If you aren’t sure whether or not you are already a member, look at your pay stub. If the deduction code says “UFT,” it means you are a member. 

If you are not a member, joining is very simple. Active DOE employees, retirees and charter school employees whose school has a UFT bargaining agreement may enroll in the UFT online. If you have any questions about enrollment eligibility or run into difficulty with the online union enrollment process, please call the UFT at 212-331-6311. They will be happy to assist you.

The UFT maintains five borough offices where you can call or walk in to ask a question or have a problem addressed. You can find a list here, with hours and addresses. 

In the borough offices, you will find:

• Salary representatives to help you with payroll problems or delays, and check that you are getting the right salary.
• Pension consultants who can respond to your questions about the pension system.
• Educational liaisons to advise you about certification requirements as well as classroom issues.
• Safety representatives are specially trained to respond to incidents as well as environmental health and safety issues.
• Other staff who can help or direct you to the proper place for any other issue such as leaves, health insurance, transfers, contractual problems.

You have our condolences. There are a number of steps you need to take. You can find out what to do when a retiree passes away on the UFT website. If you have further questions, please contact the UFT-RTC Pension Department at 212-598-9536.

The required minimum number of evaluations will be fewer for the vast majority of teachers.

If you are a tenured teacher, the number of observations your principal or other evaluator will conduct depends on your overall rating from previous school years:

• Highly Effective for the prior year: minimum of two informal observations.
• Effective in the prior year and Highly Effective, Effective or Satisfactory in the year before that: minimum of two informal observations.
• Effective in the prior year and Developing, Ineffective or Unsatisfactory in the year before that: minimum of three informal observations.
• Effective in the prior year and no rating in the year before that: minimum of one informal and one formal observation.
• Developing in the prior year: minimum of one formal and three informal observations.
• Ineffective in the prior year: minimum of one formal and four informal observations.
• No rating in the prior year: minimum of one formal and three informal observations.

If you are a probationary teacher, you will receive a minimum of one formal and three informal observations. If you are a probationary teacher who was rated Ineffective in the previous school year, you’ll receive a minimum of one formal and four informal observations.

As in previous years, there is no maximum number of observations.

Each year, beginning in March, the Consultation Committee should meet to review and discuss the School-Based Options that your school would like to create or restore. After consultation with the principal, the chapter leader should hold a union meeting to review the SBOs from the previous year and discuss any proposed new SBOs. Members should be encouraged to raise questions and concerns. In addition, the chapter leader should survey the staff to gauge interest in the SBOs being contemplated. The purpose of a survey is to help the chapter leader decide whether or not a particular SBO should even be put up for a vote. Once the chapter leader decides whether or not an SBO vote will be conducted, the ballot is created and voted.

Read more about SBOs »

The UFT and DOE have collaborated to develop new joint training sessions regarding the evaluation system. All employees--teachers, administrators, and other evaluators--will receive the same training so everyone is on the same page regarding evaluation. This training will take place at your school during the workday no later than the last Friday in October. 

In addition, the joint DOE-UFT professional learning team is working to provide guidance on the use of evaluation tools for specific teaching settings such as special education, English as a new language, and physical education classrooms. 

As in previous years, evaluators will base their ratings on eight components of the Danielson Rubric:
1a: Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy;
1e: Designing coherent instruction;
2a: Creating an environment of respect and rapport;
2d: Managing student behavior;
3b: Using questioning and discussion techniques;
3c: Engaging students in learning;
3d: Using assessment in instruction;
4e: Growing and developing professionally.

Your evaluator must conduct an Initial Planning Conference with you no later than the last Friday in October. This in-person conversation between you and your evaluator should take place at a mutually agreed upon time. This conference is an opportunity for you to discuss previous evaluations, current classes, and plans for the upcoming school year. 

Your evaluator must also conduct a summative conference with you between the last Friday in April and the last Friday in June. This in-person conversation gives you a chance to talk about the year's observations and to answer any questions your evaluator has. 

Teacher’s Choice, initiated by the UFT over 30 years ago, allows school staff members to exercise their professional judgment to purchase supplementary supplies and materials to improve the educational experience for their students. Teacher’s Choice funds are provided in the city budget by the New York City Council to reimburse eligible UFT members up to an allotted amount for the cost of these items.

See the UFT's Teachers Choice page for more information about the program. 

Members will receive reimbursement for classroom expenditures made within the annual spending period at the amount allocated for their job title. Then, they must submit an accountability form with receipts to the school to show the entire amount has been spent.  

You do not need to sign up for Teacher’s Choice; inclusion in the program is automatic for those who are eligible. Those who do not wish to participate in the program must submit a Request for Non-Participation (Opt Out Form). 

Members receive their Teacher's Choice funds in their last November or first December paychecks, but you should start purchasing and saving receipts sooner than this date, usually between August and January. Items purchased under Teacher's Choice must be appropriate for educational use in the classroom or for other professional assignments.

If you receive the Teacher's Choice funds in your paycheck and do not file an accountability form with required receipts by the deadline, you will be obligated to refund the money to the DOE.

See the UFT's Teachers Choice page for more information about the program.