Teacher Union Day 2022
More than 1,000 educators, family and friends honored UFT members at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 6 during Teacher Union Day, an annual event that commemorates the 1960 strike that won collective bargaining rights for the union.
![Billy Green speaks at Teacher Union Day A man speaks at the podium in front of a crowd](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_04.jpg?h=5f83fe80&itok=XkqlLuBA)
An address by Harlem chemistry teacher Billy Green, the 2023 New York State Teacher of the Year, is one of the highlights of Teacher Union Day, an annual event that honors members’ bravery, activism and solidarity, on Nov. 6 at the New York Hilton Midtown.
![Shelvy Young-Abrams honored Four people pose for a photo and one is holding an award.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_02.jpg?h=5598b407&itok=VFpFO3az)
Shelvy Young-Abrams, who began working as a paraprofessional in 1968 and was instrumental in organizing the paraprofessionals chapter, is presented with the Charles Cogen Award ꟷ the union’s highest honor ꟷ by UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr (left), President Michael Mulgrew (second from right) and emcee Anthony Harmon.
![Marsh/Raimo Winners A group of award winners pose in front of a UFT backdrop](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_03.jpg?itok=sqEkh97G)
![High School Trachtenberg Award Winners Two dozen award winners pose on stage for a photo](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_07.jpg?itok=T-q1Mfmk)
![Teacher Union Day 2022 Teacher Union Day 2022](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_06.jpg?itok=Cyfow-iG)
Elementary school chapter leaders who won Ely Trachtenberg Awards gather onstage with union leadership on Nov. 6.
![Teacher Union Day 2022 Teacher Union Day 2022](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/teacher-union-day-2022-gsc-0315.jpg?itok=Ai-qxT-X)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew (left), Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese (second from left) and Secretary LeRoy Barr (right) join the middle school winners of the Ely Trachtenberg Award on Teacher Union Day.
![PS 129M A group of members pose for a photo at a table.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_09.jpg?itok=e3CEYnDN)
UFT members from PS 129 in Harlem support their Ely Trachtenberg Award winner, Veronica Lawyer-James (seated, center), during the reception and luncheon that followed the ceremony.
![Albert Lee Smallheiser Award winners A group of award winners pose on stage for a photo.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_11.jpg?itok=F-Hr1VPm)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew (left) stands with nine of the 10 members who took home Albert Lee Smallheiser Awards for their efforts to improve working conditions for their colleagues.
![Ethan Holder tribute A man on the left signs an honorary identification card of a deceased teacher assistant](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_GSC_0430.jpg?itok=_rHFsuDG)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew signs oversized membership cards that were posthumously presented to the parents of Ethan Holder, a 19-year-old who was fatally shot in October 2022 outside P 771 at PS 203 in Flatlands, Brooklyn, where he had been working as a paraprofessional.
![Ethan Holder family A family poses for a photo after one of their deceased family members was honored at Teacher Union Day](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/SUBMITTED-holder-family.jpg?itok=cu3l0dOP)
The family of Ethan Holder is out in force to remember the late paraprofessional, taking a group photo with the oversized UFT membership cards presented to his parents, Roy Holder (seated, second from left) and Beverly John-Holder (seated, third from left), to honor their son, who was fatally shot in October 2022 outside his school.
![Ethan Holder flashlights Attendees illuminate the flashlights on their phones to honor Ethan Holder (on screen) during the presentation of an AFT Special Recognition Award to the late paraprofessional.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/IMG_6187.jpg?itok=K2CZrLHf)
Attendees illuminate the flashlights on their phones to honor Ethan Holder (on screen) during the presentation of an AFT Special Recognition Award for the late paraprofessional.
![Joyce Baldino and Debra Elhadri Two women pose for a photo together](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_GSC_0705.jpg?itok=6T-oabJX)
Retiree Joyce Baldino (left), a former chapter leader at IS 383 in Brooklyn, celebrates her award for 20 years of service in that position with Chapter Leader Debra Elhadri of PS 75 in Bushwick, who received an Ely Trachtenberg Award.
