New York TeacherNovember 1, 2024

Volume LXVI, Number 2

UFT members ring doorbells, make calls and rally on the streets of Manhattan for Kamala Harris and other pro-union, pro-education candidates down the ballot as Election Day nears.

Cover Story

UFT is dialed in for its candidates

UFT members hit the phone lines and fanned out from New York City to Philadelphia and Scranton, Pennsylvania, this fall to campaign for Kamala Harris for president, as well as other pro-union, pro-education candidates down the ballot on Nov. 5.

They volunteered during a pivotal election cycle whose outcome will have a profound impact on public education, labor unions, the economy, reproductive rights and other vital issues facing the country.

“This is the best energy we’ve had in a long time over a presidential race and it really comes down to we see what’s at stake,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told members who attended the union’s vice presidential debate watch party on Oct. 1.

Earlier that day, at a rally for vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, who is a former social studies teacher, outside CBS studios in Manhattan, Mulgrew said another Donald Trump presidency would…

Latest News

News Stories

Relief for joint pain

UFT Welfare Fund members, both in-service and retired, and their families now have special access to Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) thanks to a new partnership between the UFT Welfare Fund and the hospital.

News Stories

Union fights outsourcing of therapy work in schools

The UFT is pushing back against the DOE's use of part-time therapists from private agencies rather than operationalizing the ninth session negotiated in the 2023 DOE-UFT contract to enable full-time therapists to do this work.

Feature Stories

Organizing for the win

More than a hundred 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities at the Mosaic Pre-K Centers in Queens will now receive the related services they need to thrive, the culmination of a two-year organizing effort by the union and the broader school community. 

Educators take a breath

Two-hundred educators and their families gathered in Queens for a day of wellness and fun. They heard from MindUp CEO and founder Goldie Hawn and took part in activities and workshops to nurture their mental and physical health. 

Member Spotlight

What I Do

Aubrey Lees, hearing officer

As a hearing officer for the city's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, Aubrey Lee adjudicates cases involving summonses issued by the city’s regulatory agencies. "I can’t imagine what this job would be like without a union," she says.

Chapter Leader Shoutout

Kudos to Annawa Naing, PS/IS 78, Queens

The school-based special education committee — created as part of the 2023 DOE-UFT contract — gave Naing the tool she needed to fight to ensure special education students in her school receive the services they are entitled to.

Around the UFT

A pink tide

A pink wave crested over New York City school buildings on Oct. 16 as UFT members wore pink to work to raise awareness about breast cancer. The annual tradition is a way to celebrate survivors, pay tribute to lost loved ones and colleagues, and emphasize the importance of early detection and treatment.

For members at PS 1 in Brooklyn, wearing pink is about showing up for colleagues who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, said Mary Martinez, the school’s chapter leader. “It’s a place of darkness, and it’s really scary” to cope with a diagnosis, she said. “To show that we’re all family here gives them support in their…

Invitational Golf Outing

It was a great time for a great cause — raising money for the UFT Disaster Relief Fund — as members made their way out to the links at the Silver Lake Golf Course on Staten Island.

NYC Association of Foreign Language Teachers/UFT conference

The NYC Association of Foreign Language Teachers/UFT's fall conference featured language-specific workshop sessions for teachers of Spanish, French, Greek and Russian.

Your Rights and Benefits

Know Your Benefits

Eyeglasses and contact lenses

As a member of the UFT Welfare Fund, you and your eligible dependents can obtain optical services once every two years. Learn all you need to know about your optical benefit.

Know Your Rights

Preparation periods

Among the many meaningful contractual rights UFT members have is time carved out for teachers to do unassigned professional work. Whether they teach elementary, middle or high school, teachers are generally entitled to five preparation periods per week under the contract.

Your Well-being

Coping with grief

For those coping with grief, the shift from fall to winter can be especially hard, as the holiday season lies ahead and our thoughts turn to people, things and experiences that are missing. Mental health professionals with the UFT's Member Assistance Program offer coping strategies.  

You Should Know

Grants, Awards & Freebies

Grants, Awards & Freebies

See our list of current opportunities for educators to receive funds and recognition for their hard work and dedication.

