Cara Matthews

The Federation of Nurses/UFT is in a pitched battle with NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn over short staffing that the union contends is putting patients at risk.


The UFT has made endorsements in all but one City Council race and in the district attorney races in the Nov. 7 election, but the union’s borough political action committees have been focusing on four contested Council races: one in the Bronx, one in Brooklyn and two in Queens.


Gov. Kathy Hochul signed state legislation at UFT headquarters on Sept. 6 to spur teacher recruitment, with a focus on increasing diversity, across the state. The state needs about 180,000 teachers in the next decade to meet workforce needs, she said.

The class trip for 1st-graders at PS 234 in Manhattan to Battery Urban Farm in lower Manhattan was a feast for the senses. The Battery Conservancy created Battery Urban Farm to teach students, residents and visitors about sustainable farming and healthy eating.



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.

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.

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 the end of an eight-month battle for a fair contract.

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.

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.

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.