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Starbucks union drive marks first year
To mark the one-year anniversary of the Starbucks union movement, the company’s workers held rallies on Dec. 9 in 10 cities nationwide, including New York City. The UFT was among the unions at the City Hall rally.
Learning about topics from genealogy to guitar
Thousands of UFT retirees participate in hundreds of Si Beagle Learning Center courses, seminars, trips and dine-arounds each year.
Nassau options expand with Zoom
Without dedicated office space, finding sites for Si Beagle classes and for activities for Nassau County retirees was challenging. Then came Zoom.
Our basic union rights at stake
In recent litigation over the New York City Medicare Advantage Plus plan, a judge ultimately gave the green light for the city to implement such a plan but he simultaneously took aim at the collective bargaining rights of city unions.
From pencils and papers to scalpels and scrubs
After more than 30 years of teaching world history, retired teacher Deirdre Boyce continues to educate, but as a medical surgical nurse.
Contract gets action on class size
Just two of this school year’s grievances over excessive class sizes citywide remained unresolved by Thanksgiving — thanks to a powerful provision in the 2018 Department of Education-UFT contract.
Putting a new spin on learning
Using the school cafeteria as a shop, 4th-graders at PS 143 in Corona, Queens, learn bike mechanics, incorporating hands-on elements into their study of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
At a health care crossroads
Make no mistake, the escalating cost of health care is a national issue that requires federal intervention. But in the meantime, we must figure out a way to stabilize the cost of our own health benefits so we can avoid premiums for at least the next...
Ensuring ‘All Are Welcome’
Lisa Friscia, the 2022 Elementary TESOL Teacher of the Year, has helped build a strong and vibrant ENL instructional practice at PS 39 on Staten Island that engages and empowers English language learners.
Mass layoffs in tech spur litigation
The thousands of layoffs at Twitter and other tech companies in recent months have renewed a focus on the decades-old federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires written notice of at least 60 days for mass layoffs...
Chicago to monitor students’ social media
Chicago Public Schools has contracted with a Canadian company to monitor students’ public social media posts for signs they might engage in violence on campus or potentially harm themselves and require staff – or police – intervention.
New African American Studies AP class
Roughly 60 public high schools across the country are piloting a new Advanced Placement course called African American Studies, the first new College Board offering since 2014.
Making newcomers feel at home
More than half — about 75,000 — of the approximately 140,000 English language learners in New York City public schools have lived in the United States for fewer than three years. They need the support of culturally attuned and linguistically diverse...
Exercising tech options for phys ed
Digital tools can be helpful additions to physical education classes to enhance student motivation, fine-tune form, accommodate differentiation and offer choices to students.
Mentoring boys of color
Kappa League, a program that offers Black and Latino high school boys a chance to develop leadership skills while preparing for college, now has a small but growing presence in New York City public schools thanks to the efforts of two UFT members.
UFT backs bill requiring city hospitals to disclose costs
UFT President Michael Mulgrew backs a City Council bill that would create an Office of Healthcare Accountability to rein in overcharges by hospitals that a study found inflated employee health care costs by up to $2.4 billion.
‘An intolerable burden’
The UFT is fighting to preserve the "unicorn" status of premium-free health care for New York City public school educators, even as most public and private sector employees have to pay hefty premiums.
Use the union’s advocacy tool to help English language learners
UFT members can use the union’s English language learners complaint form to advocate for English language learners.
No room for charters
Picking up on Mayor Eric Adams’ more welcoming attitude, the charter lobby is flexing its muscles again and Eva Moskowitz, Success Academy’s rapacious chief executive, is trying to elbow her way into yet more district schools.
Pandering Pompeo
Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump’s former secretary of state, tried to grab the lead in the Republican race to the bottom when he declared just before Thanksgiving that “the most dangerous person in the world is Randi Weingarten” and asserted that the...
‘The biggest crisis we’re facing’
UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the Delegate Assembly on Nov. 16 that the increasingly unique benefit enjoyed by New York City employees — high-quality, premium-free health coverage — is under threat unless municipal unions can find health savings...
Kudos to Ramona Abraham-Coley, NYC Museum School, Manhattan
Museum School Chapter Leader Ramona Abraham-Coley successfully used the school-based option process in the DOE-UFT contract to organize her members and arrive at a new staff schedule for this school year that works for both her members and the...
Homework: what's helpful and what isn't
If you haven’t already developed a personal homework philosophy, it can be helpful to devote some time to considering the practical value of the homework you plan to assign and the logistics around its submission and grading. As you do so, keep in...
Life lessons
Jenna Marrazzo, a second-year teacher at PS 42 on Staten Island, stepped up in her first year on the job to support and advise the school's newly invigorated student council, which had gone dormant during the pandemic.
Showcasing a diverse student population
To showcase the diverse student population at PS 60 in Queens, this ENL teacher created an interactive, multicultural experience where students are able to locate their native country on the world map and share fun facts that represent the uniqueness...
Turning a page at Queens school
The library at Bard Early College in Long Island City, Queens, is getting a makeover to make it more accessible for students with disabilities, thanks to a partnership between Jessica deCourcy Hinds, the school’s library director, and students in the...
UFT holiday party and toy drive
The UFT welcomed 80 children from eight city shelters to a special holiday celebration organized in partnership with Coalition for the Homeless on Dec. 10 at union headquarters in Manhattan.
Psychologists Appreciation Day 2022
More than 100 school psychologists came to UFT headquarters on Nov. 10, with hundreds more attending remotely, to mark the union’s sixth annual Psychologists Appreciation Day.
Parent conferences
More than 300 parents turned out on Nov. 5 at the UFT borogh offices in Queens and on Staten Island for a day of workshops, food and fun at the union’s parent conferences, the first in-person parent conferences in those boroughs since the COVID-19...
Middle School Anti-Bullying Conference
Roughly 500 students and educators attended the UFT’s Middle School Anti-Bullying Conference on Oct. 25 at union headquarters, where they learned strategies to identify and prevent bullying and become ambassadors for their schools.
New Retiree Luncheons 2022
More than 1,400 members gathered at the New York Hilton Midtown for two New Retiree Luncheons in November to celebrate their service to the city's public school students and the new chapter in their lives.
Federation of Nurses/UFT Professional Issues Conference
Hundreds of Federation of Nurses/UFT members gathered on Nov. 18 at union headquarters for their annual Professional Issues Conference to delve into some of their key concerns and honor colleagues who have helped improve working conditions.
First Book event
More than 1,000 parents, some with children in tow, brought their own bags, boxes and containers to the First Book event at PS 257 in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Nov. 5 and carted off many of the 40,000 free books on offer.
UFT members at ADAPT ratify new contract
UFT members employed by the ADAPT Community Network overwhelmingly ratified a two-year contract on Nov. 22 that provides solid wages increases and creates a new process to resolve health and safety issues at the worksites.