More than 1,600 members of the United Federation of Teachers rallied outside City Hall Wednesday, calling on the City Council to support legislation to provide paraprofessionals with an additional $10,000 annually.

Watch video of Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers, getting the 4/2 rally started »

See photo stills from the 4/2 rally »

Low wages make it difficult to hire and retain paraprofessionals, who often work one-on-one with special needs students.

Mulgrew said New York City's current system of pattern bargaining - where all job titles receive the same percentage wage increase - is unfair to lower-wage workers like paraprofessionals. The UFT calls on the Council to support paraprofessional legislation to provide these educators a $10,000 annual payment outside traditional contract negotiations.

UFT paraprofessionals working for the city Department of Education (DOE) earn from $31,787 to $52,847. A 3% increase r a first-year paraprofessional is roughly $900; a 3% increase for the highest-paid DOE school-based administrator, a principal, is roughly $6,500.