For educators trying to decide whether they should return to their school or interview elsewhere, the public release date of the annual survey results is tantalizing. Traditionally, the data from the annual school surveys is made available to the public in early-mid August, just as Open Market is closing or has already closed. Imagine families trying to decide the best schools for their children and having to use year-old results to try to make their determination. Imagine an educator making an important, career-altering decision to change schools in July only to find out a month later that the school has plummeted over the past year and has less than stellar ratings. Imagine passing up on an offer from a school that has turned it around in the last year and is now lauded by students, families, and staff. New teachers and those definitely looking to transfer are most negatively impacted by the (lack of) timeliness with which results are made available. There have been educators who did their due diligence by researching the annual survey stats before making a decision, only to find that they had been misled. They took a job based on lofty principal ratings but later discovered that those belonged to the previous principal. The new principal had dreadful stats and turned out to be a nightmare. Our jobs are difficult enough. We shouldn’t be subjected to parsing through outdated data when making big decisions regarding our livelihoods.

For the past two years, New Action Caucus has published the survey results, with a focus on teacher-principal trust, teacher influence, and instructional leadership. However, by the time everything is published, it’s too late. Educators are locked into their positions for the upcoming school year and would only be able to leave if they are granted a release by their principal, a risky proposition to say the least, especially if they deny you.

All of this seems tremendously unfair to everyone involved, but this is the way it’s always been, so we accept it. But we shouldn’t, especially since superintendents have had access to the survey results since June 2 and principals have had access since June 3.

It makes sense that school leaders and superintendents have access to the survey results. The best of them may look at the results and hopefully reflect on what’s working and what isn’t and what they can do to improve their schools. Petty leaders may use the results for more nefarious purposes, such as targeting and tormenting their respective staffs. Regardless of what, if anything, superintendents and principals do with the information, the rest of us should be incensed that we will not have access to these very same results for another two months. The argument can easily be made that the survey data is much more imperative and time sensitive for educators, students, and families. After all, we’re the ones who must choose the best environment for ourselves and our loved ones. What benefit is it to give early access to school leadership instead of making the results publicly available to everyone? Why even keep up the facade of transparency when 99% of us are working off of year-old data?

It’s bad enough that the annual school survey results aren’t released until Open Market closes, but the situation becomes flat out unacceptable once you realize that the data is readily available to those in power, but not for the rest of us. It would be nice to know what the staff thinks of their principal or what the students think about school safety before going on that July interview. Instead, we’re left with outdated and possibly inaccurate information to help put the pieces together. We are not being treated fairly and we are not being given a sufficient opportunity to figure out our next steps.

School leaders are encouraged to review results with their staff, but how many principals actually do that? While that information may be valuable, we already know how we feel about our own schools. Moreso, the rest of the schools throughout the city would still remain a complete mystery. The annual school survey results need to be released to everybody as early as possible, not just school leaders and superintendents. Considering Open Market begins in April, the argument can be made that even early June is too long to wait. We deserve access to up-to-date information so that we have the chance to make career decisions that are best for us and our families.

Moment of silence for former Chapter Leader Joe Seidel from Automotive and Townsend Harris.

Federal

Been talking about federal tax credit/voucher program for past few months. Coming to us very shortly. Guidelines/regulations supposed to be out over the next few days or next week. This was in the Big Beautiful Bill. Wherever they’ve done tax credits or vouchers, it’s been an abysmal failure just based on education results, not to mention separation of church and state. They were smart in how they packaged this one. They keep saying the same thing - it’s not a voucher program, it’s a tax credit program. At this moment, there’s no cap on it. How will federal government afford that? $1,700 tax credit you can donate to schools. It’s a way to pull people from public schools. What happens is that slowly, over the years, the tax credit gets raised. More of a burden on states to fund public schools because no federal funding will go to state. Everything will become a tax credit for vouchers. Met with AFT 2 weeks ago. Completely up to state governor, not legislature, if they want to opt in. Our governor has said that she’s very interested in anything that will help the middle class get tax breaks. Had a brief conversation. We are gearing up for that fight. All of the state federations in the AFT - AFT sending letter to all democratic governors not to do this. They’ve carefully put together a package where they have lots of talking points about. Will let public schools use this. Majority of parents we serve in public schools aren’t looking for tax credits. Looking to pay basic grocery bills. This is a giveaway to more affluent families. Will start over summer when regulations come up. Will try to have it out by the midterm elections.

AI - Lots of opinions on AI. Some want it banned completely. The AFLCIO took a position that we need guardrails on AI. Datacenters - I don’t know how you would stop them. Massive projects and infrastructure deals that are going to move forward. People want a complete moratorium or local community has to approve it. But AFLCIO has all of the construction unions. Will move data centers to impoverished areas. In terms of us with AI, we continue down the path that we have to have more guardrails for children’s and our own privacy. We finally have gotten to the point where we are training teachers to use AI to write IEPs, use AI for things beyond the lesson plan. Unrealistic to block students from using AI. This is the stuff where as new technology emerges, we’ll train people to get what we need out of AI platform. Not simple. AI companies go to where the money is. Administrators and school boards control the money. Administrators want to come up with a system that will do observations. That’s been their thing all across the country. Thousands of teachers are not observed every year in NYC. They want AI to do it for them. We’re not going to let that happen. What helps our children best? That’s what we want.

State

State budget is finally done. Still don’t have school budgets. Thanks DA for advocacy. Made a significant step forward in fixing Tier 6. Would not be sitting here talking about age 58. Other unions made choices based on what they need. Every year we knocked off the age saved people $9,000 per year in pension contributions. If you knock off 5 years, that’s $45,000. We also wanted to remove the penalties. If you were going to retire 16 years from now at 58 in Tier 6, before this legislation passed, you would’ve lost 25% of your pension, which is ridiculous, because you already paid for it. That’s why Tier 6 is so bad. Aggressively negative. But we are not done. We have to get to 55. Have to get the contributions. Those are all very important things. Have to move forward.

We wanted to fix the foundation aid formula. People got on bus to Albany and lobbied. We were able to get homelessness and other things included in budget to help fund NYC schools. Community schools got a lot of money. State has moved forward. Over $20 million to community schools. Teacher centers also got funded.

Supposedly all the grades are getting a new math curriculum next year except 9th grade. We know it won’t be helpful. Teacher centers are very important.

City

Class Size - We have a class size working group that meets on a weekly basis with the chancellor’s office and CSA. Schools submitting plans are highly successful. Budget in place so that everyone hired for class size is a separate line item. That’s a big deal because of school budgets. Teachers hired for class size must be a separate line item. We got to 60%. Law is 4 years old but requires work from the DOE. Two major things that they didn’t do over the last 4 years - the capital space plan, what construction we need to do. It’s a lot less than we thought but we have no plan. No construction started. If you’re going to build more classrooms for more classes, you need more staff. DOE doesn’t recruit themselves. Didn’t design a plan. When they said we need an extension, we told them we need a complete commitment on a capital construction plan and a recruitment strategy for NYC. After the budget was done, we came to a place with the DOE and chancellor - and they had an analysis for every district and every school. Three categories - 1) they needed a small construction project (simpler), 2) large construction (extension, annex, new building, etc.), 3) program correctly. Said they can fix a few hundred schools just by helping programming. Just starting the construction projects now. NY Post says we shook them down for $20 million going in our members’ pockets. Didn’t shake them down. Held them accountable. They said the only way to get this done is to give a bunch of exemptions. We said no. We want it done correctly. Reorganization will be part of our school system for decades. There are schools this year that if they did their capital plans, would’ve had their space done by now and they would’ve gotten to 80%. Schools being used for space exemptions may be eligible for the differential, as well as schools with funded positions who were unable to hire teachers due to recruitment problems. If you’re a teacher in a classroom with a hard-to-staff differential, you MAY be eligible for the differential. Won’t know until November 15. An exemption class helps move them toward 80% even though it’s not in compliance. Those are classes eligible for differential. Differential for this year, larger differential for next year.

I believe there’s a meeting tomorrow with chancellor and principals. Once that meeting is over, we expect everyone to get their budgets. I’d appreciate it if they say it’s unacceptable. There were years where budgets were not done until July and August but schools received preliminary budgets. Not done this year. No budget, no line, how can we hire anyone? They put us in a bad position. Not the way you want to start. Budgets out with less than two weeks left of school.

Lots of emails about the chancellor. We believe in due process. We know that the procurement process at the DOE is beyond broken. It’s a disgrace. Does not serve the school system. The chancellor has been very supportive of us. But due process is due process. In this political environment, who knows what’s really going on? I have to think about the working relationship he has with our union. Right now, I’d say he has a very good working relationship with us. But we don’t need any more distractions.

One big thing on agenda that has not been accomplished yet. Respect. Next two weeks are about budgets. SBOs coming in by the hundreds. Thanks CLs. The SBO process is off the chart. Next year’s calendar is insane because of all of the holidays. Need to continue pressure on the RESPECT check. Had a hearing today at City Hall. Shout out to Priscilla Castro, paraprofessional CL. Gave testimony in favor of RESPECT check. There is movement. Costing process almost finished but pressure has to remain. We’re all happy about the Knicks, the World Cup. They’re building little bleachers everywhere. Huge ship armada coming in. Pushed back Fleet Week. All happening inside of NYC. Need to keep pressure on for the RESPECT check.

TRS and para executive committee elections are done. Thanks Tom Brown and para execs. Get to work.

Early voting starts Saturday. Lots of contested elections. All will be settled in next few weeks. Everything turns to midterm elections. Thankfully we get a little bit of a break. Retirees are very interested in politics. One of the biggest strengths of our union.

Certain things we need to get done in June. In case of endorsements, we bring executive board in. No nefarious stuff going on.

Midterms in November are clearly very important for us. Much at stake for public education. Also need to begin the process of negotiating a contract. We will have the largest negotiation committee in our history, hands down. More than what’s in this room by far. Almost 700 people will be on the negotiating committee. Notice will go out next week. June 24 virtual welcome. Lay out the process. All about educating ourselves, educating new people on negotiation committee. It’s not a joke. We will be sitting across the table from the City. Our strategy is that we want our members doing the work talking to them. Shame them because they have no idea what you do. That’s how we have in last two rounds of bargaining - every contract has had changes in them, not a single giveback. No givebacks. Only positive changes. You have to come up with your plan. Have to represent. When we get paras done, City can’t use that against us in negotiations. Enough with having workers paying for other workers’ raises. It becomes about educating everyone. Each one will come up with their own list of demands, Come to consensus. That’ll be fun with 700 people. Even in committees, these are very important things. Educating and training people. Massive time commitment. Had a couple of instances in the past. Guide for committee comes from membership. Nobody can hijack the committee with an agenda. We know what the number one issue is before surveys are sent out - money. First and foremost. We’d like to figure out a way for more vacation days. City hates it. Might be a way it opens up. Maybe they look for something and we negotiate. There are certain titles in this union that have a basic, sound argument as to why they might need more. Each title in this union will come up with what their demands are, vote on it, then start the process with DOE. We probably will not set the pattern. Many unions are still waiting for contracts from the last round. We got in. Did the smart thing. Got our raises. Someone will set the pattern before us. Don’t like it but it is what it is. School opening late in September. People are upset about ending on a Monday. If I’m CL, first thing I’m asking principal is if we’re really having pd on June 28

Staff Director’s Report (missed some of this)

- 5k on Saturday

- RTC gen membership Tuesday

- Student debt webinar

- Game On June 18

- Hispanic affairs committee on 6/26

- 11 days left of school.

- NYSUT for get out the vote rally in Peekskill

- Celebrates people retiring this year

- Pride month parade on June 28. UFT is one of largest groups in that parade.

- Caribbean American month

- Puerto Rican Day parade this Sunday

Question Period

1. Fair student funding. Can we make effort to getting it funded per class instead of per student? Do it per class in suburbs.

MM: anything designed by Klein or Bloomberg is bad for schools. Designed after retail stores. We don’t have right to negotiate funding. Not covered by collective bargaining. Got around this with class size law. Over a billion dollars in outside contracts. We pay for all this.

Adams and de Blasio didn’t work. Lots of people hired and we don’t know who they are.

2. All day PD during virtual days. Had people asked to come in to work to sit in front of computer all day being interrupted by everything happening in school just to sit in front of the computer and go home. Can we push DOE to allow for these teachers to engage in virtual PD remotely?

MM: Yes.

3. Policy for dual certified teachers. Can the principal make you teach under a different license every year, giving you a split schedule?

MM: You may be dual certified but you’re licensed under one. You may be split schedule, but you must have four classes under that license. Tell them you have to teacher under license.

4. I received 3020a charges and have been removed from my classrooms, I’ve been retaliated against because of my chapter leader activism. My attorney said I’m not alone. Has 5 cases in last few weeks from teachers and CLs. Trumped up charges. Nothing egregious. This is my 27th year. I’ve chosen to stay when I had opportunities to leave. My membership is living in fear. I’m BEGGING union for support. Begging to keep my job. If you hold a principal accountable in the DOE, you’ll be retaliated against. I’ve had three reassignments in the past week. Reassigned to my home. What is the union going to do? It’s not for lack of advocacy. How will you help me, Mr. Mulgrew?

MM: I was happy to see you and call on you. Won’t go into specifics about your situation but there have been many discussions already. We fully expect to protect you first and foremost as an educator and chapter leader. We have a lot of information from inside your building because we’ve visited. Want people in the union to understand the situation. We’ve had principals removed. I never want to sugarcoat that the union has a magic wand. There’s no two chapter leaders that are the same. If you choose to be a CL, you’re putting your butt on the line. There’s an obligation on our behalf to say you’ve gone above and beyond. I’m sorry for what you’re going through but you’re not going to go through this alone.

Motions directed to the agenda

1: Motion to add a resolution to this month’s agenda. RESOLUTION TO FIGHT AGAINST PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS

Vote - Yes: 748 No: 123 (online) Yes: 250 No: 19 (in person) 88%. Placed on this month’s agenda.

2: Motion to add a resolution to next month’s agenda. Copays. Copays are a hidden premium and a tax for being sick. UFT has pledged for premium free healthcare but you can’t call it free when you have to pay every time you go to the doctor. Retirees have gone from $0 to thousands per year with copays. Wants negotiators through the MLC to recognize copays as hidden premiums. Must make rolling back copays a priority at bargaining table.

Question: Why is resolution not moving this towards our healthcare committee rather than doing this here?

MM: Told retirees that if this comes to floor, I have to call it out of order. Ruled out of order because it needs to go through healthcare committee, which was overwhelmingly supported by everyone. All financial and technical matters need to go through healthcare committee. Everyone here is against copays. If healthcare committee can actually come up with something, they recommend it to the Delegate Assembly. If we tell City we’re not paying copays anymore, they’ll say “fine” and take it out of our raises. We’re not going to do something that hurts us later on, If we can lessen copays, we want to do it, but that would have to go through the healthcare committee. They directed us throughout the NYCE PPO, as the resolution you all passed told them to do. We can say yes to this. The City’s position will simply be that if we don’t want to pay for these, we have to pay now. Arbitrator will rule for them. Healthcare costs are a constant problem. This union has dealt with many complicated issues. Don’t want to divide. Don’t want in-service using part of their raises due to copays. We’re uniquely different than other unions. Our retirees get more than other retirees in NYC. We don’t want things that will divide us. We won’t let healthcare divide us. It is clearly out of order. We will vote on if Chair is correct.

