This is our first contract negotiation since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first with this mayor and his schools chancellor. We have been preparing for this round of bargaining for eight months.

The most pressing issues facing us this school year are the mayor’s needless budget cuts that we fought against throughout the summer, a class size bill that requires the governor’s signature to become law, and contract negotiations that we are eager...

Smaller class sizes make parents feel better about their child’s education, makes children feel more seen in class and allows teachers’ hard work to become more effective. The bill passed by the state Legislature on June 2 takes us one step closer.

The past two years have proven that New York City is home to some of the most skilled and hard-working educators in the country. The highest form of respect comes when education policy makers really listen to what these classroom educators have to...

If ever there was a time when the need for schools to serve as community centers was self-evident, it is now. Our union’s United Community Schools initiative, now nearly 10 years old, serves as a lifeline for thousands of students and their families...

We’ve known for decades that smaller classes enhance teaching and learning. But the pandemic drove home that class size is also a public health issue. We are pushing for legislation that would change the health section of the city’s administrative...

We are operating in a constantly changing environment. You’re teaching and supporting children while enforcing social distancing and mask-wearing, conducting instructional lunches and navigating partial classroom closures. As flexible as we’ve all...

We are heading into another really tough school year. And once again, the mayor waited until the last minute to make major policy decisions regarding public schools.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, has led the union’s efforts to transform education in New York City and to secure the rights to jobs, justice and freedom for all New Yorkers.