The UFT’s city legislative priorities for 2026 include passing the paraprofessional RESPECT check, fully funding class size reduction, ensuring the successful rollout of 2-K in NYC and universal 3-K and supporting UFT programs such as Teacher Centers, United Community Schools and social-emotional learning support. Read more at the link in our bio!
In just a few weeks, UFT members are heading to Albany with a powerful agenda informed by our shared experiences as public school educators: more education funding, fixing Tier 6, upholding universal childcare, affordable housing and more! Every year, UFT's members hold in-person meetings with state officials that put a human face on the issues our union fights for. Swipe through and take a look through some of our state legislative priorities for 2026. You can read the full list at the link in our profile.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin joined us today at the annual UFT Spring Conference and made things very clear: we ARE going to pass a RESPECT check and get an additional $10,000 for NYC paraprofessionals #UFTSpring
Nothing better than being together with our union family at the @uftny Spring Conference. Grateful for the conversations, the energy, the solidarity and the shared commitment to fighting for our students, our public schools and each other 💙 #UFTSpring
Happy Friday! Another social edition of the UFT Update, our bimonthly newsletter that gives you important info you need. Swipe through and see the May 14 UFT Update email for more details.
Mayor Mamdani held a press conference on Tuesday to outline his top proposals for the city budget. While these are just proposals at this point, and the mayor acknowledged that negotiations between the City Council and Albany are ongoing, he mentioned several of our city legislative priorities in his outline. As negotiations take place, we will continue to monitor these proposals and advocate for our priorities to become reality in the final budget.
Yesterday’s TRS election was a great way for members to exercise their right to vote and have a voice in our pension system. The election is important because the Teachers Retirement System trustees are the guardians of our pension and have been for over 100 years. They are responsible for protecting and growing the pensions we look forward to as a major benefit. The results of the election will not be announced for a few weeks while the DOE works to prepare the official tally so please stay tuned! Hear from UFT Assistant Treasurer, TRS Board Chair, and our endorsed candidate, Tom Brown ☝️
Tier 6 tease is driving me wild. So many rumors. So many unknowns. As soon as there’s something official I’ll report it here no matter if I have an ugly crochet bunny ready or not. (He’s not ugly)
Hearing the state go back and back reminds me that no one wants to give us anything. No one. They pretend like they do. They stand in front of us and tell us how much they value us. How their mom was a teacher. They are product of public schools. They know our work is so important. Blah blah blah. But at the end no one will give us ANYTHING unless we fight like crazy for it. I feel like if we weren’t as loud as we were this year we would definitely be getting nothing and that’s just more motivation to keep going, no matter this budget says. We ain’t going nowhere. #fixtier6
Mayor Mamdani outlined his top proposals for the city budget today. These are still just proposals - both the state and city budget must be officially voted on and passed. This is what you need to know about pension restructuring right now. TRS Chair Tom Brown explains.
Any proposed restructuring plan has to be evaluated and then approved or rejected by the Trustees of the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), whose legal and ethical responsibility is protecting and growing the pension funds. City Hall has yet to outline any clear proposal, but it is the Trustees' job to measure the worth of these kinds of plans.
The DOE announced that the clerical day on June 5 will be remote. This affects 3k, pre-K, elementary schools, middle schools, K-12 schools and District 75. Staff will work remotely on this day and students are not in attendance. The decision was made after encouragement from the UFT to make it a remote workday.
High schools and 6-12 schools have a regular in-person workday with students in attendance on June 5.
In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, we’re celebrating Ezra Jack Keats (March 11, 1916 - May 6, 1983), the author and illustrator behind the beloved 1962 classic "The Snowy Day". His character Peter, a young African-American boy, broke new ground as a rare Black main character in children’s literature. Born Jacob Ezra Katz to working-class Polish-Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, he attended public schools (including what is today Thomas Jefferson Educational Campus) and found his love of drawing. As a Jewish artist, Keats faced intense antisemitism and was forced to legally change his name in 1947 just to make a living from his art. Despite that, he went on to become a celebrated illustrator — winning the Caldecott Medal in 1963 and earning the rare distinction of seeing "The Snowy Day" become the most checked-out book of all time at the New York Public Library.
TRS election this week. Voting for our pension trustee. DOE planned these elections for after school which is wild. But it’s important. Tell your principal to read P weekly for instructions on how to request a time change. They need to email [email protected]. And CC superintendent.
And remember. UFT delegate assembly voted to endorse Tom Brown by over 80 percent vote. He’s the current guy and the guy we want. Don’t play w my pension!!!
