Response to the death of UFT founder and former vice president George Altomare.

Eleven busloads of UFT members and school community members were among the tens of thousands of demonstrators who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, Aug. 26, to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom...

The Harbor Defense Museum at Fort Hamilton, with its collections of weaponry, uniforms and memorabilia from the American Revolution to World War II, is an interesting destination for a class trip.

As a math coach, Beverly Greene knows every problem has a solution. And that’s been her motto in her role as the chapter leader at PS 55 in the Bronx.

As part of its contract negotiations with the UFT, the DOE revised the 2023-24 school year calendar in late June to add four more days off for students and educators and issued calendars for the following two school years at the same time.

It is about time that the NYPD decided to make it mandatory for all of its school safety agents to have to wear bulletproof vests both inside and outside the school buildings where they are deployed to keep students safe.

I recently learned about the massacre of African-American citizens in the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, an event that has been overlooked during history class. The teaching of critical race theory has unfortunately been hijacked by politicians who define...

The union’s new contract with the city Department of Education was ratified with 75 percent of the vote, the union announced on July 10. The more than 95,000 UFT members who cast ballots was the largest in UFT history.

Three-quarters of the UFT members who cast ballots ratified a new contract that raises members’ salaries by 17.58% to 20.42% when compounded and gives educators more say over how and where they spend their out-of-classroom time. The agreement marked...

Hundreds of UFT members took advantage of a free UFT Teacher Center course on the science of reading in July. The course, which combined in-person and virtual learning, was part of the union’s effort to support educators as the Department of...

Lowering class sizes in New York City is not an experiment, a wish list item, an “unfunded mandate” or just another expenditure competing for city Department of Education funding. It’s the law.

On Aug. 28, 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. captivated an audience of 250,000 people at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom with his soaring “I Have a Dream” speech. Sixty years later, the dreams invoked that day by these civil rights...

The garden at PS 146 in Howard Beach, Queens, is a place of learning and encourages gratitude, and therefore responsibility, for the natural world.

The DOE-UFT contract, ratified on July 10, includes a ratification bonus and new annual retention bonuses in addition to regular across-the-board wage increases. It also boosts reimbursement payments for medical expenses related to an injury on the...

Over the summer, RTC members helped their teachers union colleagues in Florida reach new state-mandated union enrollment thresholds and helped the United Farm Workers union organize migrant farmworkers in New York State.

Contract enforcement all starts with understanding what the new agreement entails. Everyone should read the new contract — it’s the most important living document we as UFT members have.

The Catastrophe Major Medical Plan, sponsored by NYSUT Member Benefits, offers additional coverage for expenses that a basic health plan might not. In-service members may enroll between Sept. 8 and Oct. 13, 2023.

More than 1,500 new teachers signed their union cards at the opening day of the Department of Education’s annual New Teacher Week on Aug. 28. 


Delivery drivers, hotel staff, fast food workers, teachers and thousands of other workers went on strike this summer, as did the people who play them on TV.

Textbook sales have plummeted as school districts in red states are concerned that content they purchase could violate state laws restricting education on race, history, sex and gender, or prompt complaints in an era of surging book challenges.

Students have been absent at record rates since returning to in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by Stanford University in partnership with the Associated Press.

If you are a paraprofessional, the DOE-UFT contract establishes rights and obligations in terms of when you can be absent from work. Learn about how you accumulate and can use sick days and about excused absences.

Thanks to the advocacy of labor unions, including the UFT, each year retired public employees in New York State receive an adjustment to their pensions linked to an increase in the cost of living.

From Si Beagle courses and social services to legal advice and supplemental health care, membership in the Retired Teachers Chapter offers many benefits. But membership is not automatic: You must enroll in the UFT’s Retired Teachers Chapter after you...

Retired special education teacher Patricia Garone took her athleticism to a whole new level after she retired in 2016 at age 59. Since then, she has completed eight Half Ironman triathlons, two Full Ironman triathlons and dozens of other races.

The UFT has initiated an outreach program to determine how the union can best support retired paraprofessionals. The Retired Teachers Chapter includes approximately 7,600 paraprofessionals.

The city’s roughly 250,000 Medicare-eligible retirees will remain in their current health plans with the same benefits this fall after a trial court judge this summer blocked the city from moving ahead with the Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO Plan. The...

Leo Hoenig, a founder of the UFT and longtime active member of the Retired Teachers Chapter, died on June 3 at age 86.

The start of a new school year is a good opportunity to review the basics of membership in the Teachers’ Retirement System or the Board of Education Retirement System.

Burnout is a real risk for professionals in the helping professions, which include UFT members in education and health care. If you feel dread at the prospect of going to work, you may be suffering from this condition.

As the psychologist at Gotham Collaborative HS in the Bronx, Nadhilis Rojas assesses students’ needs, refers them for services and tracks their progress. As a fluent English and Spanish speaker, she can more effectively serve her diverse school...

UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro writes that the DOE will require the use of one of three evidence-based literacy programs grounded in phonics in all elementary schools by September 2024. The UFT Teacher Center is committed to doing...

As it has for more than 35 years, the Teacher’s Choice program will again reimburse UFT-represented educators for some of their out-of-pocket expenses for supplemental instructional supplies and materials of their choice.


I have developed five simple strategies for building genuine and affectionate relationships with my students quickly and efficiently early in the school year.

Having a warm and inviting learning environment will help you connect with your students, especially those who are new to the school or even the country. Here are some suggestions for how to make your students feel welcome in your classroom from the...

Jennifer Figueroa believes that anyone can be an artist. And the Bronx native, now in her third year of teaching art at PS 178 in Co-op City, knows that an expansive definition of "artist" helps kids take pride in all kinds of creativity.