About 70 people learned about online student safety, special education resources and more at the UFT's Staten Island Family Partnership Summit held on Nov. 9 at PS 20 on Staten Island.

Roughly 350 new retirees gathered for the New Retiree Luncheon at the New York Hilton Midtown on Dec. 5 to toast their life after retirement. 


Tikkun olam — Hebrew for “repairing the world” — was the theme for the UFT Jewish Heritage Committee Awards dinner for a second straight year. The event, which was held at Russo’s on the Bay in Queens on Dec. 5, was “joyous and festive, with the spirit of unionism and repair of the world infused throughout,” said Jason Goldberg, the committee chair.

UFT volunteers transformed Shanker Hall at union headquarters into a wonderland of candy-cane balloons, games and crafts for the union's annual holiday party and toy drive for students in need. Organized by the UFT Elementary School Division, the party welcomed nearly 100 children from six city shelters in partnership with the Coalition for the Homeless.

Nurses take an oath to act in the best interest of their patients, but the corporatization of health care and the focus on profits have made it increasingly challenging to keep that vow. Nurses grappled with that challenge and took workshops to enhance their skills and knowledge at the Federation of Nurses/UFT's Professional Issues Conference.

Educators from schools across the city exposed their students to a variety of career and college pathways at three fairs hosted this fall by the UFT's Academic High School Division. The Future in Focus event highlighted careers in which the workers typically belong to unions.