![Geof Sorkin wins the Jules Kolodny Award A man looks down while speaking to a crowd and holding an award.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_FSC_0131.jpg?itok=jChCCoSX)
![Sonia Burke and Michael Mulgrew A woman wearing a large hat poses with a photo with a man on a stage](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_FSC_0230.jpg?itok=KtK9BYaz)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew congratulates Sonia Burke, the chapter leader at A. Philip Randolph Campus HS in Harlem, who was the recipient of an Ely Trachtenberg Award.
![Backer-Scheintaub Award presentation Two men pose for a photo with a woman who is holding an award.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_GSC_0380.jpg?itok=LYH6fcgs)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew (left) and Assistant Secretary Michael Sill (right) present the Backer/Scheintaub Award, which encourages potential new union leaders, to Chapter Leader Terrain Reeves of Edward R. Murrow High School in Midwood, Brooklyn.
![Anthony Harmon A man looks out to the crowd while speaking at a podium](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_FSC_0253.jpg?itok=0cjkaxZj)
![Lorraine O’Shea-Willsea Lorraine O’Shea-Willsea](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/teacher-dnion-day-2022_064_GSC_0497.jpg?itok=su2o55eR)
The Sidney Harris Award goes to Lorraine O’Shea-Willsea.
![Patricia Mezzacappa Patricia Mezzacappa](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/teacher-dnion-day-2022_064-GSC_0288.jpg?itok=X4iYbETx)
Patricia Mezzacappa accepts the David Wittes Award.
![Randi Weingarten A woman speaks at a podium with a large "union proud" graphic in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_FSC_0081.jpg?itok=L8fo1Bgv)
AFT President Randi Weingarten speaks about the importance of electing to public office leaders who will not work to undo the hard-fought laws and policies of unionists.
![Teacher Union Day attendees A group of members pose for a picture at a table](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/GSC_0043.jpg?itok=NMa13BqN)
UFT members dress in their Sunday best for the Nov. 6 event.
![Billy Green speaks at Teacher Union Day A man speaks at the podium in front of a crowd](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_04.jpg?h=5f83fe80&itok=XkqlLuBA)
An address by Harlem chemistry teacher Billy Green, the 2023 New York State Teacher of the Year, is one of the highlights of Teacher Union Day, an annual event that honors members’ bravery, activism and solidarity, on Nov. 6 at the New York Hilton Midtown.
![Shelvy Young-Abrams honored Four people pose for a photo and one is holding an award.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_02.jpg?h=5598b407&itok=VFpFO3az)
Shelvy Young-Abrams, who began working as a paraprofessional in 1968 and was instrumental in organizing the paraprofessionals chapter, is presented with the Charles Cogen Award ꟷ the union’s highest honor ꟷ by UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr (left), President Michael Mulgrew (second from right) and emcee Anthony Harmon.
![Marsh/Raimo Winners A group of award winners pose in front of a UFT backdrop](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_03.jpg?itok=sqEkh97G)
![High School Trachtenberg Award Winners Two dozen award winners pose on stage for a photo](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_07.jpg?itok=T-q1Mfmk)
![Teacher Union Day 2022 Teacher Union Day 2022](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_06.jpg?itok=Cyfow-iG)
Elementary school chapter leaders who won Ely Trachtenberg Awards gather onstage with union leadership on Nov. 6.
![Teacher Union Day 2022 Teacher Union Day 2022](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/teacher-union-day-2022-gsc-0315.jpg?itok=Ai-qxT-X)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew (left), Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese (second from left) and Secretary LeRoy Barr (right) join the middle school winners of the Ely Trachtenberg Award on Teacher Union Day.
![PS 129M A group of members pose for a photo at a table.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_09.jpg?itok=e3CEYnDN)
UFT members from PS 129 in Harlem support their Ely Trachtenberg Award winner, Veronica Lawyer-James (seated, center), during the reception and luncheon that followed the ceremony.
