The UFT championed its five-point plan for New York City public schools during negotiations over the city budget due on June 30, advocating for federal COVID-19 relief funds to be used to help public school students recover from the pandemic.

In a four-hour We Feed NYC telethon on Feb. 13, the UFT raised more than $310,000 from its members and corporate donors to feed New York families struggling with food insecurity as a result of the pandemic.

Jack Schierenbeck, a former New York Teacher reporter and columnist who wrote an important series about UFT history and was called "the conscience" of the newspaper by his editor, died in February at age 71 after a long illness.

The UFT in February reached an agreement with the city Department of Education on an evaluation system for the 2020-21 school year only that reflects the unique circumstances and challenges facing teachers this year.

Middle and high school buildings, which have been closed since mid-November, reopened after the mayor pledged to follow all safety protocols and agreed to a plan to increase the city's school testing capacity.

A resolution to endorse eight candidates for elected office was among three resolutions approved by the Delegate Assembly at a remote meeting on March 24.

As of April 7, about 35,000 UFT members employed by the city Department of Education had been matched with vaccine providers in the UFT vaccine program, which supplements city and state vaccination programs.

The new city schools chancellor, Meisha Ross Porter, is a 20-year veteran of city public schools, starting out as a teacher and principal, then community superintendent and executive superintendent, all in the Bronx.

The salaries of UFT-represented DOE employees will increase by 3% effective May 14, with the increase reflected in paychecks on May 28 for pedagogues, H-Bank employees and all paraprofessionals.

The state Legislature on April 7 included an early retirement incentive in the final state budget legislation, and the passage of the bill puts the UFT one step closer to securing the benefit for its members before the summer.