Question: Thought we can bring this to the DA.

MM: Anything on healthcare has to go to the healthcare committee. Healthcare committee comes back with recommendation, then DA votes upon it. If this reso said we want this issue to be sent to the healthcare committee and come back with a recommendation, this would not be out of order.

Question: Check Roberts Rules. This is debatable.

MM: It’s my first time running a meeting.

Question: Was healthcare committee elected or chosen by leadership?

MM: Resolution itself brought by retiree group said what makeup had to be - all representative caucuses within the union.

Vote - Do you support the ruling of the chair (that this reso is out of order because it tries to supercede what DA has voted on this year about anything substantive regarding healthcare has to go through the healthcare committee first): Yes: 606 No: 229 (online) Yes: 189 No: 79 (in person) 72%. THIS RESOLUTION IS OUT OF ORDER.

Resolutions

AGENDA ITEM #1 – RESOLUTION TO EXTEND THE HYBRID DA RULES

RESOLVED, that the rules of order adopted in June 2021 be continued for the 2026-27 school year and that in June 2027 UFT delegates will revisit the question of the nature of the Delegate Assemblies for the following year, if not sooner; and be it

RESOLVED, that the UFT will continue to look for the best methods to safeguard Delegate Assembly participation.

Question: Can we have video of these meetings to see who’s talking? It’s boring listening from home.

MM apologizes for boringness

Vote - Yes: 888 No: 28 (online) Yes: 218 No: 35 (in person). 95%. PASSES

AGENDA ITEM #2 – ENDORSEMENT OF CANDIDATES FOR CITY OFFICES: CONTINGENCY RESOLUTION

RESOLVED, the United Federation of Teachers’ Delegate Assembly authorizes the Executive Board to consider, make or modify endorsements during the summer in order to have a timely impact on any such campaigns.

Objection: Exec Board may endorse people without DA support who do not help the UFT and our students.

MM: This provision is only for unforeseen circumstances, like someone being arrested. If we have to call a special DA for September before endorsing, we can do that.

Vote - Yes: 558 No: 143 (online) Yes: 177 No: 63 (in person). 78%. PASSES

Have a nice summer. Thanks to people retiring.

Meeting ends.

2. However, while all other Tier 6 workers received slightly reduced pension contributions, we (NYCTRS and NYSTRS members) were excluded.

The new pension contribution rates for all other Tier 6 members are as follows:

$45,000 and under: 3% (same)

$45,001-$55,000: 3% (down from 3.5%)

$55,001-$75,000: 3% (down from 4.5%)

$75,001-$100,000: 4% (down from 5.75%)

$100,001-$125,000: 5.25% (down from 6%)

$125,001 and up: 5.75% (down from 6%)

The money saved doesn’t amount to much (although members making between $55,001-$100,000 benefit decently), but it doesn’t bode well that we weren’t included in the contribution decrease. Tier 6 contribution rates are astronomical. Tier 6 teachers conservatively contribute $150,000 more towards pension contributions over the course of our careers than early Tier 4 members. And in most cases, that number is low. Imagine how much that comes out to if Tier 6 members had the chance to invest that money over the course of their careers. By the way, this is not a knock on Tier 4 members. They deserve what they have. But it needs to be equalized. More than half of active educators are in Tier 6.

3. There was a change in the Foundation Aid formula, which will increase the amount of funding for ELLs, homeless, and foster students. As a result, NYC schools are expected to receive nearly $900 million in additional funding.

4. Mayoral control will be extended for two more years. Regardless of who’s in office, mayoral control has been a disaster for educators and students alike. It’s been around for nearly 25 years, and whether it was Bloomberg, de Blasio, or Adams, it’s never turned out well for us.

5. Governor Hochul has expressed her support for the federal tax-credit scholarship.This is a school voucher program that will rob tax money from public schools and public works in order to fund private schools. This is a blatant, anti-public school initiative that could have serious consequences. In January, Chalkbeat published an alarming piece about the school choice tax credit program. The author explains, “families can donate up to $1,700 to scholarship-granting organizations and receive an equivalent tax credit back.” Allowing families to receive tax credit to basically fund private schools reduces the amount of tax dollars that go into our communities. In fact, in 2022, Kentucky’s Supreme Court “ruled that Kentucky’s tax credit scholarship program is unconstitutional.” As Peter Greene explains, “In a tax credit scholarship program, corporations or individuals contribute money to a ‘scholarship’ fund that will pay part of some student’s tuition at a private school. The state then counts that contribution towards taxes.” In other words, tax dollars are reallocated to private schools instead of going to public schools, projects, and programs that would otherwise benefit our communities.

6. The Class Size mandate will be extended two years. Under the original agreement, 80% of all classes were supposed to meet the compliance threshold next school year, followed by 100% the year after that. Instead, the expectation is that 70% of all classes will meet the Class Size mandate next school year, 80% the year after that, 90% for the 2028-2029 school year, and 100% for 2029-2030.

Class Size wasn’t even accounted for in the state budget. The city was supposed to hire 6,000 new educators for next year in order to comply with the Class Size law. Instead, it looks as though only 1,000 new educators will be hired. Additionally, there will likely be fewer openings for those looking to transfer. Speaking of which…

7. If you’re looking to transfer for the next school year, you may do so between mid April and early August without having to get a release from your principal. Open Market is officially open, but don’t expect to see many postings yet. Schools often/always wait to get their budgets for the next school year before releasing their postings. June, July, and (very early) August are the most opportune times to find a new position. After early August, you will not be able to transfer unless you are granted a release by your principal.

8. If you are interested in earning your +30 differential, the cheapest option is usually ASPDP (aka A+) credits. Summer registration opens June 8. Courses begin on June 15. You can take up to 12 credits per semester. Each three credit course costs about $300 in total, meaning you can get your +30 for $3,000. It’s a great deal if you have the time and money, considering the sizable pay bump we receive.

Recommended providers: Teach & Kids Learn and Long Island Learning Institute for Educators (LILIE),

9. The TRS Trustee election results were revealed yesterday. Tom Brown won decisively. David Kazansky came in a distant second place with Frank Panebianco bringing up the rear. Hopefully next year’s trustee election will garner as much attention as this year’s.

10. You can request to view your file at any time. Email your principal to arrange a suitable time. You can have any letter(s) removed three years after the latest incident referred to in the letter. If there is a disciplinary letter in your file that you were never informed of, take a picture of it and send an email to your principal (cc your chapter leader) stating that you want the letter removed. If this happens, be blunt in your email. You can say that you found something in your file that shouldn’t be there and ask them to let you know when to check your file again to make sure it’s no longer there, or else you will file a grievance.

11. Special Education complaints: If there are compliance issues, whether they be students not receiving services, lack of substitute teachers when colleagues call out, IEP issues/violations, or anything else, please file a special education complaint with the UFT here.

You can read the full minutes below…

Mulgrew: Agreement between UFT and the City.

Class Size law passed in 2022. This is the 67th year our union has worked on the class size issue of NYC. We have the law. We need to protect this law and ensure educators are treated fairly while this law is being implemented. When we finish implementing the initial phase of the law - which is full compliance - this law lives forever.

Three entities: DOE NYC, UFT, CSA. Each has a legal right in regards to decision making inside the law. We didn’t want class size plans coming from the DOE. Schools need to make the decisions.

We’re in year 4 of the class size law. We’ve achieved 60%. UFT and CSA said schools have to do the plans, not the DOE. DOE always screws up. Schools thought they weren’t going to get the money. Schools were skittish about submitting anything. More than 700 schools submitted plans and the majority of them were approved. Money sent to those schools to hire teachers. Money will come every year now. Will not disappear.

Mayor and previous administration did not want the class size law.

When the law was passed originally, the City was already almost at 40%. Some schools prefer smaller class sizes.

Our class size committee, working with DOE and CSA, looked at everything. We have no capital plan in place. Not enough space to get to 80%. Also no recruitment in place, so can’t get to 80%. Had to figure out how to protect the law. Will not allow anyone to say the law is impossible. We now know we don’t need as much construction as what the City originally claimed. Need less than half of what the City originally claimed.

Two major things - construction projects and recruitment - were not planned out by the DOE. School Construction Authority (SCA) does big projects (annexes, new schools, etc.) and School Facilities (smaller projects). DOE did not follow through on getting big projects done that we need to comply with class size law.

DOE did not do anything to help with recruitment.

DOE messed this up, so now we need to detour. Need a capital or building plan. Need an aggressive strategy on how to recruit people into our school system.

City wants to do a lot of exemptions to hit the class size law. We pumped the brakes and said it needs to be done correctly. We need to get this right. Need to protect our school system.

Three types of exemptions: 1) hard to staff (schools have funding but can’t hire); 2) lack of space (approved projects or space limitations being addressed - needs to already be approved, whether in design phase or construction phase); 3) over-enrolled schools.

No such thing as a permanent exemption in the law. They tried to list specialized schools, schools with traditionally high enrollment as exemptions. We said no.

This week we agreed to extend the class size law. Will let it go to 70%, then 80%, 90%, 100% instead of 80% to 100%. The teachers shouldn’t pay the price for the DOE’s failure to not put in a construction plan or because they chose not to have a plan in place to recruit. Many parents and I kept asking about the capital plan over the years. City sat silently, never answered.

NY Post trying to act like we did a shakedown. No. Teachers/classrooms that qualify for an exemption - that means the DOE has the responsibility to fix the situation that allowed the exemption to happen. Flipped it on the DOE. DOE needs to work with us - the capital plan, building and construction, and recruitment.

This differential is just a tool, a tactic to use to make sure the law gets to completion. The big picture - this is about us. We have a responsibility to get this law done. DOE rolls out curriculums with no differentiation. Really aggravates us. DOE central makes a decision and just dumps it on the schools. This is their incompetence. They’re responsible. Now they’re going to pay because they have to get their work done. That’s why the whole differential piece is in place.

Retirees and older teachers sacrificed a lot for this. Money, etc.

A school may only qualify for space exemptions if:

- A real space plan exists

- Design or construction work is already underway

- Schools must still lower class size whenever possible

Schools have a “Blue Book” that shows the space available in their school. UFT went around. All of them were wrong. Not going by that.

Just because school is granted an exemption doesn’t mean they don’t have to get as many classes as possible to meet the class size benchmark.

A school may only qualify for hard to staff exemptions if:

- the school has received funding to lower class size

- the school has actively recruited and attempted to fill the position

- class sizes still remain out of compliance

Every school in the City submitted a plan.

June - principals will receive notice of class size funding. Planning and staffing decisions begin.

Summer - schools review staffing and space needs. DOE recruiting & planning continues

September & October - schools hire additional teachers depending on hiring, funding, and space.

November - DOE issues compliance report. DOE, CSA, & UFT produce a list of exempt classes. This will determine differentials for space and hard-to-staff exemptions. Compliance Report Day is a big day now. Probably comes out around November 15.

March - Eligible teachers will receive the first portion of the differential. The second payment will come in August.

This is a two year agreement. Will monitor implementation and protect the law. Put pressure on DOE to move.

Nobody is taking Foundation Aid out of our school system. We go to court and we win. Mayor is huge supporter of the law. One of the first things he said when he got elected is that “we’re going to get this done.” Chancellor also on board. I know the DOE doesn’t support this law. A lot of work on their behalf. They don’t want to do it.

Over the next two years, we’re going to lock down that capital space plan.

Increase of student-teacher programs in every borough. The schools knew to make a plan to make deal with colleges to recruit. The DOE doesn’t come up with any plan except the Fellows program where we have teachers coming from Iowa, who we love. But can do something with CUNY or SUNY.

This union went on strike in 1967. Big part of that strike was class size. Took us until 2022 to get to a place where we got a law passed. We tried to do it multiple times. Tried through a referendum. Then-mayor pulled it off the ballot because he knew it would pass. Parents want this. We’ll read speculation in media about class size and how we shook down the City for money. It’s silliness. You don’t fight all these years and allow something to get destroyed at the very end. We need a rock solid foundation. Won’t let DOE abuse the exemption process and make a mockery of this law.

Q&A

1. How will the amount of money per person be decided?

MM: Amount of time in class that has qualified and amount of teaching they’ve done in front of it. If you’re in a classroom all day that is not compliant but not exempt, you’ll get full amount. If you’re in that room 2-3 periods per day, you’ll get pro-rated. Same if your class(es) is switched in the middle of the year.

2. What about schools who completed plans for funding but haven’t received it?

MM: I would want someone from the union to contact you to figure out why you did not receive the funding. See if there’s something we can do to amend the application your school put in.

3. Does it matter how over the class is in terms of receiving the full differential?

MM: No, but remember, once it’s over, it’s over. But this will probably happen. Class with exemption but will not be in compliance with the contractual limit for class sizes, which is still locked in. Different than state law. Have had success with getting class sizes under the contractual language. We’ve seen a massive drop in oversized classes.

4. Would both teachers in an ICT classroom get the differential if eligible?

MM: Yes. Simple.

5. For ICT, is 60/40 still going to be the standard?

MM: 60/40 is still the standard. Part of federal and state regulations. Irrelevant of what the number of students is. Must have 60/40. Already have thousands of ICT classes in compliance.

6. Is the differential pensionable?

MM: Yes

7. Will teachers receive pro-rated differentials if class size changes during the year?

MM: Yes, especially the reorganization schools. Lots of high schools reorganize in late January-early February. Also, right before state tests, elementary schools get an influx of children.

8. Is there a limit to how many classes per school can get a differential?

MM: No

9. If there are classrooms who get a differential, will cluster teachers receive it also?

MM: When they’re in a room that is not exempt, they will get part of the differential.

10. This will impact Regents and MOSL scores. How do we compare to schools complying with class size law?

MM: We do pretty well with MOSLs. But it is much easier to teach 22 per class than 32.

11. Why are kindergarten classes not being capped in my school? 25 kids in Kindergarten, 20 in other classes.

MM: Calls on Carl Cambria. The school is doing that to not comply with the law. Doing this to hedge their bets for upper grades. Playing games. Will follow up.

12. Will some teachers in the same school receive the differential while others do not? How will union help prevent admin from picking favorites to receive differential?

MM: Dealing with admin who have ill intent or power trips is something we deal with all the time. People don’t use power correctly and are unfair. I’m not saying the differential or class size law will stop that behavior, but we love to fight with those folks. The process is 70, 80, 90, and then 100%. Everyone will eventually receive the benefit.

13. We were told Gifted & Talented classrooms are exempt from law.

MM: They’re not exempt from the law. Gifted & Talented has been a political hot tamale for 10 years. There is no way anyone gets a permanent exemption. If that means creating more G&T classrooms, then create them. Law does not allow it. You might have the superintendent saying it. Political for them. But for us it’s about compliance with the law. What’s so hard? Stop with the DOE talking about why they can’t do something. The DOE has stopped advancement more than politicians, parents, etc. DOE has fought against class size for 60 years.

14. Are dual language classes following the same class size law and are they eligible for differential?

MM: Absolutely.

15. Will this differential be something I have to apply for in November or come from a compliance report and automatically done for me?

MM: Calls on Cambria. We’ll have agreed upon exemptions in November. That will be list we work off of to see who receives differentials. Schools will receive notice of the classes being exempted and those will be sent to State.

MM: When that notice goes out, CLs should request that from the principal.

