🚨NEWS: THE RESPECT CHECK IS NOW LAW!! Thanks to our advocacy and our champions in @NYCCouncil, especially @SpeakerMenin and @CnDelarosa, paras will now receive a critical financial boost.

.@UFT, @NYSUT, along with dozens of unions, civil rights groups and education advocates are urging @GovKathyHochul to say NO to the federal voucher scheme. Vouchers defund public schools at a time when our students need more resources, not less. See what @NYDailyNews has to say 👇 nydailynews.com/2026/09/16/n… @NAACPNYS @NYCLU @AQE_NY @NYSAFLCIO @CentralLaborNYC

As a discipline dean at the HS for Environmental Studies in midtown Manhattan, Elizabeth Del Rosario splits her teaching duties with managing behavior issues, enforcing school policies and responding to incidents to ensure a safe learning environment. Learn more about her day to day and role in this What I Do feature: uft.org/news/member-spotligh…

NYS PTA Youth Coordinator Grayson Zukoff joined education, parent, labor, civil rights and advocacy leaders from across New York at last week’s rally advocating for public education and against the federal H.R. 1 voucher program. Learn about the issue: ow.ly/8MJI50ZPHRM

A new federal law would funnel billions of your tax dollars away from public schools and toward private school tuition for other people’s children — with none of the transparency or accountability. Join the fight to ensure #NoVouchersInNY: NYSUT.cc/voucherpetition

Wishing all of our members observing today an easy fast and a meaningful Yom Kippur.

Voucher programs go against the idea that every student, regardless of zip code, deserves a high-quality education. Private schools that accept voucher dollars can legally turn away students with disabilities or on the basis of religion or sexuality. We’ve seen these issues time and again - that’s why community and labor organizations are calling on Gov. Hochul to #OptOutNow and keep federal vouchers out of New York!

When Maia Baumgarth became the chapter leader at Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical HS in the Bronx a year and a half ago, she was surprised by how much she and her colleagues had to learn about the DOE-UFT contract under which they all worked together. “Even with 25 years in the system, I was missing important information,” she said. Baumgarth quickly began educating herself and her colleagues about the contract and fixed compliance issues, earning her this Chapter Leader shoutout: uft.org/news/member-spotligh…

Hundreds of New Yorkers from dozens of Labor, parent, education and civil rights groups stood shoulder to shoulder in Manhattan Wednesday morning urging Gov. Hochul to reject President Trump's taxpayer-funded private school voucher program.

REMINDER: New York City Public Schools will be closed on Monday, September 21, 2026 in observance of Yom Kippur. Families can view the official NYCPS 2026-2027 school year calendar on our website: schools.nyc.gov/calendar

Are you signed up for UFT emails? With contract negotiations on the horizon, you’ve got to be in it to win it! Make sure you’re registered for UFT emails to make your voice heard with surveys and receive our next contract action steps. Check your email here: uft.org/get-involved/uft-cam…

This year, we start on one of the most crucial campaigns we have as a union: our contract campaign. With our contract set to expire in November 2027 we are getting a head start on negotiations so that we have plenty of time to prepare our demands. We have already assembled our biggest ever contract negotiation team. 750 UFT members representing all titles, divisions, boroughs and districts are preparing to meet at the table with the city to express our needs and make our demands. This massive group of members is broken down into smaller bargaining units that meet directly with the city to work out specific demands that pertain to their title or division. Having rank and file members in these negotiations is not something that all unions do, but we know how important this is. This way the city hears about the rationale behind our demands directly from people doing the work. Who better to tell the employer about the conditions in our schools than those who are there every day working with students across the city? Today the 750 members met to get organized and prepare for the year ahead. Our first step in this process will be to send a contract survey to all members in November to hear what you want our priorities to be for the next contract. Make sure you are signed up for emails with an updated non-DOE email address so you can take the survey this fall and make your voice heard. Members, update your email here: bit.ly/4y6SsPS Comment below what you are most excited to fight for in our next contract and stay tuned for more updates as the contract campaign begins!

The over 25,000 paraprofessionals serving our city face a dire affordability crisis of their own. Local Law 129 is a constructive step forward in stabilizing the municipal workforce, providing financial relief while vacancies and billions in Carter Case spending are addressed.

Our students deserve every opportunity to succeed, and that opportunity should never be threatened by a shortage of paraprofessionals. I stood with @NYCCouncil colleagues in support of workforce stabilization payments for paraprofessionals to ensure students have quality support!

We didn't want this legal battle. But in the absence of action by mayoral administrations, the City Council was obligated to authorize one-time stabilization payments to stem the tide of paraprofessionals leaving our schools. We didn't want this legal battle. But we will always fight for students and the workers who support them.

This morning, the UFT and City Council urged the city to drop the lawsuit against the RESPECT check. Schools are under too much stress due to paraprofessional vacancies - 8,000+ vacancies and growing. Thank you @‌SpeakerMenin and all our allies on the Council for standing firm on the RESPECT check. But let’s be clear: the RESPECT check legislation that the City Council passed unanimously is still a law. The court system has not issued an injunction to pause our legislation, so paraprofessionals can still expect to receive their first payment in January. We will continue to support this law and to use collective bargaining to fight to get paraprofessionals the permanent compensation they deserve. #TimeForRESPECT

More than 1,000 paraprofessional vacancies. More than 25,000 paraprofessionals who barely make a living wage. Today, we filed our legal response to defend Local Law 129 — for our students, our schools and our paraprofessionals.

Our paraprofessionals do some of the hardest work in our schools every single day. They deserve to be paid enough to stay. Today, we’re defending the RESPECT Check Act and the workforce stabilization payments our paras deserve.

There are more than 1,000 paraprofessional vacancies within New York City's public schools and it’s because we aren't paying them enough to keep them. Our paraprofessionals need workforce stabilization payments. Today we responded to a lawsuit filed by the administration so that we can ensure our paras receive the retention payments they so richly deserve.

#TODAY, the @UFT was outside City Hall, standing with our allies in the City Council defending the para RESPECT check. #RESPECTForParaprofessionals

3/3: And shout out to all the elected officials and advocates including @nychange, @citizenactionny, @InvestinOurNY, @NYCLU, @ASBOUSA, @IncludeNYC, @LWVNYC, NYC APRI, @Mikebenedetto82, @graceleefornyc, @RagaForQueens, and others who joined @NYSUT + @AFT to say #NoVouchersInNY