UFT members had the rare opportunity to hear a first-hand account of the creation of the Paraprofessionals Chapter more than 50 years ago from Velma Murphy Hill, the chapter’s founder and first chair, and her husband Norman Hill.


For Cedric Hawkins, a school counselor at Wings Academy HS in the Bronx, the UFT’s college fair at Borough of Manhattan Community College on Nov. 3 was an opportunity for his students not only to meet recruiters from more than 80 colleges and other post-secondary institutions but also to mingle with 2,500 other college-bound public school students.

In presenting the Cogen Award to UFT Treasurer Debra Penny, UFT President Michael Mulgrew spoke of her compassion. “It’s the humanity she brings to her job at all times,” he said. “She’s just a person who never stops caring.”

UFT members celebrated past, present and future union leaders on Teacher Union Day by mourning founder George Altomare on the anniversary of the union’s first strike and honoring the new school-based Contract Action Teams and others who carry on his legacy.

Some 160 students living in temporary housing attended the UFT Middle Schools Division’s Thanksgiving Luncheon on Nov. 18 at UFT headquarters. At the end of the event, the children left with brand-new winter coats and accessories donated by UFT members or staff.


More than four hundred UFT members attended the annual Psychologists Appreciation Day professional development on Nov. 10 at union headquarters. “The sense of unity and community that the union brings is really valuable," said one school psychologist.