CC: We’ll reach out to all schools that are part of the exemption process.

MM: We can revisit this agreement in two years. Class size is a big deal. We know it makes a difference. Not going to rush. Make sure it’ll be done the right way. It will serve the city for decades. Children deserve it. We deserve it. We work in the most challenging school district in the world. This time next year, we’ll be talking about 80%. Next school year we’ll be 70% in compliance.

Moment of silence for teacher in District 6 in the Bronx. Her and her son passed away in the Inwood fire.

Moment of silence for friend of Mulgrew. Previous President of 1199 - George Gresham.

Thanks to chapter leaders for running TRS elections. Not easy when DOE runs an election.

Introduces new assistant secretary of the UFT - Khiera Pena.

Federal

One of the aspects of the Big Beautiful Bill is the tax credit/voucher program. Anyone can donate up to $1700 to a public institution except for public schools. The bill is clear about the fact that you can start donating to private educational institutions - religion, private schools, or anything else. People trying to privatize education. Trying to erode faith and funding in public education. That will become very front and center in June, July, and August here and across the U.S. Governor told folks she would support this bill. That’s the next challenge and drama before us. Working with other people and groups who have been by our side for many fights.

I’ve never seen someone dismiss a lawsuit against themselves.

State

The State legislative session officially ends June 4. Budget was due April 1. It’s May 20. Not done yet. Next week everything has to get done. When budget is completed earlier in session, usually local taxes and other important stuff get done. Things pushed out of budget like mayoral control gets done during that time. But it’s all going to get done now because legislative session ends June 4. Primaries on June 23. State union has rightfully said they don’t want to do endorsements until budget is done. Makes sense. That’s what’s going to happen over the next 2-3 weeks because this thing is going to shut down. First bill was about school funding. NYC receiving $860 million increase in education funding. All the lobbying we’ve done - this is what happens. Went above $250 million more than what governor put into budget. Already had built-in increases we normally don’t see. Significant win for us. In balance with foundation formula with the rest of the state. Lobbied for changes in foundation formula. Requires more money to educate our students because they need more services. Once the bill is printed, it sits - literally - on a desk - and then gets voted on. Did not agree with governor on 4 years for mayoral control. 2 years only. That’s inside of this bill. Nothing yet on Tier 6. Nothing about pensions and class size at this point but will be coming soon. Tier 6 is always about age. Always ugliness. Always fights. We focused on years. Most important thing. Majority of members starts before 25. Every year you pay contributions. Other thing Tier 6 has is massive penalties. If you retire at 55, pension is basically cut in half. That’s why we’re pushing hard on age. And contributions - whatever we get this year - significant progress. I think we’re going to be happy but we’re never done. Not done until job is complete. Go back at it. We lit up Albany. Rich people did it to the workers. Every year that goes by, we get Tier 6 members in the legislature. We like to tell them that. We don’t stop. That’s the UFT. That’s our real superpower. We keep grinding at them. Excited to see where it’s headed.

Class Size - finally having meaningful conversations about their capital plan. Has the School Construction Authority (SCA) finished a project on time and on budget in the last 30 years? No. Before they even start, the cost doubles. A constant thing. Department of Ed has basically visited every school. They have a preliminary breakdown of every school that’s going to need a construction project. Big projects and small. You can do small construction project with school facilities. SCA is the one that builds annexes, extensions, and entire new schools. We’ve analyzed the list. Now have to go to schools ourselves. Then there’s a group of schools - we have to have a special committee - to help schools program properly. Big problem with programming. DOE has identified a bunch of schools with problems with programming. They said every superintendent has a team of expert programmers on their staff. I think they just slap a name or title on anybody at this point. They’ve said we need to train people to program in a different way. If you have a cadre of experts in each superintendent’s office, why do we have so many problems with programming? This is a big deal. These are the challenges as we get to the last 40% of Class Size. Hiring teachers, specifically certain titles. Everyone knows the traditional ones - math, science, special ed, any title with bilingual in front of it - is a massive shortage area. Then there’s just enough teachers themselves. The hard to staff issue is now going to come up. Have provisions in our contract. Some of that may work but need to come up with something else. Should not be collectively bargaining. Should be a plan to get us in compliance. So if you can’t attract certain titles, you need to deal with that.

Certain neighborhoods that we need schools built in will be difficult to build schools in. Competing with developers looking for lots for sale. We need to come up with a plan to deal with this issue. When the mayor makes an announcement and says “we’re only going to hire 1,000 teachers,” he can’t say that because there’s a law about compliance. You’ve heard me talk enough about the City’s budget this year. City always claims they’re broke but they have $7.5 billion in reserve.

Pension stuff - whatever you want, you have to send to our trustee boards. Let them work and make a decision. They are there for a reason. Most famous example - 1970s fiscal crisis. Members said no. Trustees said yes. Way over 15% return on our money. Anytime an issue comes up, people will automatically say no. The reason why you have people who are experts and study it and this is their life, you let them work. People just like to run political campaigns. If I say “we should go left,” they’ll automatically say “we should go right.” Hope this is all settled by the next Delegate Assembly. Rest of state voted on budgets which they don’t have.

Saturday’s Spring Conference - phenomenal panel of teachers. A lot of elected officials were there early. Said they didn’t understand all of the intricacies that goes into Class Size at the school level.

City

If we go back 10 years and it was 92 degrees on May 20 on a school day, more than half of schools would be a complete sweltering mess. 40 heat complaints over the last two days. But we gotta stay on it at all times. School facilities started a program two years ago that informed the principal that if there’s a room without a cooling device, to let them know. Some principals didn’t tell them. Didn’t want to be responsible for air conditioners, paying for new ones. Told principals we’ll take air conditioner from your office. Let students go to your office.

City’s budget - what’s our priority? The Para RESPECT check at all times. Now it’s heating up. Julie Menin spoke. She was very loud with her fist in the air yelling, “I am passing the Para RESPECT check legislation!” Paras will do some work this week asking the mayor. We know he supported this bill. Want to check in. In my conversations with him, I said he has to talk about this publicly. And he did. He testified and said “We need to start doing something. We should not spend millions per year in lawsuits because we don’t have appropriate staffing in our schools.” That was about paras. We want to turn the heat up. They’re not going to hand us anything. Moving forward on that. Going to be a big deal. They increased budget on lawsuits. Bit DOE in the ass. How do you feel that one of your agencies would rather spend billions on lawsuits rather than spending $300 million for appropriate personnel?

SBOs. Calls on Debbie Poulos.

Poulos: Hold on SBOs. 4 pre-approved that we just renewed an hour ago. One pre-approved for an Election Day block. No longer PD. November PTC to be swapped with Election Day. Election Day would be just 3 hours remote instruction. Everyone will be home. The day of your half day for PTC would be a full day. Because it’s not an even swap, everyone gets two hours remote time - OPW. We were not able to get anything for in person in November and March. Could not get those in person. Only September and May.

Mulgrew: You can’t remove any instructional time this year. We are literally at 180. Some popular SBOs not available.

LIRR strike - If you had any issues in terms of being late on Monday, please let us know. If principal didn’t approve it and it was less than three hours, let us know. You can email MSill@uft.org. Thankfully that got settled quickly. The governor told everyone to work remotely. Lots of emails about that. We were in contact constantly with DOE telling school leaders it won’t be easy for folks traveling from Long Island.

City budget supposed to be done and balanced by July 1. It’s June 30 close of business. Should be there July 1. Education funding will be in good shape.

June 23 is Primary Day. Congressional and State. The State hopefully next weekend, if majority of budget is done, NYSUT will start moving on endorsement. NYSUT has already submitted congressional endorsements to AFT. Lander-Goldman race is controversial down here. No agreement upon it. Disagreement between UFT and PSC. We basically have an understanding with the AFT that if you have an incumbent with a 100% voting record, you try to support that candidate. NYSUT said we can split. PSC is endorsing Lander. UFT is pushing Goldman. We have a congressional person who voted 100% on every issue for the AFT. Period. The other candidate wants to run but if we set an example that even if you’ve done everything we’ve asked, that will have ramifications in a lot of different places (some people hiss at MM). The other candidate knew what he was getting into - AFT told us clearly that Goldman voted 100% with us. That goes forward. Main people in NYC in congressional - the Reynoso race. A lot of assembly races that will be interesting. Thanks to political action department. Talk to candidates. Not easy. If you have a problem with it, please volunteer to be part of that process.

June 5 clerical day for elementary and middle schools is remote.

High Schools - remember remote day you received earlier this year when elementary was not remote.

What’s happening with Albany budget is not acceptable. It’s May 20 and schools don’t have initial budgets. Will get very messy fast. Don’t have answers for schools who submitted plans for hiring teachers for class size. School districts around us are hiring. Disadvantage. Need a better process. Not working for us. Too much at stake. Work we’ve done is amazing. Got Tier 6 in budgets. First two steps are great. Need more. It will help all positions. Thank you for all work we’ve done. Confident we will make progress. Budget needs to get done on time. Much easier to lobby when they know we’re serious about an issue.

Staff Director’s Report (missed some of this)

- Staten Island craft workshop yoga

- AI virtual showcase at 52 Broadway

- AANHPI banquet

- June 2 Albert shaker scholarship

- June 5 (missed)

- June 6 UFT Family Day

- June 13 UFT 5k

- Four Mondays left

- Happy Memorial Day, Eid Mubarak, Pride Month

Question Period

1. Question about Roberts Rules. Always had a speaker for and against before ending debate. RR says you need an opportunity for debate. If debate isn’t offered, what happens to resolution that’s passed

MM: Can say we were out of order as a body. If there was no opportunity .

2. For elementary, what guidance as to what can be done for clerical day? What to do at home?

MM: Chapter leaders: make sure you know what can happen if you ask certain questions.

3. Do gyms require air conditioning units?

MM: Yes. Gym is a class. All instructional spaces get an AC.

4. Preference sheets. Admin sometimes requests to know about prelim retirement.

MM: Can grieve. Go to the superintendent quick with that. They can’t back that up.

5. Admin questioning grading policy. Want us to pass chronically absent students. What can we do?

MM: Teacher can say “my grades are my grades.” Would have to consult with teacher. Can’t jump to “kids cutting all the time.” If they get all the work done and pass the Regents and things like that. If they’re saying blanketly to pass children, file a grievance, get it out of the building as fast as possible. Principals want a passing percentage so they can brag. But it’s not real. Then children pass who don’t know the subject. That’s a sham, especially if student didn’t show mastery of the subject. Mastery of subject is key. There are seat time requirements for credit recovery. We’ve gotten many schools in trouble for that.

6. What is maximum number of ICT students in ICT class, self-contained with new class size law?

MM: Depends how many students are in the room. It’s always a max of 40%. If there’s 10 in a room, max is 4. Dictated by the size of the class.

7. Question about endorsement process. You said there was a disagreement about Goldman and Lander. How was that process arrived at that UFT would recommend Goldman without coming to the Delegate Assembly?

MM: At State level, we need to work with NYSUT. Need their input, not just ours. AFT is very much about voting records. It’s all about the voting records. If somebody is 100% and an incumbent, unless there’s something crazy that nobody knows about, we go with them. AFT was very strong on supporting an incumbent that supported AFT with all their issues. AFT recommended to us. We agreed because we had no issues with that person.

8. Remote days. What counts as students’ attendance? Some parents email the principal saying they can’t log on.

MM: Did they log on? Some sort of participation. Part of principal’s rating is based on attendance. Should have this conversation on school and district level. Students have to log on. Can’t say they were there if they weren’t logged on.

Motions directed to the agenda

1: Motion to add a resolution to next month’s agenda. Resolution to ensure human oversight and accountability in AI based decision making in schools.

Opposition Argument: Don’t trust principals. Teachers should be specifically mentioned.

Vote - Yes: 696 No: 113 (online) Yes: 213 No: 14 (in person) 88%. Placed on next month’s agenda.

2: Motion to add a resolution to next month’s agenda. Resolution maintaining focus on core union priorities. Mentions too much focus on issues going on half a world away. Controversial global issues can cause reputational harm. UFT does not have a mandate to do this or adopt official positions.

Opposition Argument: Goes against past policy and practice. May be people opposed to international issues. There’s never been a limit on membership to bring questions. I can give a list of resolutions that have come across this body. It would prevent people with powerful feelings of international issues from bringing them up.

Vote - Yes: 434 No: 403 (online) Yes: 84 No: 140 (in person) 49%. Not placed on next month’s agenda.

Resolutions

AGENDA ITEM #1 – UFT ORGANIZING CAMPAIGN TO DEFEND SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE, AND MEDICAID RESOLUTION

Proposed amendment to strike the first WHEREAS from the reso (citing 1096). It reads: WHEREAS the election of UFT endorsed Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City has definitively ended the immediate danger that UFT and other NYC municipal retirees would lose our traditional Medicare and be transferred into a Medicare Advantage plan against our will, as Mamdani has unequivocally committed himself to the UFT’s position in support of maintaining traditional Medicare

Vote on Amendment to Resolution - Yes: 408 No: 253 (online) Could not hear in person vote count. PASSES. The first WHEREAS is struck.

Vote on Resolution as amended: - Yes: 538 No: 115 (online) Yes: 165 No: 41 (in person). 82%. Resolution PASSES as amended.

Meeting ends.

Read more here: Members push back against principal

2. Preference sheets information:

a. Fill out your top 3 choices for next school year even if you don’t plan on staying at your current school.

b. ALWAYS make a copy of your preference sheet. Save them for a few years to keep a paper trail.

c. If you didn’t get your first choice this year, you should (not mandatory for middle and high school teachers) get it next year. According to our contract, elementary school teachers may file a grievance if, “For two years in succession the elementary school teacher has been denied his/her first priority of program preference” (Article 7C1e, p.32). If there are any problems with your tentative schedule for next year, contact your chapter leader immediately because...

d. You have two days to file a reorganization grievance if there are any issues. The turnaround process to file a reorganization grievance is much quicker than other types of grievances.

e. You can request a co-teacher and/or ICT assignment, even if there isn’t a designated space to do so on the preference sheet.

f. Admin is not allowed to ask you if you plan on returning to the school next year or if you plan on retiring. If these questions appear, contact your chapter leader and/or district rep.

g. Elementary teachers should receive tentative programs by June 15.

h. Teachers in junior high schools and high schools should be informed of subjects, grade levels, any special or unusual classes to be taught no later than 10 school days prior to the end of the year.

i. Teachers in junior high schools should receive their programs no later than 5 days before the last day of school.

j. Teachers in high schools should receive their programs no later than the day before the last day of school.

k. Admin can amend teachers’ programs after the deadline, but teachers can grieve their amended program within two days of being notified.

3. UFT members on payroll as of 4/1/2026 should have already received or should soon be receiving their retention bonus. You must have worked at least 30 days between 4/1/25 and 3/21/26 to receive some sort of bonus. Based on how much time you’ve worked, your bonus may be prorated. If you’ve worked full-time over that stretch, you’re entitled to the full $1,000 (not including taxes). If you were hired after 4/1/25, you will get a prorated bonus. TDA contributions are deducted from the retention bonus.

Q Bank employees: Full time pedagogues (teachers, secretaries, guidance counselors, psychologists, social workers, lab specialists), paraprofessionals and substitute paraprofessionals) should receive their bonus on or around May 1.

