/UFT Nurse Recognition Day Celebration on May 17, members celebrated 20 nurses for their advocacy, leadership, union work and distinguished service, and they reveled in being together to honor their work and their profession for the first time since the pandemic began.

Outstanding members of the UFT Family Child Care Providers Chapter were celebrated before 232 of their colleagues, family members and friends at the ninth annual Provider Appreciation Awards Ceremony on Friday, May 13, in Shanker Hall.

The UFT selected eight teachers from hundreds of applicants to serve on its “Listen Up: The reality is…” panel on April 14 at union headquarters in Manhattan. The panelist were invited to tell education policymakers what their students – and public schools – need to recover and thrive after teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Educators gathered in person on April 9 for the first time in two years for the UFT Middle Schools Conference in Shanker Hall at UFT headquarters in Manhattan. They attended workshops on topics including wellness, social studies projects with Google Earth, integrated co-teaching and culturally responsive STEAM curriculum at the conference.

High school educators and school-related professionals gathered in Shanker Hall at UFT headquarters on April 8 to honor the achievements of exemplary educators, union activists and unified school communities at the 2022 Academic High Schools Awards Celebration.

The 14th annual Early Childhood Conference returned to UFT headquarters on March 19, where participants celebrated the theme of "Lighting the Future, Charting the Course."

On March 15, for the first time in two years, hundreds gathered in Shanker Hall at UFT headquarters in Manhattan. They were CTE educators handpicked by the union to represent excellence in their division, plus family, friends and colleagues. The group celebrated the honorees’ excellent work and the flourishing CTE programs they run in city public schools.

“We Make a Difference” was the theme at this year’s UFT Paraprofessionals Festival and Awards Luncheon, which celebrated paraprofessionals at Shanker Hall on March 5 for rising to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Members of the UFT African Heritage Committee met for their 19th annual dinner dance and awards ceremony at Antun's Restaurant in Queens on Feb. 4. This year's theme was "Embracing Challenges & Building our Future."

Educators at schools across the city participated in a Day of Action at their schools on Dec. 1 and 2 to encourage City Council Speaker Corey Johnson to bring the bill that would lower NYC class sizes to a vote.

The first hybrid Teacher Union Day was held on Nov. 7, 2021, with 234 people, including honorees and their families, attending in person to celebrate union activism in Shanker Hall at UFT headquarters in Manhattan while 592 members joined the festivities online.

UFT members in all five boroughs gathered to support each other and raise money for the American Cancer Society at Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks in October.

Pink Day returned to schools as UFT members across the city dressed in pink on Oct. 13 to raise awareness about breast cancer.

There were plenty of smiles and a bit of trepidation as the 2021–22 school year kicked off with all students returning to in-person learning in their classrooms for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

UFT members and other frontline workers were honored at a ticker-tape parade through the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan on July 7. 

UFT President Michael Mulgrew visited MS 245, MS 247 and PS 334 — three co-located schools on the William J. O'Shea Campus in Manhattan — to walk through the site and check in on members.

UFT volunteers, including public school parents and members, partnered with local restaurants and food banks to distribute 20,000 meals to hungry New Yorkers. The initiative included events in each of the five boroughs at which 1,000 meals per week were given away in each borough over a four-week period. 

The UFT Brooklyn parent and community outreach committee celebrated the winter holidays by providing nearly 200 Brooklyn families with free books, backpacks and other goodies. Through the UFT's First Book program, they handed out about 4,000 books. 

Federation of Nurses/UFT members and school nurses in November attended the UFT’s 41st annual Professional Issues Conference, held virtually for the first time.

Whether through activities associated with Making Strides Against Breast Cancer or Wear Pink days, UFT members across New York City have been front and center during October to raise awareness and funds to fight the disease.

With social distancing guidelines and aggressive health and safety measures in effect, New York City public schools welcomed back thousands of students during a phased reopening.

UFT members across the city participated in a “A Day of Peace and Justice” on June 9, 2020, to pay respect to George Floyd on the day of his funeral and to show solidarity with the movement to confront racism in the United States.

The 16th annual School Counselors Conference at UFT headquarters, Manhattan, brought counselors together on March 7 to celebrate the positive change they bring to New York City public schools.

About 220 UFT members and retirees gathered at a Chinatown restaurant on March 6 for the annual Lunar New Year Banquet organized by the UFT Asian American Heritage Committee.

UFT members celebrated African heritage and honored students and colleagues at the 17th annual UFT African Heritage Committee Awards Dinner on Feb. 7 at Antun’s in Queens Village. This year’s theme was “Stand up and be counted!”

More than 70 outstanding CTE educators were celebrated by their union, their colleagues and special industry partners at the 2020 CTE Awards Recognition Ceremony on Feb. 7 at UFT headquarters in Manhattan.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew met with staff at PS 811 in Queens on Jan. 22 to discuss various education and union issues and also checked in on members during a tour of the building.

Hundreds of social workers and psychologists spent a snowy Saturday at UFT headquarters attending professional development sessions about test anxiety, LGBTQ inclusive schools and more at their UFT chapter’s 14th annual Clinicians Appreciation Day.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew met with educators at John Dewey HS in Gravesend, Brooklyn, to update them on political and educational news and to learn about the school’s innovative programs.

School secretaries came from every corner of the city to UFT headquarters on a Saturday for a day of professional development, networking and mutual support.

UFT members and guests celebrated the African American holiday of Kwanzaa at the union’s Brooklyn borough office on Dec. 19. Kwanzaa — a non-denominational celebration that lasts for a week, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 — combines customs from several cultures and enables African Americans to connect with and honor their heritage and culture.

District 75 educators from around the city gathered at an upper Manhattan restaurant on Dec. 10 to celebrate the holidays and meet with UFT President Michael Mulgrew to discuss their issues and concerns.

Magic was in the air at the UFT's annual holiday party for homeless students, hosted in partnership with the Coalition for the Homeless.