![Albert Lee Smallheiser Award winners A group of award winners pose on stage for a photo.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/JF_Union_Day_11.jpg?itok=F-Hr1VPm)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew (left) stands with nine of the 10 members who took home Albert Lee Smallheiser Awards for their efforts to improve working conditions for their colleagues.
![Ethan Holder tribute A man on the left signs an honorary identification card of a deceased teacher assistant](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_GSC_0430.jpg?itok=_rHFsuDG)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew signs oversized membership cards that were posthumously presented to the parents of Ethan Holder, a 19-year-old who was fatally shot in October 2022 outside P 771 at PS 203 in Flatlands, Brooklyn, where he had been working as a paraprofessional.
![Ethan Holder family A family poses for a photo after one of their deceased family members was honored at Teacher Union Day](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/SUBMITTED-holder-family.jpg?itok=cu3l0dOP)
The family of Ethan Holder is out in force to remember the late paraprofessional, taking a group photo with the oversized UFT membership cards presented to his parents, Roy Holder (seated, second from left) and Beverly John-Holder (seated, third from left), to honor their son, who was fatally shot in October 2022 outside his school.
![Ethan Holder flashlights Attendees illuminate the flashlights on their phones to honor Ethan Holder (on screen) during the presentation of an AFT Special Recognition Award to the late paraprofessional.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/IMG_6187.jpg?itok=K2CZrLHf)
Attendees illuminate the flashlights on their phones to honor Ethan Holder (on screen) during the presentation of an AFT Special Recognition Award for the late paraprofessional.
![Joyce Baldino and Debra Elhadri Two women pose for a photo together](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_GSC_0705.jpg?itok=6T-oabJX)
Retiree Joyce Baldino (left), a former chapter leader at IS 383 in Brooklyn, celebrates her award for 20 years of service in that position with Chapter Leader Debra Elhadri of PS 75 in Bushwick, who received an Ely Trachtenberg Award.
![Geof Sorkin wins the Jules Kolodny Award A man looks down while speaking to a crowd and holding an award.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_FSC_0131.jpg?itok=jChCCoSX)
![Sonia Burke and Michael Mulgrew A woman wearing a large hat poses with a photo with a man on a stage](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_FSC_0230.jpg?itok=KtK9BYaz)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew congratulates Sonia Burke, the chapter leader at A. Philip Randolph Campus HS in Harlem, who was the recipient of an Ely Trachtenberg Award.
![Backer-Scheintaub Award presentation Two men pose for a photo with a woman who is holding an award.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_GSC_0380.jpg?itok=LYH6fcgs)
UFT President Michael Mulgrew (left) and Assistant Secretary Michael Sill (right) present the Backer/Scheintaub Award, which encourages potential new union leaders, to Chapter Leader Terrain Reeves of Edward R. Murrow High School in Midwood, Brooklyn.
![Anthony Harmon A man looks out to the crowd while speaking at a podium](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_FSC_0253.jpg?itok=0cjkaxZj)
![Lorraine O’Shea-Willsea Lorraine O’Shea-Willsea](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/teacher-dnion-day-2022_064_GSC_0497.jpg?itok=su2o55eR)
The Sidney Harris Award goes to Lorraine O’Shea-Willsea.
![Patricia Mezzacappa Patricia Mezzacappa](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/teacher-dnion-day-2022_064-GSC_0288.jpg?itok=X4iYbETx)
Patricia Mezzacappa accepts the David Wittes Award.
![Randi Weingarten A woman speaks at a podium with a large "union proud" graphic in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Fickies_FSC_0081.jpg?itok=L8fo1Bgv)
AFT President Randi Weingarten speaks about the importance of electing to public office leaders who will not work to undo the hard-fought laws and policies of unionists.
![Teacher Union Day attendees A group of members pose for a picture at a table](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/GSC_0043.jpg?itok=NMa13BqN)
UFT members dress in their Sunday best for the Nov. 6 event.