Functional chapters are made up of UFT members who perform a particular job, rather than work together at a school or worksite. Functional chapters were formed to allow UFT members with common issues and concerns to have a voice on the job.

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...

At PS 13 on Staten Island, UFT members and the principal began holding initial planning conferences "on the move." That seemingly minor change has delivered outsized benefits in teacher morale — and possibly even student achievement.

Given the city’s diverse student population, a pressing issue for educators has been how to differentiate instruction to reach all students using one of the new reading curriculum programs.

Paraprofessionals perform vital work in schools. There are career ladder positions available for paras as well as opportunities for educational advancement for paras interested in becoming teachers, school counselors, psychologists or other titles.

Wage gaps, lack of public support, burnout, a strong emphasis on testing, and cultural and political wars are all factors in a nationwide teacher shortage that has many school systems struggling.

Whether you co-teach on a regular basis or sit on the same grade or subject team as other educators, you have a host of colleagues who can be your allies and support network.

Integrated co-teaching (ICT) classes are taught by two teachers — a general education or content-area teacher and a special education teacher. A co-teaching relationship needs two willing partners who are communicative, collaborative and cooperative...

Here is the calendar for the 2025-26 school year.

Download print-friendly versions of UFT-DOE and city contracts.

For Milton Pincus, the decision to call off the November 7th strike in return for Mayor Robert Wagner’s promise of a fact-finding committee loaded with the leading lights of the city’s labor movement, was a no-brainer. From where he stood — outside...

Learn about commonly used terms in evaluation and what they mean.

A. Work During the School Year Normal work hours for Bargaining Unit Members will be from 8:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m. Monday through Friday, inclusive of a one-hour lunch period, unless otherwise approved in writing by the Head of School. Bargaining...

UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro writes that the UFT Teacher Center has been a leader in providing New York City public school educators with high-quality professional learning for more than 40 years. The program recently has begun...

On any day when a Teacher’s absence due to a vacated position or unpaid leave of absence necessitates that a class be covered by an Assistant Teacher, the Employer shall select one Assistant Teacher to be a Special Assistant Teacher for that day. The...

A. Cumulative Absence Reserves and Sick Leave Attendance teachers on regular appointment reinstated after retirement will be credited with the cumulative reserves remaining to their credit upon retirement and such reserves as they accumulated as...

Learn how much you are being charged in union dues and how they are calculated.

Billy Green, a chemistry teacher at A. Philip Randolph HS in Harlem, has been named the 2023 New York State Teacher of the Year by the State Education Department.

As the DOE's mandated Algebra I math curriculum has expanded from a few hundred high schools last year to citywide this school year, so have teachers’ concerns that it is a mismatch for city schools and is hampering their students’ academic progress.

Learn how much you are being charged in union dues and how they are calculated.

When I began my teaching career in 2007, more than a quarter of the students at my Queens elementary school were English language learners. Each year, our school seemed to shift its strategy for English as a New Language instruction in a fresh...

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Here is the calendar for the 2026-27 school year.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew oversaw a panel of UFT Teacher Center literacy district coaches who discussed the progress and pitfalls of Phase 1 of the rollout of new phonics-based literacy curricula in 15 New York City districts.

The UFT offers many different ways to stay in touch with the union and get the latest updates on your rights, benefits, discounts, workshops, campaigns and more.

The UFT launched a television ad campaign on April 16, 2020, spotlighting educators who are meeting the challenges of remote learning for their public school students and also thanking frontline workers for their efforts in the fight against COVID-19...

Within months of the end of World War II the country was convulsed in the greatest wave of strikes in its history, before or since. With the memory of the Great Depression still fresh in their minds, many workers saw the huge post-war layoffs as a...

March 2010 marked the 50th anniversary of the union’s formation, the beginning of its remarkable growth and extraordinary power and influence. Those 50 years of triumphs and advocacy have strengthened the education profession and New York City public...

The Big Bang theory may be right about the origin of the universe, but it isn’t much help when it comes to explaining the making of a union. Like other unions, the UFT didn’t just explode onto the scene in 1960.

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...

Department of Education Carmen Fariña, Chancellor Adam Ross United Federation of Teachers 52 Broadway New York, New York 10007 Dear Adam: In the event a Peer Validator concurs with a principal's assessment of a teacher's performance and the...

The Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers recognize that lesson plans are a professional responsibility.