FOLLOW THE MONEY: WHICH LEGISLATORS BENEFIT MOST FROM OUR UNIONS? – PART I (David Ginsberg)
Every two weeks, union dues and voluntary COPE donations come out of the paychecks of more than 100,000 active UFT members. Millions upon millions of dollars of our hard earned money go to maintaining, strengthening, and empowering our union each year. In fact, the UFT “does not use any unio
Congratulations, Retiree Advocate!
Saturday, June 15, 2024 Dear New Action Retiree and In-Service Supporter, You’ve probably heard by now that yesterday WE WON AN HISTORIC VICTORY! Retiree Advocate scored a landmark upset by defeating Unity Caucus by a vote of 17,226 to 10,114 or 63% to 37%. We want to first and foremost congra
Call to Action: Our ‘Get Out The Vote’ homework for upcoming UFT & TRS elections
Help us GET OUT THE VOTE for: Ben Morgenroth for TRS Pension Trustee, Fix Para Pay Slate for Para Chapter Election and Retiree Advocate for Retired Teachers Chapter (RTC) We’ve seen way too many cuts to our healthcare and pension, and wages that lag behind inflation. Each one o
VOTING FOR YOUR UFT REPS: WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR
Every three years, UFT members have the opportunity to vote for the Chapter Leader (CL) and delegates of their respective schools. It is easy to vote for a friendly colleague or to simply go along with the majority, but basing your vote on shallow virtues without putting real thought into your selec
BRINGING A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT: WHY THE UFT MUST SEEK CHANGES TO THE TAYLOR LAW
The Wall Street Journal declared 2023 “The Year of the Strike,” touting the successes of labor unions across the U.S. The United Auto Workers (UAW), Teamsters, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and Writers Guild of America (WGA) all earned tremendous victories for their workers. Members of the UAW, SAG
In Memoriam to James Eterno
James Eterno passed from us on February 6, 2024. He was a longtime leader in New Action and served with many of us in campaigns on behalf of UFT members. Although James left New Action he remained an ardent trade unionist; he served as a mentor to many and was involved in a profound way […]
NO-ING YOUR RIGHTS: A BRIEF BREAKDOWN OF OUR VAGUE CONTRACT – Ginsberg
Ironclad. Indisputable. Irrefutable. Three words that should never be uttered when describing our albatross of a contract – or, what we think is our contract. The most recent complete version available online is from 2014, along with Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) from 2018 and 2023. One woul
6 Predictions on Healthcare
Most UFT members are aware that major changes are coming to our healthcare. The MLC and Michael Mulgrew requested proposals from insurance companies that would cost the City less money. Essentially, healthcare cuts for all City workers. The reason Mulgrew and the MLC are looking to save the City mon
UFT Leadership Gets a C-….And That’s with Grade Inflation…
Every teacher has had that student, happy to coast by doing the bare minimum, but with so much potential. These can be the most frustrating and gratifying students in the class. Their comments in class are solid, but their homework is inconsistent. Their tests and quizzes are passable, but their pap
THE BELL TOLLS FOR WE: COULD THE VIRTUAL LEARNING CLAUSE IN OUR NEW CONTRACT BE A DEATH KNELL FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR PROFESSION? – By David Ginsberg
The odds of virtual learning destroying the teaching profession are not nearly as remote as you may think, thanks to a provision in our new contract. Buried in pages 14-18 of the Memorandum of Agreement (link: https://files.uft.org/contract2023/DOE-MOA.pdf), a legitimate threat to our profession and