Q&A on the Issues

Using Teacher’s Choice

Teacher’s Choice, initiated by the UFT over 30 years ago, allows school staff members to exercise their professional judgment to purchase supplementary supplies and materials to improve the educational experience for their students. Here are answers to the most commonly asked questions about the program.

Secure Your Future

Save with the TDA program

The Tax-Deferred Annuity program is a simple and powerful way to save additional money for your retirement. Your TDA account is funded exclusively through your own contributions. 

Opinions

President's Perspective

Why we support Kamala Harris

Every election is important, but one could argue that the general election on Nov. 5 is the single most important election in our lifetime. As union members and public school educators, we have a clear choice: Kamala Harris. We are also supporting Democratic candidates for the U.S. Congress in Westchester County and Long Island — races that will help determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives. 

VPerspective

Raising our voices for special education

UFT Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese writes that our special education teachers, paraprofessionals and related service providers do incredible work supporting children with IEPs, but the DOE too often has not fulfilled its part. 

Editorials

Para-lyzing process

New York City schools, particularly in District 75, are in dire need of paraprofessionals, who provide essential support services for children with disabilities. The shortage won’t get resolved until the city Department of Education streamlines its bureaucratic hiring process.

Editorials

Don’t phone it in

Cell phones in schools distract from teaching and learning and can threaten students’ mental health by feeding an addiction to social media. Barring them from classrooms makes sense, but any citywide ban has to be carefully conceived and implemented. Educators should not have to use instructional time to collect phones and they should not be the first or sole line of enforcement. 

Editorial Cartoons

Introducing the UFT Swag Shop

Late-night impulse buys at the UFT Swag Shop!

Comments

Teaching Resources

Learning Curve

Taking BRAVE steps to end bullying

Two factors have contributed to the increase in bullying in recent years: the pervasiveness of social media and lingering stress from the pandemic. But no matter the reason, the surge has prompted educators to address the issue more urgently.  

Linking to Learning

Mapping out a path to learning

The latest online mapping tools can do much more than get us from point A to B. With features such as data collection and media integration, online maps can be used in the classroom to take student activities in completely new directions.  

Teacher to Teacher

A graphic opening a slide show presentation for a student performance of "The Crucible"

Setting the stage to engage with text

High school teacher Amy Matthusen of East-West School of International Studies in Queens explains how to deepen students' engagement with a play or novel by having them produce a talk show featuring characters from the text.

Building Your Career

Inside My Classroom

Building an ofrenda

High school Spanish teacher Dianne-marie Cotto of World Journalism Preparatory in Queens has her class create an elaborate ofrenda (or altar to the dead) to help them better connect to the Mexican celebration El Dia de los Muertos.

New Teacher Articles

Making the most of parent-teacher conferences

Leading with the positive, focusing on a student's specific goals and having parents be assured that an educator has a plan to further their child's needs are among the best ways to have more effective parent-teacher conferences.

New Teacher Profiles

‘Scaffolding students’ dreams’

Will Dulin, a third-year teacher at Pathways to Graduation in Jamaica, Queens, takes pains to truly see his CTE students, helping them to forge pathways to educational success even when they can't quite envision them themselves.

Retired Teachers News

RTC Service

Medicare 101: All you need to know

When you sign up for Medicare, you join more than 60 million Americans in the massive public health insurance program. But registering involves more than just checking a box on a form; there are multiple parts to Medicare, and rules and premiums vary.

UFT retirees don’t have to navigate the transition alone. UFT Welfare Fund staff can assist you. They are knowledgeable about the complex insurance program and also about how it works in concert with city health benefits.

“What’s most important is should you have any questions, reach out to us,” UFT Welfare Fund Director Geof Sorkin said. “Let us assist you, let us guide you, let us help you make sense of all of these changes.”

Once you’re in, Medicare pays 80% of the allowable amount for Part A (hospital, skilled nursing, rehabilitation and hospice care) and Part B (physicians’ visits, laboratory tests and some prescription drugs). For Part D (prescription drug coverage), retirees pay a portion of the cost, based on the drug price…

RTC Chapter Leader Column

We remain one union

We may have differences, but we all work together on the important stuff. We put members first, and we don’t let our differences get in the way of our similarities. 

RTC Information

Retirees help turn out the vote

uFT retirees turned out in force this election cycle to make calls and knock on doors in support of Kamala Harris for president and other union-endorsed candidates down the ballot.