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Holding space for bereaved students
As students return to their classrooms, many carry the weight of fresh or long-held grief. In this episode of the Brewing Wellness podcast, we are joined by Cara Belvin, founder of Empower, a nonprofit supporting children and young adults who have lost a parent. Belvin, who lost her mother at a young age, explores how loss affects young people’s academic and emotional well-being and how educators can respond with compassion. Learn the small yet powerful ways teachers and staff can help students feel seen, supported and less alone.
NYCATA Resources
NYCATA/UFT recommends the following arts organizations and resources for UFT members.
Upcoming NYCATA Events
Save the date and join us at an upcoming event sponsored by NYCATA/UFT.
NYCATA/UFT
NYCATA/UFT is a community of New York City art educators and artists committed to advancing high-quality, inclusive art education.
Comprehensive info on the proposed health care plan
The city and the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) have reached a tentative agreement with EmblemHealth and United Healthcare for the New York City Employees PPO Plan (NYCE PPO), the proposed city health care plan that would replace the GHI CBP plan.
Starting strong
September arrives with a cool breeze, the sound of leaves skittering along the sidewalk and a feeling of transition as we start a new season. It provides a unique opportunity to reset, refocus and get organized for the year ahead.
Labor Parade 2025
More than 1,000 UFT members turned out in a powerful display of union pride as they marched up Fifth Avenue on Sept. 6 for New York City’s annual Labor Parade. Members paraded in solidarity with thousands of other unionists across the city, on foot, by float or atop a double-decker bus.
Taking control of AI
Artificial intelligence is a rapidly evolving field that is affecting every aspect of our lives, including education. It is incumbent on us to add our voices to help shape and develop AI to ensure it is used to support teaching and learning, not to...
Sharon Brown, budget director
Sharon Brown, a member of the UFT’s Administrative Education Officers and Analysts Chapter, supports the principals of 32 Bronx high schools with budget compliance.
Setting yourself up for a great year
September is a great time to set your intentions for how you’d like the school year to proceed and put strategies in place to help you achieve your goals.
Why I am an avid reader
UFT Vice President for Academic High Schools Janella Hinds encourages high school educators to continue to expand their own knowledge base through reading a variety of texts. Being an avid reader, she writes, helps educators better guide their...
Teacher’s Choice stays steady
UFT-represented educators will receive roughly the same Teacher's Choice alloment as last year to reimburse them for some of their out-of-pocket expenses for supplemental instructional supplies and materials of their choice.
Scores jump on state exams
New York City public school students in grades 3 to 8 made dramatic gains in reading and math on 2025 state exams. The percentage of students overall performing at grade level in reading jumped 7.2 percentage points to 56.3% and 3.5 percentage points...
Making students the evaluators
Queens high school teacher Amy Matthusen explains ways to center students in creating evaluative criteria to help deepen learning.
2025–26 RTC meetings
Here are the meeting dates and times for the RTC general membership meetings scheduled for the 2025-26 school year.
City pulls plug on Medicare Advantage plan
The Adams administration has dropped its effort to implement a Medicare Advantage health care plan for the city’s roughly 250,000 Medicare-eligible retirees.
Register for intersession Si Beagle classes
Registration for intersession 2026 Si Beagle classes begins on Oct. 14, 2025.
2025 COLA increase is 1.2%
The September 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which retired members will see in their September pension checks, is 1.2%. Eligible retirees will receive up to $216 -- or $18 per month -- before taxes from the COLA.
Free legal assistance for UFT retirees
The UFT Welfare Fund Retiree Legal Plan with Elder Law Supplement offers many benefits, but the five that UFT retirees use the most are assistance with estate planning, elder law, civil litigation, real estate and matrimonial law.
Feeding others to feed the soul
Retired teacher Luann Martin gives back to her community by volunteering with the Feeding with TLC soup kitchen operated by Trinity Lutheran Church on Staten Island.
We can’t afford to be apolitical
In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a plan to import the worst part of Medicare Advantage — prior authorizations — into traditional Medicare. Prior authorization requirements will be established for certain traditional...
Injuries in the line of duty
Pedagogical DOE employees who are injured or made sick on the job are covered by the Line of Duty Injury provision of the DOE-UFT contract — not workers’ compensation. The following Q&A answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Line...
3.25% rai$e on Sept. 14
UFT-represented employees covered by the DOE-UFT contract will see a pay raise of 3.5 percent on Sept. 15.
Our fights yield better working conditions
UFT President Michael Mulgrew writes that we will see meaningful improvements in our working conditions — and our students’ learning conditions — this school year as a result of fights we undertook as a union for the changes we need.
Noteworthy Graduate: James J. McBratney, Restaurant owner
James J. McBratney, a product of Staten Island public schools, is a successful business owner and financial adviser best known on Staten Island as the proprietor of Jimmy Max Restaurant, a community staple he dropped out of college to open in 1989.
UFT welcomes new teachers
The number of new teachers who turned out on Aug. 26 for the kickoff of New Teacher Week was about twice as large as last year, thanks to the surge of hiring over the summer to reduce class sizes in some 750 schools. As the new hires lined up outside...
Vouchers hurt Florida schools
Two years after Florida expanded a law allowing tax dollars to fund private school scholarships, school districts across Florida are facing declining enrollment and the loss of millions of dollars in public funding as more families opt for state...
Federal workers lose union rights
The Trump administration has unilaterally stripped hundreds of thousands of workers at four federal agencies of their union contracts after a federal appeals court overruled an injunction that had halted the plans.
U.S. DOE layoffs allowed to proceed
A US Supreme Court ruling allows the Trump administration to proceed with 1,400 layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education.
Union backs Mamdani for mayor
The UFT Delegate Assembly voted on July 8 to endorse Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor in the November elections. At a news conference at union headquarters the following day, Mamdani pledged to work with the union to...
Building rapport from the start
As any seasoned teacher will tell you, it’s important to start the school year off on a good note. Along with essentials like reviewing classroom rules and units of study, ice breakers play a key role in setting the right tone and building rapport...
Doing a technology inventory
The start of the year is a good time to consider what equipment you have on hand, what you may need to obtain, your classroom protocols related to technology, and what technology projects you’d like to pursue. Here is a framework for doing this...
Embattled federal workers unite
Federal workers have faced a dizzying mix of reductions in force, firings of probationary workers, early retirements and deferred resignations since Trump became president for the second time. The Federal Unionists Network (FUN) in New York City is...
Workplace discrimination and harassment
The UFT-DOE contracts contain protections against a wide range of discriminatory or harassing behaviors, including sexual harassment. Federal, state and city laws also provide protections. Here is what you need to know.
June DA resolutions
At its last meeting of the 204-25 school year, the Delegate Assembly passed four resolutions.
Transit programs
If you travel to work by public transportation, you can save money by taking part in the City of New York Commuter Benefits Program, which enables you enables you to pay for allowable commuting costs in the city and the tri-state area with tax-free...