H bank employees: Full-time school nurses, therapists, audiologists, sign language interpreters, education analysts/officers, associate education analysts/officers and administrative analysts/officers should receive their bonus on or around May 7.

4. The 2026-2027 school year calendar has finally been released. Teachers return September 8. Students return September 10. We teach remotely on Election Day. We do not get off for Easter Monday or the first day of Passover. The school year ends on June 28, which is within contract guidelines despite what others may say. According to Article 6C of the contract: “Teachers shall be in attendance on duty thereafter on all days of the school year except for the last two weekdays of the month of June.” Having said that, we have long winter and spring breaks, no real huge stretches without a day(s) off, and we come back from summer break nearly a week later than we did this year.

5. As of May 2026, all DOE employees who receive their regular, recurring paychecks via direct deposit, but who receive paper checks for per session work, will need to enroll in direct deposit for per session payments. Enrollment must be completed by May 28 via the DOE Payroll Portal. If you do not enroll by the May 28 deadline, per session checks issued as of June 16 and later will be direct deposited into the bank account currently used for your regular paycheck.

6. If you’re looking to transfer schools for the next school year, you may do so between mid April and early August without having to get a release from your principal. Open Market is officially up and running, but don’t expect to see many postings yet. Schools often/always wait to get their budgets for the next school year before releasing their postings. June, July, and (very early) August are the most opportune times to find a new position. After early August, you will not be able to transfer unless you are granted a release by your principal.

7. You can request to view your file whenever you want. Email your principal to arrange a suitable time. You can have any letter(s) removed three years after the latest incident referred to in the letter. If there is a disciplinary letter in your file that you were never informed about or that otherwise shouldn’t be there, take a picture of it and send an email to your principal (cc your chapter leader) stating that you want the letter removed. If this happens, be blunt in your email. You can say that you found something in your file that shouldn’t be there and ask them to let you know when to check your file again to make sure it’s no longer there, or else you will file a grievance.

8. Our current contract expires November 2027. The UFT is forming a negotiating committee for next year’s contract talks. The 2022 committee consisted of 500 members. The deadline to apply is May 14. You can apply here. You can also ask your chapter leader or district rep for more info on how to apply. A memberwide survey will be emailed at some point asking us about our wants and needs for the upcoming contract negotiations.

9. Three trustee candidates will run in the May TRS election. This is very important since the seven member board manages our pensions. The three potential candidates (Tom Brown, David Kazansky, and Frank Panebianco) all have experience in the position. Tom Brown is the incumbent. The other two are no longer members of Unity and do not currently hold trustee positions, although they served in the past. Voting will occur next week.

Moment of silence for Chapter Leader Roderick Daley from District 18.

We have to figure out the end of our own school year and we don’t have our budgets yet. But we have the calendar now. Election Day is instructional. Horrible. What happened to Easter Monday? How come we’re not recognizing the first night of Passover? Horrible. Last day of school is on a Monday. I’m upset, too. The one and only answer - do you want to extend the school year? That calendar is exactly 180 days. It’s the latest Labor Day can be. A lot of holidays fall on Saturdays, which means they’re not recognized. Good for us because if those holidays didn’t fall on Saturdays, we’d have a whole challenge in front of us. Next year’s calendar will be tough but this is toughest year. Have modeled out calendars up to 2034. We need to go back to three year agreement for the calendar. We want it and the parents want it. Enough with waiting for the calendar when we know we have the models. They’re all very tight. All 180 or 181 days.

But we do not have our budget. No school can move. Can’t recruit, know how many teachers they can hire, they don’t know what to do with class size plan. Should be starting SBOs. 1100-1200 schools doing certain SBOs. We must follow proper procedures for SBO votes. Don’t need additional stress over SBO vote. They’re pretty simple. Keep track, make sure ballots are secure.

Today is a special day. Administrative Professional Day today. Thank God for our secretaries. They keep us moving, keep our schools running.

National Autism Acceptance month. April is the national month for Occupational Therapists. Amazing the work they get done.

Federal

Not a lot on federal government today for obvious reasons.

State

Waiting for State budget. This admin is saying they can’t send out school runs until budget is done. I disagree with that. Tough time for us. Class size requirements. We believe we can reach 80%. Think we can get there. Need to figure out shortage areas. Special Ed, Math, Science are traditional ones. But also Foreign Language and need more librarians. This State budget thing is getting annoying. Progress being made but it’s hard progress. Back and forth. The new issue in Albany is immigration. A bunch of protests around the capital today, people arrested. But need to get the budget done. Tier 6 is a big, huge piece. School aid is very important to us. We need to set up our school system for September. Chapter Leaders supposed to have conversations with principal but how can you do that without a budget? We were hoping to see more progress this week, but better than two weeks ago. Nothing getting finalized though. Saturday at Somos conference in Albany, the governor said significant changes were coming in the budget. Need the budget process to move faster. Tier 6 push through a social media attack.

Many here and online lobbied. Foundation aid formula still needs reform. Homeless students. Not just about language. Fear and anxiety for students. We supply services. Services aren’t free. Our members are constantly looking after children and need to be in foundation aid formula. That is being discussed at this moment.

Class Size: Albany saying they need more years to come into compliance. We asked where the proof is for that. Schools that don’t have space don’t have a plan. We don’t want elected officials in Albany giving them any relief. We need to see a real plan and timeline. We’re currently in the mid 60s. Know we’re going to be over 70%. We know schools just need help with programming. Some schools don’t know how to program. I don’t believe DOE can help them program. There are schools that don’t need a significant construction project. Just modifications inside current building. We can do those things through school facilities. Much more responsive and quicker since COVID. We should thank them for doing things better. Some schools just need minor construction. Some need significant projects. Where are they, how have they been identified, and what is the plan to deal with it? We can’t move until those questions are answered. We need to be provided with data. Not asking. It’s a requirement of the law. Made that loud and clear to everyone in Albany. Don’t let them extend class size time limit until they’ve used all the tools first. Won’t discuss until we have data and a plan of how we’re getting to the end of this law. Class size is now permanent. It doesn’t mean we’re at 100% compliance. It’s a permanent, yearly process. NYC neighborhoods change. Large schools might shrink. Small schools might grow.

In terms of titles (teacher certificates), that will change. Needs to become part of our collective bargaining process. Shortage areas mean you can’t comply with law. Need to look at that.

Tier 6 - Everyone agrees something needs to get done. Pushing off until the end. Usually not a good sign. Complete loss is off the table. We need to push. Want to fix now. It’s a recruitment and retention problem for all public sector agencies. Battle of us vs. actuaries. An actuary doesn’t have to look at what it costs. They don’t care about the ramifications of the costs. Actuary has to calculate how much revenue Tier 6 was supposed to raise for pension fund. Our job is to make sure pension system gets all the revenue it’s supposed to get. For us, the argument has always been that Tier 6 went way overboard. Don’t need all of this money. Tier 4 people pay 3% for 10 years. Pension funds were fine. Never a problem. Never missed a check. Now people pay 3, 4% for 30 years. Do we need all of this money inside of our pension systems? That is the big debate.

Report about the mayor and comptroller using our pension funds to create a bunch of housing. Can they take our money and use it for what they want? No. See, you remember, so why all the craziness? Why all the social media craziness? They can’t do it. Our trustees will look at it, analyze it, do everything they need to do, and make a decision. One more time: UFT has three trustees. Others unions want trustees. We are the largest bloc, by far, inside TRS. From 1960 until now, it’s been three UFT trustees. That means we make decisions on pension funds. The three trustees have to work together at all times. Otherwise, if mayor can peel off one of those votes, they can use trustees for their own agendas. Our trustees have been very clear. They protect, maintain, and allow our pension system to flourish. Don’t let others use it for political purposes. We need the three trustees. They won’t meet people, investors individually. We’re proud of them. In charge of our money.

Pension amortization - We did this last year. Called it “smoothing.” Have we smoothed our pensions in the past? Yes. Don’t do it every time. We leave it to the trustees. Their decision at all times. If it’s in the best interest of our system, they move in that direction. If it’s not in the best interest of our system, we don’t know move in that direction. We’re the only union that has a rule that president will never be a trustee. There’s never been a missed payment in history. Well-funded.

City

$1,000 retention bonus check comes May 1. Everyone except H Bank. They get it May 7. This never stops. Here forever. Now it grows according to collective bargaining. Will always go up for collective bargaining. Even though it’s a set amount, normally we prorate it. We said no. All titles get the same money. Depending on DOE payroll getting their act together. May Day celebrations on May 1. Picked May 1 for that reason. Should be a thank you to the members for our union.

We will be participating - NYSUT delegates are preparing tonight - for NYSUT RA next weekend. May Day celebrations and demonstrations in Albany.

TRS elections moving forward. Done by May 13. Tom Brown is our candidate. We are hoping and praying that DOE doesn’t screw up the election.

Healthcare - Glad to report that the strategy of negotiating as a triumvirate - insurance companies, NYC, MLC - is paying dividends. Saving on hospital costs in way we haven’t done before. It extends the amount of time where we won’t have to deal with any threats about premiums. Hospitals excuse is that they already budgeted for the year. So, you budgeted to rip us off. We are not funding your expansion or administrative bonuses. Looking at real costs - what does a procedure cost? How good are you at a procedure? MSK and Hospital for Special Surgery have been the two hospitals the really prove they’re into healthcare and don’t try to gouge anyone. We’ve come to agreements with Northwell and NYU. Using City and MLC and bargaining table for leverage. When it comes to this stuff, it’s serious. Still have long way to go. Just about settling up with NY Presbyterian. They think they’re elite. But again, you’re not ripping us off. The NYCE PPO - there was a lawsuit from a group called Hands Off Our Healthcare - tried to stop the NYCE PPO transition. Judge dismissed their case yesterday. The odd part is that it came to light that this group were being funded by different LLCs. Lo and behold, both LLCs who said they were separate entities had the same address with no phone. Thank you for any members working with them, because that is known as Dark Money. It could’ve been a group of people who think public workers shouldn’t have good healthcare. We don’t know. They’re allowed to be private. Same address - an empty storefront in a strip mall in Virginia. Thanks to Geof Sorkin. Set up call line for any problems you’ve been having. Problems with prescriptions, doctors, etc. Many doctors don’t know they’re in the plan because it’s brand new, but they are in it. Thanks healthcare committee for keeping us on point.

A phenomenal victory in Queens. There’s a lot of difficult and agitating administrators in our school system. Different between difficult and mean and those trying to hurt. You know how horrible it is going to work every day when that happens. It’s rough. It’s not like most of this country where our colleagues have no ability to push back. We do. But it’s not easy. People get intimidated. People say “I’m going to get retaliated against.” The truth is this happens. But if we don’t fight, we can’t win. Only way out is to fight. Every now and then they’re so bad, they end up in the papers. But that doesn’t happen often. Tough fights. I want to bring up people - Calls up Tabio DaCruz, Karen Alford, P.S. 35 Chapter Leader. CL recalls story of filing grievances against principal and principal retaliating with bad observations. Had 68 members, 24 signed the grievance. Had to prove union animus. Retaliation. Consultation committees were a bloodbath some months. Deshanna Barker was great. UFT showed up. A little over a year ago got the call about going to arbitration for this. Shouts out UFT Queens members. Got the ruling on Monday - we won. We destroyed them. Their case was built on her lies. Ours was built on facts. Now a cease and desist. Lots of oversight from district team. Hopefully it’s the beginning of the end for her. If you’re in a school like this, I hope it inspires you and your members. Stick together and you can make a big change in your school.

Michael Herren (special rep, grievance dept) - Three things to know about this case. The arbitrator explicitly called out that CL has right to form a consultation committee, hold union meetings safely. Cannot be retaliated against for doing the job they are there to do. When we started our closing statement, we said there’s a reason we spent this amount of time on this case, because if we don’t protect these rights, there is no union in the school. Two: Even regular managerial decisions can be union animus if it impacts union activity. Principal tried to enforce 7:30 building start when union wanted to meet earlier. It’s not what they do, it’s why they do it. Can ask why they’re doing something when they haven’t before. Three - there doesn’t need to be an adverse act to prove union animus. Doesn’t need to be a letter to file. It can be the threat. When John filed a grievance, he got a letter to file. The arbitrator said she did that to intimidate him. We called these all out. The group stood together, got support from Queens office.

Staff Director’s Report

- Tomorrow and Friday, Manhattan Borough Office. Phone banking for Carl Wilson.

- 9:30 this Saturday (missed)

- May 1 - May Day mobilization

- Meet & Greet w/ Tom Brown SI borough office May 6.

- Middle school awards night May 7

- May 8 6:15 (missed)

- Academic HS awards May 15

- May 17 - AIDS walk NY in Central Park

- Brooklyn new member meet the president

- Asian Heritage banquet - May 22.

- 42 instructional days left in the school year.

Question Period

1. Small class size. Some principals having hard time how to make this work. Weaponizing it. Quality of instruction going down. Lab teachers, music teachers dragging materials class to class, etc. What support for principals who can’t envision things like scheduling? New Chancellor believes in class size. Some principals need help thinking outside the box.

MM: There are principals who have problems when they’re told what to do because it wasn’t birthed from their brain. Dealing with a bunch of schools with programming issues. If you’re programming to cause problems because you’re angry, that’s a separate issue. Need to look at on a case-by-case basis. Asked Chancellor his thoughts on people learning to program in a different way. Big mistake is that they take care of big numbers first, then specialty stuff second. Should be done the opposite way. Two issues - are principals doing it because they don’t know what they’re doing or because they’re being malicious? Chancellor says people at DOE Central know how to address programming issues. I don’t think so. Instruction should not be diminished because of class size. You must see the class size plan for your school.

2. Had a student who I suspected was using AI. Where should the line be between academic integrity and equitable grading when AI use is suspected but not provable?

MM: First, real conversation. Second, make sure AI detection software is up to date. Third, ask student what they were thinking. What were you trying to prove in your paper? At that point, you pull away the curtain. Students are going to use AI. People want a ban on AI. Can’t set a law you can’t enforce. Have kids do presentations. You do that a few times, they’ll back off the AI but it will be a constant battle. AI not going away, especially high school and middle school students. Should look to DOE to provide up-to-date AI detection. Constant problem for our profession. A much more nefarious version of Cliff Notes

3. Consultants and publishers impacting curricula. We have so many experienced and capable teachers that can create curriculum for our students. How can we use the next contract negotiations to provide Teacher’s Center or something to help with effective curriculum for our students?

MM: Teaching for the 21st Century makes it clear that it’s the responsibility of admin to supply us with curriculums. Having freedom is a beautiful thing but I always knew my job was to get them to pass the Regents. Went from all decisions based on tests ot these companies selling curriculums. A district based thing - a series or menu of curriculums chosen. When you get to higher grades, it’s about concepts and issues you’re trying to teach them. At younger grades, it’s reading comprehension and development. Trying to create a foundation for their learning. If we want to get rid of Teaching for the 21st Century, DOE would jump at it. But we should look at each district coming up with a menu of curriculums. Need to figure out pros and cons. One thing we don’t want is a new flavor of the month. These curriculum companies will tell you the curriculum they sold you three years ago sucks and they have something new. I don’t want consultants in the schools. Has to be addressed in negotiation but also in legislation.

Motions directed to the agenda

1: Motion to add a resolution to next month’s agenda. Resolution to stop the sale of bombs and bulldozers to Israel.

