President's Perspective
Our fights yield better working conditions
UFT President Michael Mulgrew writes that we will see meaningful improvements in our working conditions — and our students’ learning conditions — this school year as a result of fights we undertook as a union for the changes we need.
A health care reset
We can all agree that our health benefits need a reset. For the past two years, the city and the MLC have been involved in a negotiated acquisition process for a new in-service and pre-Medicare retiree health care plan, which we hope will be the reset we need. The new plan that emerges from this process must provide better benefits and reduce costs for city taxpayers.
We won’t back down
Never in living memory has a new president unilaterally attacked public services, public education and worker rights like is happening now. But no one should underestimate the strength and grit that it takes to be a public school educator in New York City. We will not allow the federal government to erode our rights and harm our students without a fight.
Fairness for our paraprofessionals
The fact is our paraprofessionals cannot survive in this city on a starting salary of just under $32,000. Without offering more money, the DOE cannot hope to retain and recruit enough paraprofessionals.
The DOE fails students with special needs
The DOE’s failure to adequately staff our schools is unacceptable. We have long known that our related service providers were stretched thin, but the numbers from the survey show how untenable the DOE has let the situation become.
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.