Lead or support a Contract Action Team at your school

Our UFT Negotiating Committee will have much more leverage at the bargaining table with the city and the DOE if it has a vocal and united membership behind it. This organizing work must happen in each school. That’s why we are asking you, as chapter leader, to lead your school’s Contract Action Team or support your colleagues who have the time and energy to take on this task. These teams will help organize and promote future school-based actions and activities in support of negotiations and keep members informed about where we are in the process. 

Join the team

Chapter leader stipend checks will be mailed in December

You, as chapter leader, are the face of the union for your members, and we rely on your leadership. As a small acknowledgment of the work you’ve done and the work you will do this school year, we are mailing your base stipend check this month to compensate you for out-of-pocket expenses you incur while performing your duties as chapter leader. The base stipend is calculated at a rate of $6 per member. Each chapter leader receives a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $1,350. The chapter leader stipend is based on your estimated expenses as chapter leader during the school year. The IRS is clear: For tax purposes, any excess you receive must be included in your gross income. Therefore, we strongly suggest that you keep all receipts. Chapter leaders who qualify will receive a second stipend check at the end of June in recognition of the extra time and effort they have dedicated to empower, organize and engage their members during the 2022–23 school year.

School budget update

The city’s more than $400 million in budget cuts to schools across the city in September will stand after an appeals court ruled on Nov. 22 that the New York City Council won’t have to vote again on the education budget. The appeals court agreed that city officials violated state education law in how they passed the budget for this fiscal year, but the panel decided that requiring a new budget vote would be unsettling to “the DOE’s operations and be detrimental to students and teachers alike.” The decision overturned the Aug. 5 ruling in which a lower court judge asked for a budget redo because the City Council adopted the city budget before the Panel for Educational Policy had voted to approve the education portion of it. "The DOE still needs to make school communities whole,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “It has the funding. The city needs to stop the financial fear mongering and do right by our students and educators."

Information about the health care battle

As a showdown on health care with the city looms large, the UFT and the Municipal Labor Committee continue to press the City Council to amend the city’s administrative code. If the Council fails to act, city retirees will likely lose their choice of health care plans, and UFT members, along with all other municipal employees, could have to pay health care premiums. Because we know this issue is complex, we have gathered together in one place all the explanatory information we have created for members, including our FAQ, a detailed look at the language of the proposed amendment, a health care negotiations timeline and a fact sheet that debunks misinformation about amending the code. UFT President Michael Mulgrew will give a health care update and answer UFT members’ questions at an all-member town hall next Wednesday, Dec. 7. Members will be receiving an email invitation shortly.

Learn more

UFT Shanker scholarship applications available now

Make sure high school seniors in your school apply for a $5,000 Albert Shanker college scholarship. The application deadline is Feb.17, 2023. Each year, the UFT awards $1 million in scholarships to academically excellent and financially eligible New York City public high school seniors through the Albert Shanker College Scholarship Fund. Please reach out to your school’s college advisers and school counselors to make sure that eligible seniors apply for these scholarships. If you do not work in a high school, please reach out to family, friends and community members who may qualify for this award. To receive a $5,000 scholarship from the fund, those selected must be accepted in a full-time, matriculated, degree-granting program at an accredited college or university for the fall of 2023. Students can apply electronically through the Albert Shanker College Scholarship website. Get more information and find the application materials on the UFT website.