Vote - Yes: 509 No: 370 (online) Yes: 175 No: 122 (in person) 58%. Placed on next month’s agenda.

2: Motion to add a resolution to next month’s agenda. Resolution honoring 45 years of education to end the HIV/AIDs epidemic.

Vote - Yes: 721 No: 114 (online) Yes: 280 No: 16 (in person) 89%. Placed on next month’s agenda..

Resolutions

AGENDA ITEM #1 – RESOLUTION ON MEMBER ENGAGEMENT DURING 2027 CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

RESOLVED, that the UFT will survey all members to identify needs, shape priorities, and set contract demands; and, be it further

RESOLVED, the negotiating committee shall be formed promptly, allowing sufficient time for training on collective bargaining; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that the UFT will continue to mobilize and elevate collective member action through member-driven engagement, organizing, and public efforts, to build widespread support and strengthen our ability to achieve a fair, just, and representative contract.

AMENDMENT PROPOSED: UFT should release survey results to all membership.

ARGUMENT AGAINST AMENDMENT: We don’t want people knowing our playbook.

Vote to add amendment - Yes: 335 No: 382 (online) Yes: 91 No: 200 (in person). DOES NOT PASS.

Vote for the resolution as originally presented - Yes: 595 No: 116 (online) Yes: 253 No: 31 (in person). 85%. PASSES.

Meeting ends.

Lobbying is an interesting term. It’s an intense, heavy duty deal. Lots of heavy stuff happens in the month of March. Sets up everything for us as we close the school year. Money for city and state and policies.

Federal

Midterms coming. Congressional endorsements. UFT does not officially endorse. The AFT does that. Recommendations come from the locals. Have to start the processes. We’re in a war that’s not a war. Big beautiful bill. People are writing me about pensions. It’s all good. Relax. Stock market moves, but it always moves. Economy will affect that.

Two major things: 1) Medicaid cuts have not been pushed in yet. Bit of a hiccup. If you want Medicaid, the federal government no longer pays for it. Paid by state. That’s in big beautiful bill. That money is being used for big beautiful tax credit for the richest people in America. Big problem is that Medicaid cuts will have profound impact on midterm elections. Doesn’t matter if you’re a red or blue state. Significant number of people in every state. Every state is dealing with massive cuts to their budgets. A major political issue in midterms. They can change the language, do certain things. They were smart. Left a lot of gray area so they can change what they need to do. That’s where we’re waiting at this moment. All states saying federal government can’t abandon Medicaid. Elections in November. States can be hit with massive cuts in next year’s budget. Lots of unhappy people. Medicaid is used by basically everyone. It’s a big deal. Need to wait for the language on that. It’s hard because we have to work with people we normally don’t work with because we have common interests. If Medicaid cut hits NY State, education in this state will be cut severely.

Another piece of the bill that didn’t get a lot of ink that has no language at this point is the voucher/tax credit. In this bill, a portion of it is that people can donate $1,700 each to educational institutions. Sounds nice. Waiting for language to guide it. Right now as it’s interpreted, people are saying that you can donate as long as it’s not to public schools. Backdoor voucher bill. In Florida now some of the craziest anti-worker, anti-public school, they now have a bill to give public school space to for-profit voucher schools. Doesn’t matter that all data says voucher programs are horrendous. Waiting for language on that bill also. They’re going to start drafting it in June. You are leaders in your schools. These things are a big deal. Will continue to lobby in D.C. A lot of this will fall to states to decide if they want to participate in the voucher bill. Waiting for language to propose resolution. We’re unofficially against it.

Retirees from Florida say thank you and hope you’re enjoying the winter. Had a meeting the day after the storm. Very happy that day.

State

Thank you for the rally on Sunday. To the turnout teams to everyone who did the work. There was joy in that auditorium on Sunday. Sold out. You saw all the different public sector unions from across the state. Little union local from NYC was very loud every time their name was mentioned. It’s been very effective. We know what Tier 6 has done. More of our members now understand it. Most understand how pensions get created and how to fix them. In the beginning, most members thought pensions were negotiated. We start the Tier 6 piece. Campaigned on the 6th of every month. Middle February - Albany knows it’s not going away and must be dealt with. Three budget proposals at state level every year. 1. The governor’s initial budget proposal. 2. Assembly and Senate look at her budget proposal and they work together to agree on what they like in her proposal and what they don’t like. Can not support or be silent on it. 3. Two houses have to release their budget proposals. If it’s not in at least 1 of the budget proposals of the three, it’s not in the budget. Tier 6 was not in governor’s budget proposal. Coordinating with NYSUT. Posting. Out there. UFT legislative session was last Wednesday. All legislators who came love the idea of fixing Tier 6. Waiting for two additional budgets, so we did the rally.UFT, everyone else showed up. The night before the governor called and said she’s coming to the rally and she supports fixing Tier 6. Carl Heastie, leader of assembly, comes out and says Tier 6 is foolish and need to fix it. Andrea Stewart Cousins, Tom DiNapoli say the same thing. Then the governor says we need to do something. The house bills trickle out Monday and Tuesday. Both houses are supporting reforms to Tier 6. That rally had a lot to do with getting all of this done. If you did work at your school, thank you. It all works together. Comes together to create a power and a push. It’s not done yet. We have our own UFT Lobby Day on Monday. Have to push further and further. Lot of discussions still going on about what are the reforms everyone wants ot agree upon. There are differences. Unions looking at longevity and age of their workers. Majority of DOE members start straight out of college. Need people to show up for Lobby Day on Monday. If the state budget does not get done on time, it will become a mess. The holiday starts right away in April. Budget is supposed to be done at midnight on March 31. Budget does not always get done on time. Years ago, budgets wouldn’t be done until August. Nightmare for schools because they couldn’t get their budgets. Take pictures with legislators, tell them you’re sending to your schools, make them happy.

Increase in education funding. Increased weight of foundation aid. Increased last year for children in poverty. NYC has largest number. We have the same percentage of children in poverty as we did 8-9 years ago. Rest of state went up though. More money at that point goes to other school districts. We want funding for services to be included in foundation aid.

Teachers Center - thank you to Teacher Center folks. Constantly doing Teacher Center openings. We do the openings to invite community, parents, elected officials so we can tie them to the money they’re spending in local schools. They’re great about it but it’s a constant fight in Albany. For years, it’s thought to be a gift to us. It’s not a gift. A lot of money from UFT dues used for this. If you want people pissed off at you, principals bring in consultants for PD. We got the Teacher Center.

Attendance, academic performance up throughout the city in schools with teacher centers.

Mayoral control not mentioned in any of the budgets. Clear signal they don’t want mayoral control in the budget. Mayoral control sunsets at the end of this year. Legislative session goes through June. They’re saying they want to take it up later. We will lobby on Monday. Tier 6 is moving.

City

City budget. Where do we start? Our new deficit is $5.5 billion. We had 17, 12, 9. Now we’re at 5.5. So obviously, the City has a money factory somewhere where they’re printing money. City always claims they’re broke. During Cuomo’s term, besides Tier 6, he was shifting a lot of things the State was paying for to the City of New York. The City hasn’t said anything about it the last four years. This admin is saying they understand some of it but some is just not fair. Cuomo was being a creep. A couple hundred million every time. MTA, congestion pricing, other things of that nature. The City’s economy is clearly doing very well. The State’s economy, for the first time in decades, is growing and is in the black. 60% of revenue growth coming from NYC. 40% from rest of the state. How much money does City get in State budget? 60% revenue growth comes from the City but only given 40% by the State. Unfair. All of this goes out the window next year if Medicaid cuts come down next year. We’ll be in the red.

Been trying to get things for years. Large number of housing units that cost over $7.5 million per year. They play less taxes than most people here who own a house. Majority owned by people who don’t live in NYC. We want that fixed. Everything can go on the table. Lot of things we want to do as a city. I’ve never seen a governor just hand NYC $3.5 billion, which Hochul has done. Unheard of. It’s not simple. Can’t say that one’s bad, this one’s good. Trying to figure it out.

The main piece of the City budget for us is the para bill. Last year at the spring conference, we had all those candidates. First question was about supporting Tier 6. Cuomo said he’d undo Tier 6. The other question was about the RESPECT check legislation for the para bill. Start from there and follow the path through. We don’t stop. We educated people, get into elections. We know the problem with the para bill. Under previous bill, we were stopped by the Speaker and her staff. Would tell us things were illegal. We know what’s legal and illegal. Know what we can’t touch in the Taylor Law. We say we’re going to focus on the new City Council. Won all our endorsements except for one. Ask all of them if they support the para bill. We have the City Council. They chose Julie Menin as their Speaker. She’s one of the original ones on board with the para bill. Told her we want to make the bill bigger and stronger. Need to maintain the legality of the bill by making it program only. Not part of collective bargaining. Want this to be permanent. The paras are a crisis. City is losing millions in litigations in lawsuits because of children with no paras. Now have 45 sponsors on the bill out of 51. Para fest was this past Saturday. Speaker Menin basically said no way, no how is the budget getting done unless we fix the para crisis. Important to all of us because we’re going to start informing and educating our next negotiation committee. We don’t want other titles paying for the paras through pattern bargaining. We’ve found out a lot. Did research on pattern bargaining. Looked at every case the city has had since the ‘70s. Person from OLR was sent there and had no answers. City Council can now say that adhering to pattern bargaining is hurting these workers and hurting the city’s ability to serve. Paras need this bill to get passed. Hire more paras.

DOE reorganized last week. Every chancellor reorganizes. Kamar is doing pretty well. We’ll see. We know some of these people. We’ve worked with all of them. We’re going to try. Have to work with them. Always say we want to work with you. You can try. We try and we’ll see what happens.

Class Size. Getting down to the last couple of years on this. At first, they said 800 schools would need construction projects. Surveyed principals. They said they didn’t have space. Last year, we said if you apply and let us know how much staff you need, we’ll give you the money. Many principals were understandably hesitant. Thought the money wouldn’t be there. Just over 700 were submitted and approved. Those schools got that money. That line does not go away. Money comes every year. All the rest who didn’t do any of this. All of a sudden, these schools have space. Putting in for class size now that they know they can get the money.

Three pods of major issues - major construction projects , school facilities, utilization.

School Construction Authority is a huge problem .

Facilities. Timelines, How to do work in buildings. Can’t do construction when lots of kids and teachers are there. Lots of dust.

Utilization. Miniature schools all over the place. Lots of schools with low numbers must be addressed. Must be respectful. We don’t have space to waste.

Little less than 200 schools need big construction projects. Much lower than we thought. Past mayors thought it would be more.

Don’t have the calendar for next year. We’re barely going to reach 180 days next year based on how holidays fall next year. Not being disrespectful of cultures. Low on days next year.

Snow day. Mayor called me, first deputy and chancellor called me. Asked me to help. Got the waiver. Everyone was happy. Then, schools opened the next day. What the hell is wrong with you? This is a horror. The mayor said the reason for the waiver was kids didn’t have equipment. So he couldn’t say tomorrow is a remote day because they still didn’t have equipment. We told people if they don’t feel safe, don’t go in. We will protect you. I’ve been a part of other unions. If it snows, you don’t get paid.

Likely no snow day ever again. Mayor learned his lesson. Talked to UFT about how to always be ready for remote. This will be a biggie for all of us. Everything in our curriculum will be digitized in five years. Every student will need working devices. Occasionally have emergency remote situations, flooding, etc.

Certain areas of the city can be shut down instead of the whole city if they’re having more problems, like Staten Island during the snowstorm.

AP to student ratio is out of control. Started by Bloomberg

Special Ed committees need to record how many paras, speech therapists, PTs we need. They always know what they need. Don’t want to say so they can use the budget however they want. Still sticking to the principal using the budget however they want. Can’t say we have one speech therapist for every 85 kids. DOE won’t look into this. We have to

Need special ed committees to dig in on budget. How many social workers, psychologists, speech teachers, paras we need so we have baselines for September.

Pre-K, 3K. Working on 2K. We represent home daycare providers. Market rate at state needs to be massively increased. Have had a massive decrease the last 4 years. Need a better compensation package. Mayor can’t fulfill his promise unless this is figured out.

Next year will be tough for hiring teachers. Class of 6-8,000. Should slow down after this.

CLs should start thinking through what they’re considering for their SBOs. We don’t meet until April 22. Need to think through this, be strategic. That is the most utilized portion of our contract. Also gets CL in trouble the most. Need to think what you need in your building and negotiate with the principal. They need something, you need something. It’s a two-way street. Wish you all a phenomenal break coming up.

Staff Director’s Report - Michael Sill

- Tomorrow and Friday - 50 Broadway, 2nd fl. UFT players present original plays festival. Between Darkness and Dawn.

- Friday, March 13. 195 Monohue St, 3rd fl.

- This weekend - Functional weekend in White Plains

- Herstory at Bronx borough office. Sold out.

- UFT Pride Committee on March 19th. Sangria Cafe in the Bronx.

- NY Aquarium teacher overnight. Saturday, 3/21 and 3/22.

- 3/26 - Brooklyn borough office, Seder.

- School counselor’s conference at 52.

- 3/28, 3/29 - TWA Hotel for CLs. School budgets, end of year decisions, etc.

- Early Childhood Conference at 52.

- 5/22 - Asian American banquet.

- 5/28 - Latino Caucus spring soiree.

- Nominations open for HS award. On UFT website. Trachtenberg Award nominations.

- Petitions available for Tom Brown.

- Be brave against bullying contest

- If you want to put resolutions or flyers on the table downstairs, you can email them to me. Resos not for caucus literature. Will print out.

- Happy Women’s History month.

Question Period

1. Intro 1096. Not versed on that. Why are we against it?

MM: Intro 1096 is a bill that basically will make sure all current retiree healthcare benefits will remain in effect. Takes it out of collective bargaining. Sounds good but isn’t. There’s a law we all know is the Taylor Law. Big provision is that we can’t strike. But other provisions are important to us. If we can’t negotiate new contract with the mayor, we get to keep current contract. We like that. The other provision is the piece that says no elected body can change terms and conditions of a collective bargaining agreement. That’s a good thing. Prevents governor or legislators from doing things like forcing us to pay healthcare premiums. If we agree to let City Council make changes in favor of retiree healthcare, it’s helpful for the moment. But can turn on us quickly. People have to really understand and look at all of these things. We’d be shooting ourselves in our own foot. If you’re going to use a law to set a precedent against a law that protects us, we would no longer have protection. We can’t do that. We go out of our way to make retirees as part of our union. They support us. They are the daytime army. They phone bank, travel to other states to help. Our retiree programs are phenomenal. The issue here is we had our lawyers look at it. They all say the same thing. Law would set a precedent in violation of Taylor Law. Why open yourself up to get attacked by city officials. Imagine if someone like Michael Bloomberg could have changed whatever he wanted. We would’ve been paying premiums. We’ve made some good moves and some not-so-good moves but can always figure out how to pull back. Listened to our retirees. We got a good deal on our new healthcare plan. Hospitals say they’re broke, nurses on strike while executives make $20 million. In the end, Intro 1096 can hurt everyone. Leaving it wide open to a bad mayor or someone in Albany coming in. Any member here would be able to sue the union for non-representation if Taylor Law goes down. All lawyers say the same thing.

Member calls for rebuttal.

MM: It’s not a debate. You’re out of order. It’s not a rebuttal process. I’m here to inform you. If you want to listen to somebody else, that’s your business, but in the end the lawyers say this is a violation that will hurt us.

