One of the many benefits provided by the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) and the Board of Education Retirement System (BERS) is the ability to borrow against your Qualified Pension Plan and your Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) savings.

Our country now feels like a dangerous and scary place. And yet, I don’t despair. I’m encouraged to see UFT members taking to the streets and uniting in protest with our fellow union members on a grand scale.

Summer is a good time to check on any outstanding items needed for state certification or to review state education policies if you are being appointed under a different license this upcoming school year. Read answers to common questions below and be...

We can all agree that our health benefits need a reset. For the past two years, the city and the MLC have been involved in a negotiated acquisition process for a new in-service and pre-Medicare retiree health care plan, which we hope will be the...

The number of optical stores available to UFT Welfare Fund-eligible members has increased by almost 800 nationwide with the addition of Visionworks to the General Vision Services network.

Fed up with the DOE’s delay in reimbursing them for travel expenses, itinerant related service providers went public with their frustrations in April. Occupational and physical therapists also called out the DOE for long delays in tuition...

Maria Dela Cruz and her fellow math teachers at Newtown High School in Queens fuel their students' interest in the subject by participating in a national math competition whose live and virtual aspects pique students' desire to go all out to best...

School districts that rely on international exchange programs to hire teachers to address shortages in some subject areas largely opt for J–1 cultural exchange visas. Such districts are feeling the impact of the Trump administration's pause on such...

Maryland is providing $1 million in grants to 11 in-state colleges and universities with the goal of helping federal employees who were laid off under the Trump administration to earn teaching licenses.

A new contract between the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and one of the world’s largest meat companies establishes a pension plan — the first new defined-benefit retirement fund in the industry since 1986.

The federal threats to collective bargaining, Social Security, health care and education funding loomed large at the 53rd annual New York State United Teachers Representative Assembly in Rochester in early May.

The New York City Labor Council, AFL-CIO, organizes a rally every May 1 to mark International Workers’ Day. But the size of this year’s event dwarfed those in years past as more than 15,000 union members, including hundreds of UFT members, marched...

At the June 11 Delegate Assembly, UFT President Michael Mulgrew indicated that the union was leaning toward not making an endorsement in the Democratic primary for mayor.
“There is no clear consensus among the membership,” he said. “It’s one of the...

If someone possesses “information literacy,” they can find, evaluate and effectively use sources of information. With the advent of social media and AI, it’s become easier and easier to spread mis- and disinformation. How can we help our students...

If you feel your contractual rights have been violated, it’s time to speak up and seek a fair resolution. If informal measures don’t fix your issue, your chapter leader can assist you in preparing and filing a grievance, which is the formal way that...

Approximately 30% of New York City schools don’t have libraries, and there are only 250 certified school librarians throughout a system with more than 1,800 schools. School libraries are needed more than ever.

Two New York City high school students have been detained by federal immigration enforcement agents following what should have been routine immigration hearings. Although these arrests did not take place on school property, they have nonetheless been...

At the May Delegate Assembly, delegates passed a resolution opposing election interference and another endorsing City Council candidates in the June 24 Democratic primary.

President Donald Trump’s so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which the U.S. House of Representatives passed on May 22 and is now under consideration in the Senate, would spell disaster for public education and critical social services including...

At the UFT’s annual city legislative breakfast, 28 City Council members heard how critical an annual “RESPECT check” would be in reversing the paraprofessional shortage in schools. They also heard appeals from union representatives for continued city...

With the state funding that 750 schools received to bring class sizes into compliance with state law, more UFT members will have optimal teaching conditions next school year and are confident that students will benefit from the additional time and...

Member organizing paid off at the Brooklyn campus of Boerum Hill School for International Studies and two other public schools. The city Department of Education moved to alleviate overcrowding by transferring unused Success Academy Charter School...

A UFT contingent of 1,400 enjoyed a Mets game from in front of the outfield fence at Citi Field on UFT Night. Teacher Rose Zelwinder of PS 78 in Queens threw out the first pitch to teacher Monica Lalo of IS 96 in Brooklyn.

Some 350 UFT Teacher Center site coaches, field liaisons and directors past and present — from long-retired employees to current staff — gathered at the TWA Hotel in Queens on April 27 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the program.

The new Teachers’ Retirement System’s Member Education Center has been named after Mel Aaronson, a retired UFT treasurer who served for 35 years on the TRS Board of Trustees, including four as board chair.

Lemon cookies with a dusting of powdered sugar. A National Electrical Code handbook quiz. A Zombie-killing video game.
These were among the projects of career and technical education high school students on display in the exhibit hall at this year’s...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew didn’t mince words about the current threats to public schools and public school communities at the union's 2025 Spring Education Conference. He asked the more than 1,600 members who packed the New York Hilton Midtown to...

Educators could earn CTLE credit by attending any of five professional development workshops offered by the UFT Teacher Center at this year's Spring Education Conference. 
This year’s New York City theme allowed Teacher Center instructors to infuse...

The UFT gave out $5,000 college scholarships to 200 high school seniors and nine graduate students at the 56th annual ceremony on June 3 at UFT headquarters.

Thirty-two school secretaries from across the city were honored at the union’s 38th annual School Secretaries awards celebration on June 6.

Fifty school nurses gathered for their chapter’s annual School Nurses Appreciation Dinner at UFT headquarters on May 7, timed to coincide with National School Nurse Day.

About 400 members of the UFT Family Child Care Providers Chapter and their guests filled Shanker Hall at union headquarters on May 9 for the 12th annual Provider Appreciation Awards Ceremony to honor more than 50 providers for the extraordinary work...

Twenty-five middle school educators were honored at the UFT’s inaugural Middle School Awards Night on May 15. Some 200 members and guests attended as members' roles in students' lives at at key stage of development were highlighted and celebrated.

About 250 middle schoolers participated in music activities, all designed to encourage social-emotional learning, at the fifth annual Let's Talk About It event organized by the UFT's Member Assistance Program.

Some 50 members gathered at UFT headquarters on April 13 at the UFT Irish American Heritage Committee's annual dinner for an evening of connecting with one another and learning about Irish culture, art and history.

About 450 students from 35 high schools learned about jobs in unionized fields at the UFT Academic High School Division’s 8th annual Future in Focus job fair.