There are two parts to UFT members’ health coverage. As an employee with a regular assignment in the Department of Education, you are entitled to a choice of several health plans offered by the City of New York. Your choice will provide you and your...

Occasionally a Department of Education employee is sued (for example, by a parent) because of something he or she allegedly did at work. When the New York City Corporation Counsel finds that the employee broke no rules or laws in carrying out their...

If the police should arrest you in school for any reason, work-related or not, you or your chapter leader should immediately contact your district representative, who will contact the UFT's central office for assistance. You should give the UFT...

Every UFT member has an official school file. There is only one official school file. No material derogatory to your conduct, service, character or personality should be placed in the file unless you have an opportunity to read the material. You will...

An incident, which has not been reduced to writing within three months of occurrence, excluding summer vacation, may not be added to the file later on. No material derogatory to a teacher’s conduct, service, character or personality shall be placed...

Counseling memos are not disciplinary. A counseling memo may only be written to an employee to make him/her aware of a rule, policy, procedure, practice or expectation. A counseling memo cannot include any disciplinary action or threat of...

If you are a first-year teacher who has not had prior teaching experience, you are entitled to one-to-one mentoring throughout your first year. The mentor assigned to you is an experienced colleague who has been trained extensively in ways to best...

Throughout the school year, teachers apply for “per-session” activities that are done either before or after school, on the weekend or holidays, or during the summer. If you apply for and are accepted for such an activity, you are paid at the per...

UFT members have specific rights regarding program preferences and professional activities. Here’s what you should know before you make your requests. Program preferences Each spring, teachers complete a program preference sheet where they indicate...

Elementary Schools Teachers are programmed for a school day that has either seven or eight periods per day. In seven-period schools, teachers are programmed for 25 teaching periods, a daily 50-minute duty-free lunch period and five 45-minute...

In order to assure fairness, our contract requires that classes, sessions and annex assignments be rotated among those who are qualified. This assures that if you are qualified, you will have an opportunity to get an assignment you want within a...

Middle school teachers, high school teachers and elementary teachers in eight-period schools are programmed for professional activity period(s). During the program preference process, teachers select three activities from the professional activity...

If you are assaulted, threatened, cursed at or verbally harassed on school grounds by anyone — a student, a parent, an intruder or anyone else — you should immediately notify your principal and UFT chapter leader. This applies whether or not you...