2. 1096, collective bargaining, Taylor Law. What is the bargaining unit for retirees? Is our bargaining unit a UFT retiree bargaining unit?

MM: The MLC. Lawyers have said MLC has right to bargain. Not a retiree unit. There is a contract for your retiree healthcare. Every union - all NYC workers in every union - are under the same healthcare plan that’s bargained by the MLC. Without MLC, each union would have to bargain separately for in service and retiree healthcare separately. Right now in dispute with some hospitals. We get to tell them that the issue for you is that 1.3 million (including retirees) are in the plan and you’ll lose access to them if you don’t cut your crap. Now, if we had to negotiate just based on UFT, it’s still a large number but much less. Smaller unions would be even worse off. Well over question period.

Motions directed to the agenda

1: Motion to add a resolution to next month’s agenda. Modify the C-30 process. Hiring process for administrators. C-30 is a complete farce, theatrical. Decisions made prior to the entire committee meeting. Superintendents are ignoring the recommendation of the C-30 committee and not hiring the first choice and people who shouldn’t have got the job anyway. Need more transparency in C-30 process and we need more of a say.

Speaker Against: All C-30s are phony. Voting against because committee should not have significant weight; they should have absolute say.

Vote - Yes: 606 No: 230 (online) Yes: 166 No: 74 (in person) 72%. Passes.

2: Motion to add a resolution to this month’s agenda. Celebration on union’s 66th anniversary on March 16.

Vote - Yes: 643 No: 153 (online) Yes: 191 No: 50 (in person) 80%. Passes.

Resolutions

AGENDA ITEM #1 – RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF CARL WILSON FOR NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3

Vote - Yes: 450 No: 155 (online) Yes: 165 No: 54 (in person). 75%. PASSES.

Sings Happy Birthday to the UFT.

Meeting ends.

As The City reported, “the probe paints a picture of the city and the unions using the fund as a virtual piggy bank, authorizing $4.3 billion from 2001 to 2024 in lump sum payments to the city and to union-administered general welfare funds, including $1 billion to cover the costs of raises, deferred layoffs and other benefits.” However, we should take the language of ‘piggy bank’ with a grain of salt. For one thing, union contracts have oscillated between pay adjustments that barely met cost of living increases to pay adjustments that lagged far behind them. At the same time, our healthcare has diminished in value, with employee-based costs like copays increasing dramatically even as premiums technically stayed flatly at zero. So there is not a question here of unions getting some sort of extra benefit from using funds creatively from the Health Insurance Stabilization Fund on top of an already generous base amount from traditional sources. The question is more why those traditional sources were not really used to fairly compensate workers such that labor representatives felt compelled to act creatively by using, and ultimately misusing, a now insolvent fund that had a specific purpose.

Both the OLR/MLC argue that the aforementioned uses (i.e. raises, deferred layoffs and other benefits) were legitimate uses of the fund. But, Lander’s office disagreed. That office additionally named a number of objections over issues with documentation/reporting, not to mention what they saw as insufficient action to try and replenish the fund after it was clearly becoming insolvent. Even if one takes the argument that a different comptroller might have interpreted the fund as being used validly (implicitly suggested by some of those involved), it’s impossible to see past many of the problems outlined in the report. One key here though, which you aren’t seeing in the versions of events being reported by some UFT opposition bloggers, is that the report made both the MLC and OLR look very bad. In some ways, it frankly appears that OLR, an actual office of the City, looks even less good than the MLC in this report, written as it is by another office of the City. But ultimately, in stark contrast to where UFT bloggers normally stand, which is to say so out of the loop that it is difficult to avoid straddling the lines between reporting, interpreting, and speculating, we are instead met with a deluge of data the likes of which we rarely have access. To some extent, then, we will need to read and reread the new information Lander’s former office exported before executing final critical judgements. In the meantime, the report does lead us to ask several questions.

• Insomuch as many on the ground suggest that Lander’s report was politically motivated, why would a DSA-affiliated politician publish something that could have the effect of harming the unions? Our guess is that was not Lander’s intent. Notably, while Lander mentions that OLR is coming after the MLC to retrieve over three billion dollars in owed monies, he did not take the stance that the MLC owed that, in fact criticizing OLR again and again for their role in the debacle, and admitting that, for instance, former Mayor Adams himself gave up on one of the cost-saving measures (a MAP plan) to which the MLC and the OLR had previously agreed.

  • As an aside to this point, given that OLR sued the MLC to repay billions of dollars in unrealized savings and that one of the MLC’s best legal arguments against paying that money is that it wasn’t their fault the money didn’t go the City, but rather was outside of their hands due especially to the legal cases brought against the City by outside organizations, aren’t some of the demands being made by outside organizations and our own opposition groups, e.g. that a union division should somehow and impractically, officially support the very lawsuits that could be seen as being primarily responsible for preventing the realizations of savings, e.g. through the venue of amicus briefs, dangerous, legally, for the UFT and other MLC unions? Is it possible many in the opposition have been taking bad advice that would harm their members, especially in-service members, by making an arbitrator more likely to side with the OLR over the MLC by using what would look like official support for actions that caused the MLC/OLR deal(s) to implode as evidence that it was the MLC’s fault?

• If, as Lander’s report suggests, even with MAP and the new in-service health plan we would not meet the agreed-upon savings, what other changes, both neutral and negative, might have been down the pipe?

• What are the implications of the MLC promising savings which were contingent on major and unpopular healthcare changes that they were unable to execute even as the debt accrued? In addition to the democratic issues here, e.g. promising savings that hinged on, for instance, a MAP plan that unconsulted retirees clearly did not want, for many of those thinking through these issues, this is one of the most guilt-inducing aspects of the report where the MLC is concerned.

• Why would the MLC agree to subsidize our contracts again in 2018 when, according to this reading of this audit, it was clear as day that the agreement to subsidize our 2014 contracts was already killing the HISF?

• What does it say about the style of unionism that MLC-affiliated unions, particularly DC-37 and UFT have, that we are left to salvage, apparently improperly, through a fund we need for specific purposes, just to get minor increments to our pay or no-layoff promises? What does this say particularly in the context of pattern bargaining? What could we do differently and what would that look like? What would it take?

These are just some of the questions we have at this juncture. More to come.

Footnotes:

1. The Health Insurance Stabilization Fund (HSF) is critical to how our health insurance is funded. The City is legally required to cover our healthcare up to the HIP HMO rate. Most city employees are/were enrolled in the GHI CBP healthcare plan. In years when the HIP HMO rate was higher than the GHI CBP rate, the City placed the difference into our HISF. In years when the GHI CBP plan was more expensive than the HIP HMO, money was taken from the HISF to pay back the City. This is called equalization. It’s super important because it basically protects us from paying premiums, higher deductibles, higher copays, etc. straight from our paychecks. At one point, the HISF was flush with cash – billions. We used some of that money to create additional benefits, specifically the PICA program that covers chemotherapy, injectables, etc. However, now the fund is insolvent. ↩︎

Verizon issues. Depending where you are in the city, you may have DA access or you may not.

Two moments of silence for two chapter leaders.

Peggy Atkin (retired)

Joel Robert Robles

Federal

It’s getting worse and worse by the month. Many people think it will continue to get worse leading up to the mid-term elections. Minneapolis, Fed Reserve chair, Venezuela. The Minneapolis stuff is the most frightening but it’s all not good. Talking to AFT. Great concern about what is going on there. NYC protests are increasing. People know where ICE buildings are here. Never thought I’d see this. Never thought we’d go backwards this fast. People getting dragged out of cars, houses. We are human beings first and foremost.The people here at the UFT have done 75 workshops trying to help and coordinate school communities.

On top of that, we have to navigate our own union and protect the communities which we serve. Had to file a lawsuit last week against Texas with the AFT because there are hundreds of teachers under investigation because of their social media posts about Charlie Kirk. You have a right to your opinion and to voice it. Teachers being investigated in Florida because of political social media posts. We are a country founded on freedom of speech. When you say teachers don’t have the right to freedom of speech, that’s a big no-no. They like to say we’re “indoctrinating” children. That’s not what we do. Teachers understand that. When our students and their families see this stuff on TV, we’re the ones who have to deal with it.

On top of that, we have an unprecedented teacher shortage across the country. 4,000 vacancies in Arizona; 1,000 teachers left Arizona. Affordability, lack of support are major issues. Can’t fill in substitutes. Seeing it here in New York. This is why we say things like Tier 6 needs to be fixed. We have a new chancellor, mayor. These are the things we’re moving into as we approach midterm elections. It’s going to continue getting worse and worse. This all affects this unit.

State

Started the legislative session started yesterday. Number one goal is to fix Tier 6. On Jan. 6 we did phenomenal. Close to 600 schools participated. Action everywhere. Social media everywhere. Building momentum. Teachers aren’t getting respect. Tier 6 is disrespectful. Next step is on February 6. Talk to staff. Educate them about how pension works. Most people don’t understand how it works. We do. We’re union leaders. Then we have March 6. March 8 we’re in Albany. That’s what these posters are for (in-person DA attendees received posters). Need to turn up pressure before end of legislative session. Whatever we need to do to keep up pressure on legislature, we’re going to do it. There’s lots of stuff to do but age is the big one. Need to get this work done.

The governor is for protecting citizens of New York. Did a whole piece on ICE. Said if there’s any criminality, ICE would be arrested. Everybody is very proud in state of New York that we’re protecting our children with the cell phone ban. Want to go further with algorithms and under age 18 kids.

Pre-K and 3K - Governor and mayor wanted to take it outside budget. Made a deal and got it done. Mayor laid it out black and white. In terms of 3 and 4 year olds, we’re going to expand 3K and pre-K. Massive expansion. Going back to original plan which the Adams administration got rid of. You develop a system - some hubs or centers - but you can’t guarantee the number of three year olds in a community on a yearly basis. Need a system where that works. Need more early childhood teachers. Spoke to mayor and chancellor. Everybody should have access.

2 Care - Not part of school system. Mayor announced he wanted to expand it dramatically by using home childcare providers who are part of the union. Need to ramp that up. The challenge will be access to information. The agencies who have access have not done well in the City or State for decades. We offered them tools. We have access to things they don’t. Many of our own members have access to childcare but many communities don’t. Funded now. Next year, we’ll have to figure out how to fund it forever. This is part of affordability. Almost every household does not have stay-at-home parenting anymore. Everyone needs access to childcare. We’ll be part of trying to make that work.

More stuff from the State of the State. Lawsuits. Tried to defund a bunch of different projects. Once Congress appropriates funding for projects… you can’t start a project then pull the money. That’s where the lawsuits are. They called wind farms a national security emergency.

City

We have a new mayor. Adams administration is gone. That’s a plus. Now we have to deal with the fact that we have a new administration coming in. Fast as possible. Many city agencies need to be fixed or get up to levels of proficiency we haven’t seen in a bit. Major undertaking. We’re there to help. New mayor has been very good. Likes to text. Lot of things going on. It’s like being a chapter leader. Want to get to know principal, figure out who you need to talk to. Same process we’re doing right now. It’s very nice to talk to the man. He seems like he wants to get things done. They figured out the childcare on day 8. Mayor and governor. So far, so good, but we’ll see.

We have a new chancellor. Everyone know the chancellor’s name? Kamar Samuels. I’ll probably invite him to the DA since he was a chapter leader and worked in the grievance department. We’ve known him for a long time. He’s a very nice man. He is fixated on fixing the NYC Solves problem. He said the first unit prerequisites aren’t impressed. Wants it fixed right away. Perhaps make the curriculum K-12. Says as far as he and the mayor are concerned, class size needs to get done. Parents of NYC deserve it. So far, so good.

Class size - reviewing final applications. CSA, UFT, and DOE. Once principals realized they’d actually get the money they were asking for, all the applications rolled in. All the projections when we had war over this legislation by the DOE about how much building needs to be done is nowhere near. It’s a couple billion dollars but not $8-9 billion like they were projecting. It’s time to come up with a real construction plan and start citing schools in most overcrowded districts in the city. This is a yearly cycle the union needs to do. Students moving in and out. Constant conversations as required by laws. Two priorities are fix math and class size for the chancellor.

Why did math happen in the first place? People looking at it for two years without looking at the holes. Students can’t do first unit because they don’t have basic knowledge to do it. And can we stop using stupid words like fidelity? You can’t teach a curriculum off the shelf in a place like NYC because of the wide range of diversity. Can’t teach it anywhere but definitely not NYC. DOE’s job is to start giving us a special ed breakdown. A teacher’s guide for special needs and ENL students. Cultural demographic in the school. We have the information, why don’t we use it? Only have digital guides that are cut and pasted from other people’s work. Frustrating.

Work of the chapter leaders - 78% of all chapter leaders got in consultation notes. Helps us dramatically. Definitive increase in coverage plans. A lot of schools aren’t just pulling ICT teachers. Still too much though.

The city council was sworn in. As we’re organizing and educating for Tier 6, we swore in the city council last week. They’re the key to para legislation. Paras are important to every title in this union. For 40 years, if we want to give an individual title a raise in collective bargaining negotiation, the city’s position has been that the other titles have to pay for it. We have said this isn’t just about paras. The reason paras are in crisis is because adherence to this rule from the fiscal crisis of the 1970s. Tried to break that. At this moment, there is no arbitrator. The city said this rule was set so arbitrators will always side with them. When NCLB was around, we were short 9,000 teachers. Went to arbitrator. Said we can’t attract 9,000 teachers. Look at the school districts around us and look what we’re paying. Arbitrator said we’re right. But pattern that’s been established means we can’t give teachers what we need. But I have to uphold. Arbitrator didn’t break it when we had the clearest case ever. Proud of negotiating committees who voted to put money into para payscale but there’s no way to catch up just for the damage of the last 20 years. This legislation tells the city it’s easy. When it comes to pattern bargaining, you won’t adhere to it anymore when an issue like with the paras arises. We’re telling the city we’re going to continue to do this through a program rather through compensation, but in the end we want to take this off the table. Our contract is up next year. This is of interest to every title in the union so we can take this off the table for contract negotiations. We have to go hard at city council. Thank you to the paras meeting the city council people. Holding their end up. Other members, titles helping. Everyone has to understand this. This is for all of us. We get to take away unjust leverage that the city has towards us. I know paras at times get frustrated, want more information. Over the next few days, committee chairs will be named and will move forward. We’re at the top of the list for business. We need to understand what’s at stake here.

Staff Director’s Report

- UFT Muslim Committee honoring Muslim heritage month this Saturday 12-3pm at Queens UFT office

- Pension workshops. Brooklyn - Jan. 21. S.I - Feb 10. Hosted by Tom Brown.

- Jewish Heritage Committee - Hidden voices classes. Jan. 20, Feb.10 in person and virtually (missed dates)

- National American Heritage at Anton’s in February

- Black film history

- Middle school conference on 2/7.

- Immigration workshops at Manhattan office

- CTE awards dinner in February

- School counselors conference

- LeRoy Barr announces he is retiring on February 1.

Mulgrew thanks Barr for all he’s done through Bloomberg, trials and tribulations. Also, mentions Emblem Health. Proud of hard work people did during the transition. Whenever you change things, there is lots of misinformation. Have to hold vendors accountable.

