Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sept. 8 signed into law landmark legislation that will lower class sizes in New York City by a third over the next six years, closing a decades-long gap in class sizes between the city and the rest of the state.

Long before inflation made a comeback as a national political issue, the cost of health care was marching steadily upward, leaving unions that long ago recognized the value of good coverage battling to protect members from employer demands that they pay part of the premiums.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew told members at a virtual union town hall on Aug. 22 that one item that would not be on the bargaining table in contract talks expected to begin sometime this fall would be longer workdays in return for larger pay raises.

The following letter from UFT President Michael Mulgrew was issued on Aug. 11 to Mayor Adams, Chancellor Banks and Department of Education officials regarding the anticipated budget cuts for the upcoming 2022-23 school year.

The city and its Department of Education (DOE) have appealed an Aug. 5 court ruling that invalidated the City Council’s vote on the education portion of the 2022-23 budget, while the Council considers legal options to restore the funding cuts.

Hundreds of protesters demanded that the city Department of Education restore more than $215 million in school budget cuts at a rally on June 24 outside City Hall, where the City Council was holding an emergency hearing to probe the reductions in the recently adopted city budget.

New federal funds, now being held up in Washington, are the only possible way New York City will be able to invest in the protective measures and staff required for schools to safely re-open in September — even on a limited basis.

After weeks of behind-the-scenes lobbying by the UFT and other public sector unions, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on May 30 signed into law a new accidental death benefit for public employees who have died since March 1 and were diagnosed with COVID-19 within 45 days of their last day at work.