The chapter leaders in our schools are the lifeblood of this union. They hold so many responsibilities — from making sure our workplace rights are being honored to disseminating important information and serving on school committees. But chapter leaders on their own can only do so much. The power of our union is in all of its members.
When we launched our contract campaign back in October 2022, we realized that the work didn’t have to fall only on the backs of chapter leaders. We needed a way to empower members and directly involve them with organizing their colleagues in the contract fight. We know we can count on our chapter leaders to lead the cause, but who else inside our schools was ready to take one step closer to leading?
From these discussions emerged the plan to create Contract Action Teams in every school. In this way, we mapped our workplace and our rank-and-file leaders citywide. That fall, nearly 2,700 members signed up to join and work beside their chapter leaders to make sure that all of us were informed and motivated to take action. Without all the organizing work of the Contract Action Teams throughout the 2022–23 school year, we could not have achieved the contract we achieved in June.
But even though we had a new contract, we knew our work as a union is never done. We wanted to channel the energy and new organizing acumen of the Contract Action Teams into future campaigns. So last fall, the Contract Action Teams were renamed Chapter Action Teams. This school year, their monthly meetings have continued to be well attended as we shifted our focus first to contract implementation and then to fixing Tier 6 and pushing the city to implement the class size law.
At these online meetings, we came together as a group of leaders to think big picture. What is our long-term vision for our schools and our union? How do we get more members involved in our campaigns? How do we make our presence felt as a workforce and a labor union?
Tired as we were after an exhausting workday, we were able to have incredible conversations. Our chapter leaders and our Chapter Action Teams took that energy back to their schools and educated, agitated and organized the members in their school chapters.
We moved our members from asking a chapter leader, “What is our union doing about this issue?” to asking themselves, “What can I do to move this issue?”
And from the wins we have had and the progress we continue to make this school year, we can see that this mindset works.
As part of the final budget agreement in April, we made another significant step forward in fixing Tier 6, changing the final average salary formula to match that of Tier 4 members. It’s a change that will result in a higher pension benefit upon retirement for Tier 6 members.
We were also able to overcome the city’s resistance to lower class size. The state budget agreement requires the Department of Education to fully fund and implement the class size law. In May, the DOE released a draft plan in which they take concrete steps to fund class size reduction instead of making excuses. Our member lobbying was instrumental in persuading state lawmakers to act.
It is not easy for a union as large as ours to keep its members engaged and mobilized. But thanks to the dedication and tireless work of our Chapter Action Teams over the past two years, we have raised our voices and fought for our future together.
The UFT is a powerful union, and through this process, we are finding and elevating new school-based leaders who make our union even stronger.