Question Period

1. Commends UFT for help with various issues.

2. Minneapolis. Unprecedented situation. What will UFT do to try to show solidarity?

MM: We’re in touch with NYSUT and AFT.

3. Follow-up on MTSS during October DA. Haven’t heard anything since.

MM: Solved in specific schools. Not in every school. Give us your school’s name. Consultation committee notes are important.

4. Congratulates LeRoy Barr. When do schools find out when class funding is approved?

MM: Probably early March.

5. Nurse’s strike. What is UFT doing?

MM: We support it. Healthcare is a big issue. Hospitals make a fortune and cry poverty.

6. Will UFT do anything to get more school safety officers and scanning for the city?

MM: We have a paraprofessional problem. Nobody is taking that job. Pay is too low. Straight up. This is why Tier 6 is so important. When they talk about lazy, greedy public sector workers, we have to push back heavily. The City has to do something. They did this to themselves with craziness of pattern bargaining. They need to raise the salary. The shortage of school safety officers is going to get worse because I imagine a lot of them are in the police officer class that isn’t full. Talk to head of that union, Greg Floyd, all the time. City tells him same thing. You have to give up something to get this. Eventually will hire private security.

7. For the first time I feel uncomfortable being in this room. Everyone here is equal. Unless we have DA resolution - I’ve done this for 17 years - I feel intimidated by union brothers because I dare to sit here. How is you handpicking our district reps instead of us voting for them better? You purged Kazansky, Arundell without due process. How do I explain this to my union brothers and sisters? Where is the democracy? Where is investigation for Amy Arundell bathroom incident?

MM: Change for district reps changed before I was here. Quiets audience. (People shouting in audience with no microphone - inaudible).

MM: This DA voted on that change for various reasons. I wasn’t here. The union can change it if they choose to. DA’s decision. Almost all district reps are still chosen by chapter leaders from the districts. That’s what goes on. It was about making sure business of union was going on. Keeping power versus doing work of union.

When it comes to the elections - people who work here, they work here. If leaves are rescinded, they’re rescinded. The union has always rescinded leaves. If union feels it’s not in interest of leadership, that’s what it is.

Motions directed to the agenda

1: Motion to add a motion to this month’s agenda. Solidarity with Renee Nicole Good and Minneapolis teachers.

Vote - Yes: 719 No: 159 (online) Yes: (inaudible) No: 45 (in person) 82%. Passes.

2: Motion to add a motion to next month’s agenda. NY State Nurses Association went on strike because management is threatening to cut their healthcare. Union siblings.

Vote - Yes: 605 No: 100 (online) Yes: 230 No: 26 (in person). Passes.

Resolutions

AGENDA ITEM #1 – RESOLUTION ON ENDORSEMENTS FOR UPCOMING SPECIAL ELECTIONS

RESOLVED that Diana Moreno, Keith Powers and Erik Bottcher will be the endorsed candidates by the United Federation of Teachers for the Special Elections on February 3, 2026.

Vote - Yes: 360 No: 158 (online) Yes: 200 No: 47 (in person). 73%. PASSES.

MOTION TO MOVE RENEE GOOD, MINNEAPOLIS ICE RALLY ON JANUARY 23RD RESO UP TO NUMBER 2.

Vote - Yes: 542, No: 108 (online) 211-29 (in person). 85%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #2 - SOLIDARITY WITH RENEE NICOLE GOOD AND MINNEAPOLIS TEACHERS.

RESOLVED that UFT will call for emergency action and a day of action on January 23rd.

Vote - Yes: 584 No: 76 (online) Yes: 209 No: 15 (in person). 90%. PASSES.

MM: Tomorrow a digital registration link will be sent for the March 8 rally. Must sign up on the UFT site, not NYSUT’s. Drive or bus. Option for friends and family. Free parking if you’re driving up.

Everything will heat up in January. Mid-term elections. Control of congress. Will continue to see people play games. Demonize everything on immigration while taking away rights people used to have. Will come down to mid-term elections. That’s what we’ll focus on in January. Buckle up. We’ll be asked to do a lot of work on congressional races in the city, other parts of the state, and will agree to do work in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Will focus a lot of our work there.

State

Three candidates for governor. Probably a fourth coming. Two on each side. For national elections we go through AFT. State elections through NYSUT. Big issues.

When we get back in January, it will be the legislative session in NY. That’s budget. Goal is to fix Tier 6. At the state level right now, both comptroller and state budget director said the state’s revenues are coming in much higher than projected. Will not offset Medicaid cuts from Big Beautiful Bill. Medicaid cuts not this budget session but the following session.

Big fight in Albany will be over revenue, especially since mayor elect and governor want free universal childcare. Big question is how will we pay for it. On 1/1, if you make a million in the city or state of NY, you get a $58,000 tax break from fed govt. If you make $5 million, they will get a tax break of close to $300,000. I want you to have those numbers in your head when people start screaming how horrible it is that these people have to pay a little bit more. A lot going on with the childcare. But we have to make sure they don’t pay for childcare by taking money out of education. Must make it clear to Albany. We will help set up a childcare system. We represent them. Don’t have the capacity ot serve the needs of the entire city. Plus we have the city and state childcare agencies, which are broken, and have been for years. Families need to see if they qualify for childcare is like a second job with all the time trying to get the right answers and other info. It’s a mess. In our conversations with mayor and governor’s teams, we agree with universal childcare, but you can’t say we have it without building systems for people to access it. We will never fill the amount of childcare providers we need with the salaries they get paid. They get paid way too little. Will take time, but might go quicker since mayor and governor agree. Priority number 1 - money doesn’t come out of education. Priority 2 - what is the revenue source? Revenue needs to happen on yearly basis so we have no problem.

Friday morning - State AFLCIO meeting. Coordination hub for the Tier 6 fight. As we continue to do this, the unions have a varying set of opinions about how to get massive change to Tier 6. 13 years ago when Tier 6 happened, it was the breaking of an implied contract. I was brought up to believe if you’re a public sector worker, you knew you wouldn’t make as much, but you’d have phenomenal benefits, retirement, healthcare. That contract was broken when it came to our pension. It’s now the time to fix it. It happened in the middle of the night. Three months of non-stop campaigning of a small group of people with a lot of money and using influence with media about how public sector workers got free pensions with free healthcare and that we were going to bankrupt the city and state. There were problems with the state budget. They spent a fortune on ads and lobbying. Mayor Bloomberg was leading the charge. Governor Cuomo upheld last in first out, felt we owed him for that. Did Tier 6 to us. They’re not going to just allow Tier 6 to be changed. Everyone thinks we’re going to explain things to Albany and they’ll change it. Doesn’t work that way. There will absolutely be an attack on us once again. Talk about how great we have it with all our benefits. That we don’t have to worry about affordability. They will lobby heavily. They’re worried that between childcare and Tier 6 they’ll pay more in taxes. We have to deal with contributions, penalties. They’ll attack the age. They’re going to lose their minds at the thought of public sector workers being able to retire 8 years earlier. They’re going to be highly motivated. We’ll have to dig in and fight. Already started educating people on it.

We had a voluntary virtual meeting Saturday afternoon. Close to 1,000 people on it. Hundreds of schools represented. Another one happening a week from today. A big action every month on the sixth. First one will be school-based. Close to half of our members don’t realize that this is a legislative act.

Age will be tough. No matter how crazy it gets in Washington, affordability is the big issue. Inability to attract and retain workers. 55 should be it. Large percentage start this profession at 21. We’re going to push, continue to work with AFLCIO, massive coalition of public sector unions. Will march on March 8. UFT going to Albany. Rally in main square. That’s just one action. This is more about our members working together. We may need you to reach out to state senator, assemblyperson. People will need to be hooked in on all of this. What happened to us 13 years ago was wrong. They swore when we fixed Tier 4, which took a long time. 90 pieces of legislation had to be enacted to fix it. Lots of hard work. That’s what it’s going to have to take. Don’t listen to people who say that you’re one of the few groups who have a defined pension. Our pension funds are better than they have ever been. Spoke to Tom DiNapoli yesterday. We take care of them, do the right thing. Gonna hear a lot of crazy crap. None of it’s true.

City

Two critical races in Manhattan. This district and the seat Jerry Nadler is not running again for. At least six candidates for that seat.

In the middle of the transition for the NYCE PPO healthcare plan. Another group tried to stop the process of transitioning to NYCE PPO. Judge denied it. All of the unions are in favor of moving forward with this plan. Even in court in the arguments, they did not claim there was any diminishment of benefits because there aren’t any. Only additional new benefits. New doctors, practitioners. There are people in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina who will get access to doctors for the first time. Other unions told us what a big deal it is for members living in other states. A group was formed who weren’t even public sector workers who tried to stop this. And then there are public sector workers in the group but they’re not on the executive board. Why would you try to stop this when you’re guaranteed the same benefits, plus new ones, and nationwide access to doctors? Shenanigans going on because these people hate us. Not interested in the interests of unionized workers.

This is a massive undertaking. 750,000 people on 1/1 will have a new healthcare plan. The focus is no disruption. We’re on Zooms daily with providers going through data. Making sure prescriptions aren’t dropped anywhere. If they dropped, that would’ve happened with the old plan or the new plan. Besides that, all doctors go into new plan plus new ones. Part of that contract we now have access to a bunch of data on a monthly basis. Decided as MLC to focus on two sides - drugs and medical. Will have representation in both groups. Data we’ve never had access to before. Get to see pricing. No change for anyone for 5 years except for new benefits and more doctors. This is the biggest thing we’ve done on healthcare in the history of this union.

Proud of what we’re doing in terms of the work with educating our members and hoping school communities understand what ICE is about and what they can and can’t do. Doing it in a way that the people we are working with - some are very concerned about ICE, monitoring - asking us to do the work on the downlow. Can’t do everything on the downlow though. Proud that we can see the results of the students we’ve been able to help. Still too many who are disappearing. It’s scary stuff because you can’t believe this is the USA. That people who are here legally are disappearing off our streets. Never thought I’d see this in my lifetime. On us to do the work. Have to do it with our partners, different groups at the forefront of immigrant needs. Small story about it in NY Teacher.

City Council - We know who the next speaker of the city council is going to be. Julie Menin has worked with this union for a very long time. We were happy that we had lots of candidates we had good relationships with. We do not nominate or endorse. That is city council’s choice. City council came out, said who they’re supporting Menin. Did not expect to know this early. Julie Menin was the head of Community Board 1. Did a lot of work with her. In her role working for de Blasio, she raised money and created $300 savings account for 100,000 children through her connections. As city councilperson, created bill for medical transparency and billing transparency. That bill passed 3 years ago but nothing’s happened because it’s not being funded. She understands that healthcare is a massive crisis for NY. She was here in this room two weeks ago. Said there’s no reason why we pay more than everyone else in America. Said she’d make sure Para RESPECT Check bill goes through city council. Never over until it’s over. Nobody gives us anything. Paraprofessionals - tomorrow we’re going to do quick town halls for our paraprofessionals. Current bill does not disappear with new city council. Bill with its 47 sponsors remains. One more hearing then it comes to a vote. Currently being blocked by current city council leadership. New city council coming in. Will cost roughly $250 million. Will be part of budget process. New city council - about 80% have been reelected. 20% are new. Will talk to them. Coordinate at borough level. Just because the speaker stood here and said the bill is done doesn’t mean it is. We stay on it.

In-service folks - you’re all off January 2nd. Thank God we have a union. Teacher’s Choice. Thank God for the union.

Transition of city’s government - first, I think we’re going to find out publicly what Mamdani and his team are finding out now. Lots of things that need to be fixed. Lots of city agencies impacted by current administration. We are on transition team of mayor and Comptroller Levine. They’ll have to fix problem they’re inheriting. Will support childcare as long as it doesn’t take money out of education.

If you haven’t noticed, there’s been lots of newspaper articles about chancellor’s position of NYCPS. Could be current chancellor, previous chancellor, or someone completely new. Our response will be that we look forward to working with them, but what do we want? We want serious changes in our system. First, money in the schools, not in the consultants. Money goes to the school. 2) Empty out Tweed courthouse. We just get more paperwork out of that place and more systems. Most unfriendly IT systems I’ve ever seen. 3) Change of culture for Department of Ed. Culture should be if I have the privilege to work at central, I should be working every day. Shouldn’t be sitting in my office with fancy shoes on. Got in trouble for talking about Cathy Black’s $5,000 shoes. The culture is that we are here to serve them.

District 21 did action last week because they have a principal who infantilizes staff. Lots of schools wore all black.

Worst part of culture with DOE is they believe teachers don’t deserve HR protections because they have union to protect them. What does HR do? We have a complaint, they call superintendents office. Principal yelled at staff members in front of others. HR calls principal, asks about it. Principal denies it. Says it never happened. Will blame teacher for being disgruntled. Will say they’re mad at me because they haven’t worked in ten years and I’m making them work or they don’t like their schedule. We want a chancellor who will improve culture.

Tweed didn’t return for two years during Covid. Tweed did nothing to help us. We don’t need them.

If we get a new chancellor, they’ll come in and have all these people. I tell chancellors once you listen to your people and what their vision is, you’re done. They’ll tell you that you need to present your vision. Then they’ll work on it for two months. 35 people around you, you’ll present your vision to schools for 3 months. Then back to Tweed. Then take you on the road to present your vision. They want you out of Tweed. I’m not saying to blow up Tweed anymore. Been saying it for 12 years. Look what happened with NYC Reads. Put brakes on it. Not perfect but workable.

Another piece with the next mayor is to finish the class size legislation. 100% of all of our schools submitted class size reduction plan to come into compliance with the law. Who would’ve known back in September that class size and cell phones would be fine?

Last year, we said we wanted people to submit forms to lower class sizes, get more teachers. Said they’d get separate allotment to hire teachers. That’s exactly what happened. Now principals see that’s going to happen again. Now we’re getting right info out of schools. When we started this plan, nobody had space. This year, everyone submitted their plans with the space they have, schools saying they can be in 77% compliance next year without expanding current space. That’s a huge number. Still getting money from the state. Need to finish this year off. Money in capital plan is already there. Need to allot it to the right schools in the right districts. If your principal didn’t share the plan with you, district reps have all of them. Schools that said they have no space now have space everywhere. See they’re getting funding for teachers.

Healthcare - We will have our own monitoring team together. We’ll handle all of it. Will have hotlines with different providers.

We have opportunities to make big changes next year. Political opportunity in NY. Mayor and governor running on one issue - affordability. Healthcare, para respect checks Fix Tier 6 all at the same time.

Staff Director’s Report

- Para townhall tomorrow.

- Asian Heritage Committee origami workshop tomorrow.

- African Heritage Kwanzaa Event - 12/12 at Queens UFT

- UFT Coalition for the Homeless at 52 Broadway this Saturday

- Pension workshop on 12/16 at Queens UFT with Tom Brown.

- Brooklyn SRP at Brooklyn UFT on 12/19

- Paraprofessional luncheon

Question Period

1. Hoping mayor selects knowledgeable superintendent that appreciates us. Can you provide us with more clarity on the search process?

MM: List of names have been reported. They’ve interviewed people last week and this week. They’re doing background on people they’re looking at. I tell them what we’re looking for. There are some superintendents that we’re shocked are superintendents. Some are good, some are just here to support the principals. Bad idea because you’re responsible for teachers and students in the building. NYCDOE gets sued a lot, so a lot of them hide behind legal. Also have lots of parent groups who have their own ideas of who they want for chancellor and superintendents. We wants them to have input, but is it parent input or groups with other political agendas? NYC is most difficult school system on the entire planet. We need someone who will do the right thing.

