Elections can be valuable measurements of the trust that rank-and-file union members have in the leaders they choose.

Ira Faber, coordinator of the Retired Teachers Chapter's Suffolk section on Long Island, has seen an uptick in attendance at Si Beagle courses since they became virtual during the pandemic.

Deborah Dolan, a retired literacy instructor, is a member of the Vital Volunteers of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, helping to create an awareness of the Bronx park among its users and to plant the seeds for nurturing the park well into the future.

Medicare-eligible UFT retirees will remain in their current health plans for the time being after a state judge’s ruling triggered a delay in the launch of the New York City Medicare Advantage Plus Plan.

The new New York City Medicare Advantage Plus Plan brought challenges, but a court decision led Michael Mulgrew to demand that the city pause implementation of the plan. This pause means we can exhale over the next few months, and edge back to our daily “normal” lives.

The Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP), created by the UFT Retired Teachers Chapter to help members pay for out-of-pocket medical costs, continues to grow in enrollment and to enhance its reimbursement for benefits such as private-duty nursing, ambulance transport and hearing aids.