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.

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.

Second-grade teacher Candace LeDoux has her students write a daily affirmation each morning. She believes this small investment in positive thinking can have a big impact on her students’ well-being.

The UFT Staten Island partnered with local elected officials and organizations to provide backpacks and other supplies, food and fun for more than 400 families during its annual supplies giveaway on Aug. 2.

UFT members and staff handed out books, backpacks, school supplies and other goodies to students and their families at the Harlem Week Children’s Festival at Howard Bennett Playground on Aug. 20.

UFT members, family and friends celebrated Dominican culture and community on Aug. 13 by marching up Sixth Avenue or waving from the UFT’s blue-and-white float in the Dominican Day Parade.

George Altomare, a founder of the UFT who led with insight, devotion and a great deal of heart, died on Aug. 20, at age 92 after a long illness. He loved teaching and dedicated his life to improving public school education for New York City students...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew kicked off the first day of school for New York City public schools on Sept. 7 at PS 121 in the Bronx with Mayor Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks. They welcomed the more than 900,000 students back to school citywide, including about 21,500 from families that have migrated to the city in the past year; announced a state waiver that will allow more bilingual educators to teach migrant students; and touted the new, phonics-based reading curriculum.

Officially known as the second differential (C6 + PD), most members achieve the salary differential with the highest pay scale by taking 30 course credits beyond their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. But a lesser-known path to the top differential...

A new city Office of Healthcare Accountability will force all New York City hospitals to disclose what they charge for medical procedures and make it harder for them to engage in price gouging.

Between the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of social media, many students are dealing with anxiety, lack of focus, tumultuous emotions or depression. There’s a proven strategy that can help: mindfulness. Here are some digital...

UFT founder George Altomare, who died in August 2023, is greeted by fellow UFT members in heaven.

The DOE recently notified the approximately 130,000 in-service UFT members and 36,000 former employees whose confidential information might have been exposed in a large data breach in June.

September’s hint of cooler weather brings the feeling of a new year and a fresh start.

NYSUT recently announced a new open enrollment period for its Catastrophe Major Medical Plan that helps provide coverage for out-of-pocket medical expenses if you have a serious medical issue. New members can only enroll between Sept. 8 and Oct. 13...

This group shares it's bargaining unit with Supervisors of Nurses & Therapists and School Nurses.

New beginnings can trigger fears. In this first episode of the Brewing Wellness podcast, Dr. Jarell Myers, a clinical psychologist, will discuss ways to work with our thoughts and feelings so we are not held captive by unhealthy fears. He will share an approach to building up tolerance through exposure and other strategies to help manage our anxieties.

Eleven busloads of UFT members and school community members joined tens of thousands of demonstrators at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Aug. 26, to mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In the spirit of this year’s theme, “Not a commemoration, a continuation,” the demonstrators called for dignity for workers and civil rights.

On hundreds of occasions in the last 18 months, patients at NYU Langone Hospital - Brooklyn have been put at risk by the understaffing of nurses and aides, including in the hospital’s Intensive and Critical Care units. The Federation of Nurses/UFT...