2. Prescription meds. Letters going out from Emblem Health to switch to Amazon for prescription delivery?

Sorkin: Lot of different health plans within Emblem Health. As of 1/1, Emblem, mainly for pre-Medicare retirees, Medicare retirees. Not for in-service members who get drug coverage through the Welfare Fund. Emblem switching from Express Scripts to Prime Therapeutics. UFT Welfare Fund not changing. Only retirees, ACA Drugs (diabetic meds). Only for home delivery. Amazon is one of two choices to get it mailed to their house. For 2026, if you’re Medicare eligible retiree and you want delivery, you can get it through Amazon or Prime Therapeutics connection through Express Scripts. If you’re in-service, you only have one choice - Prime Therapeutics. We have licensed pharmacists on staff. Contact us. Lots of confusing stuff.

MM: Certain drugs covered under city plan, not under Welfare Fund. Current provider, Emblem Health, told city they’re switching PBM. Feel Express Scripts is ripping everyone off. They feel strongly that Prime Therapeutics, who has a different business model, can get drugs out to us at a better price. Not for the majority. Only for a small segment of the UFT population.

3. School culture in regards to teacher observations. Contract says they don’t have to be announced. Principals always given a heads up for their PPO. But they can come in unannounced for our observations. Can we change the culture so that our observations are announced?

MM: This is something we have to do through contract negotiation. We point out this hypocrisy with Department of Ed. They say it would be disrespectful to visit school without a heads up. Then we bring up observations. Negotiating committee will convene later this school year. Have to form a negotiating committee. Need to adhere to state law we changed that once you have tenure, you only need one observation every three years. Under the state rules, you can be observed at any time. Tenure is a law, not a collective bargaining issue. We have to be very careful when looking at things with tenure. Why are we doing all these observations and tenure portfolio? Not a collective bargaining issue, but other ways to start dealing with it. Administrators hate observations as much as anyone else. Don’t want to do the work. They hate them. Need you all to tell your DR if your admin is using AI programs to observe teachers. You’re being digitally videotaped. We’ve gotten it stopped. If you see this happening, let your DR know.

Motions directed to the agenda

1: Motion to add a resolution to next month’s agenda. Commemorating 70th anniversary of Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Vote - Yes: 791 No: 73 (online) Yes: 240 No: 5 (in person) 93%. Passes.

2: Motion to add a resolution to this month’s agenda. Need for adequate bandwidth and Wi-Fi access in schools.

Vote - Yes: 636 No: 104 (online) Yes: 217 No: 22 (in person) 87%. Passes.

Resolutions

AGENDA ITEM #1 – RESOLUTION FOR TARGETED SUPPORT FOR NEW CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION (CTE) EDUCATORS

Vote - Yes: 553 No: 22 (online) Yes: 224 No: 4 (in person). 97%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #2 - RESOLUTION CALLING FOR A “FIX TIER 6 IN ‘26” CAMPAIGN

Vote - Yes: 487 No: 21 (online) Yes: 215 No: 4 (in person). 97%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #3 - NEED FOR ADEQUATE BANDWIDTH AND WI-FI ACCESS IN SCHOOLS (NO VOTE - OUT OF TIME)

Class Size - A lot going on last week. A group of people tried to have the City pause or ask for the pausing of the class size law in Albany. We knew there was a specific date in the law - November 15th - that the City had to request to pause the law. Three different entities. One headed by Robin Hood Foundation. The Educational Trust Group. E4E.

Robin Hood donates a lot of libraries to NYC but besides that, it’s a group of hedge fund types. Large hedge fund manager. Eva Moskowitz connected.

Educational Trust has been around for quite some time. Have been running anti-teacher campaigns for years. Referred to as “Blue Dog Democrats.” They’re paid and funded by a lot of money. They say we (educators) do not want to be accountable for children learning. Big on test scores.

E4E - haven’t seen them in a while. Brain child of Joel Klein (Chancellor under Bloomberg). Funded on yearly basis by rich and powerful people who fund Eva Moskowitz.

These are the entities that tried to pause the class size law. The City did not agree. Mayor Adams came out and had a press conference saying we should not pause it. Also have an incoming administration favorable to us.

We’ve achieved 60% this year, then someone in the press said we didn’t achieve it because schools have exemptions. Class Size law is based on the number of classrooms, not schools. This year we have a little over 150,000 classrooms. Haven’t given out exemptions before this year. We knew there’d be a challenge. 20% and 40% were easy. At 60% we knew we’d have to start granting exemptions.

Exemptions do not mean that classes do not have to come into compliance with the law. One exemption is for the specialized high schools. They have to be engaged. Need to have real conversations about how to get them to appropriate class size. The other exemption is for schools that have a plan in process. They’re well on their way to coming into compliance. The exemptions fall into two buckets. One is in overcrowded districts. 500 schools will need additional seats. Specifically new elementary and middle schools. Lots of annexes being built. If a project was planned, they got an exemption. Exemptions only for one year. School Construction Authority has historically not been held accountable. Often over budget and construction not finished on time. This law won’t remedy that but will put more pressure. Everyone understands this all comes down to SCA. Based on need. We don’t need a school being built that doesn’t need to be because of political connections. Need them built where they need to be. Schools shouldn’t receive an annex if they’re in compliance with class size law until everyone is in compliance. After one year, exemption is up. We will check to see if they met adequate progress on the program that needs to be done. Will they be done in one year? Probably not. If they don’t have exemption, city can lose funding and parents can file lawsuits. Everyone knows - DOE, SCA, CSA, UFT - we need to work with schools that are overcrowded without exemptions.

It’s a good thing for schools to be granted exemptions. In this case, they’re being done correctly. The SCA understands this is something they can’t get around. It’s not a policy; it’s a law.

Argument being made that this law favors more affluent children. This is for all students. Students with biggest challenges served first. Major issue is space. Space equals construction. I’ll set up a Town Hall for chapter leaders and delegates.

Federal

K-16 now being run by Department of Labor. No longer Department of Education. Not getting a lot of press because of the Epstein Files.

City

Albany - Sunday, March 8. Agreed with other unions to meet in Albany to have a massive rally. Fixing Tier 6. What are the federal things that will hit the state? Things changing so rapidly. Funding cut and restored.

Have to look at revenue. Tier 6 and child care. Mayor and governor want universal free child care for all families. Free does not mean people work for free. We have to pay for it. Have to look at how we’ll pay for this. A whole battle is going to start now. Taxes. Taxes for the rich, regressive taxes called “fees” now. Need to start gearing up. Both City and State revenues both continue to perform much better than projected. At the state level, we cannot make up the Medicaid cut. It’s massive. We have the largest percentage of people with ACA (Obamacare) plans. Premiums will go up rather quickly. All of that plays a role in Albany. This is the last budget a lot of people in Albany will do before running for office.

Last DA was before Election Day. Biggest success ever for Election Day. Phenomenal work. We got 40/41 endorsements. Some of them were tough. The volunteers, phone banks, members we had engagement with were higher than ever before. We want elected officials in Albany on the record before session starts with Tier 6 and revenue. We know the tricks. Thanks volunteers.

Transition, Outgoing administration and incoming administration. The foundation of the transition team has been named. First Deputy Mayor has a long relationship with the UFT. Worked with him in Albany, first dep mayor under de Blasio. He’s a pro. Knows what he’s doing. My conversations with the mayor elect and people on his team have been good. No mumbo jumbo crazy politics philosophy. All about what needs to get done. A city for all, not a few. The City Council Speaker was front and center in Somos. The candidates who were there are people we feel very comfortable with. That is a good thing.

The bigger piece for us is the paraprofessionals. Continuing to move. Had the committee hearing last week. Thanks everyone for wearing blue. I was pleased with the questions being asked by the elected officials. They understand on a much deeper level what paras face each day at work. Their understanding of how pattern bargaining impacts low-wage workers is deeper than I thought. City Council usually accepts OMB’s explanation that everyone receives the same percentage. Fought back this time. Pattern bargaining is not a policy, law, or regulation. They said this has been a practice of pattern bargaining since the ‘70s. Need to put the idea of pattern bargaining on trial. If we get the Respect check for the paras, we’ll still have the same problem in 20 years.

They talked about equity funds - taking money from all workers and putting it in a pool to see which titles need it most. But we (the workers) put money in the pool. We pay for it. The para bill is in a status called laid over. Laid over means we’re now debating and negotiating and trying to get it through. Some idiots say it means it’s not real. Doesn’t matter what people say, we will not stop. Not just talking about the para issue, but pattern bargaining itself. That’s a very big deal.

Healthcare - First lawsuit they asked for a temporary restraining order. Judge ruled against them. NYCE PPO is moving forward. Two more lawsuits just popped up. One from the company (Anthem) that did not receive the bid. Two more came up on technicalities. We’re fine. Can’t say Anthem funded all three of those lawsuits, but you figure it out. Meeting with companies constantly. By next DA, we’ll talk in a more substantive way. We’re going to keep rolling out information. Change in senior care that has nothing to do with UFT and MLC. They’re bringing in a new PBM. Part of a pre-existing contract with city for senior care. They have a right to do that. We’ll make sure seniors get what they need. If not, we’ll fight. Individual cases of prior authorizations for drugs. Important.

Had to do two child abuse prevention classes on Election Day this year. 73,000 members finished their classes. Please have patience if you go on SED’s website. It will take months to see it’s completed. Want to check data that the overwhelming majority of schools had joint training with CLs and principals on special education. Email mginese@uft.org if you did not do that training at your school.

K-16 now being run by Department of Labor. No longer Department of Education. Not getting a lot of press because of the Epstein Files.

Going to finish up with this one. We had a resolution on this, working with outside advocates. Strategies for immigration forms. Moving into different neighborhoods, schools. Very difficult situation. Thanks to everyone who did that.

Staff Director’s Report

- Now have live captioning on screens

- Monday, Dec.1 - NYC World AIDS Day walk for those we lost to AIDS.

- Dec.2 - Jewish Heritage Awards night

- Dec.12 - Kwanzaa celebration from 4:30-6:30pm at UFT Queens

- Dec.11 - Asian Heritage origami class

- Belated happy Veterans Day and Happy Thanksgiving.

Question Period

1. Do schools have to reapply for class size funding each year?

MM: No. A lot of schools had a right to apply for money. If you apply for the exemption, you can still apply for funding. Not either/or. Principals get bad information from superintendents.

2. My school has trouble getting substitutes. Lack of parking. What can I do as chapter leader?

MM: Substitutes know which schools they want to go to. Paraprofessional subs are even more of a challenge than teacher subs.

3. If teachers are creating lesson plans on DOE account, do they belong to the teacher or the DOE?

MM: DOE. It’s a work product. No matter where you work, if you’re being paid to do work and it’s created, it’s a work product.

4. I received an email from TRS about the Roth option. I want to know about the benefits of a Roth and when we can start.

Christina McGrath: Roth option is available to all members. Went live on Monday. You can go on the TRS portal. Click the menu and click on Roth. Can choose your contribution rate and how you want to invest. When you click finish, you can set up beneficiaries. Information on TRS website comparing Roth to traditional TDA. I can’t give financial advice. Do your homework and see what’s best for you. You can also call the UFT pension department or TRS.

5. Can we attend March 8 if we do not contribute to COPE?

MM: Yes, but since you brought it up… one of the main things that will get this (fixing Tier 6) done is COPE. That’s how we pay for buses and all that stuff. COPE is about class size, paid parental leave, Tier 6.

6. My principal thinks they don’t have to do an SBO for comp time positions because they put “instructional” in the title. What types of comp time positions require SBOs?

Mark: If they put instructional duties in the title, that’s not good enough for them to say no to an SBO. The whole listing must be taken into account.

7: Bryant HS has been designated for colocation with a D75 school. What is our position on colocations?

MM: Colocations have happened for generations. Then we had Bloomberg’s colocations. The theory was schools were too big and staff couldn’t have real relationships with students. None of that has proven to have good educational outcomes - mostly neutral outcomes except we spend a lot more money per school and students have fewer opportunities. How do we decide which colocated schools to close? Charter schools’ colocation is different. Charters receive funding to pay for their space somewhere. NYC is the only place in the state where charters receive facilities funding but then are given free space or they pay rent. We’re adamantly against that. When it comes to D75, that’s traditionally been in our school system. To me, it’s always been a challenge. I want colocated D75 schools to be treated with the utmost respect. It’s a daunting and challenging population. Cannot colocate schools if they don’t have space and if they prevent school(s) from coming into compliance with the class size law. The greatest challenge to teaching is in NYC public schools. We’ll get you the numbers and what should be there. We’ll look at the space in your building. Nobody gets a pass on colocation if it means circumventing the class size law.

Motions directed to the agenda

1: Motion to add a resolution to this month’s agenda. Resolution on appropriate use of UFT communication channels.

Retiree Delegate: Will CL emails be checked for content?

MM: Have to ask during debate period. Anyone can bring resolutions. This vote is to bring it to debate.

Vote - Yes: 426 No: 443 (online) Yes: 116 No: 128 (in person) 48%. Does not carry

2: Motion to add a resolution to next month’s agenda. Resolution on targeted support for new Career and Technical Education (CTE) educators.

Vote - Yes: 814 No: 69 (online) Yes: 232 No: 8 (in person) 93%. It passes.

Resolutions

AGENDA ITEM #1 – RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF JAMAICA IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE MELISSA

MM: We need to solve the immediate crisis in front of us. We have to get the City into a

Vote - Yes: 792 No: 67 (online) Yes: 232 No: 8 (in person). 93%. PASSES.

Mulgrew leaves. Leroy Barr takes over.

AGENDA ITEM #2 - SUPPORTING STUDENT DIGNITY AND WELL-BEING AT ESCUELA ELEMENTAL DR. JULIO J. HENNA

Vote - Yes: 722 No: 48 (online) Yes: 229 No: 1 (in person). 95%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #3 - RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STONEWALL AND ONGOING LGBTQIA+ ADVOCACY

Vote - Yes: 651 No: 118 (online) Yes: 206 No: 8 (in person). 87%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #4 - RESOLUTION TO PROTECT PLAY AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING DURING THE SCHOOL DAY

Vote - Yes: 740 No: 42 (online) Yes: 204 No: 7 (in person). 95%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #5 - RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION (WNBPA) & ADVANCING PAY EQUITY, RACIAL JUSTICE, & FAIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

Vote -Yes: 625 No: 94 (online) Yes: 191 No: 11 (in person) 89%. PASSES.

Date moved up for City Council meeting for paras. New date: November 13th. More details later.

Federal

- The amount of lawsuits being filed at this point - all through the AFT because it’s throughout the whole U.S. No more Special Education division. Whole purpose was to protect children with IEPs. I guess the federal government isn’t interested in protecting our most vulnerable population.

- Letter of support for Letitia James. She’s a great fighter and friend of everyone in this room.

Ramifications of Big Beautiful Bill are becoming more known. Healthcare cuts at the federal level being used to fund a tax break for the wealthiest people in the U.S. Greatest switch of wealth in the history of the U.S. All sorts of ramifications on us. Thank God the MLC voted for the NYCE PPO medical plan. Because the rest of the country is looking at significant increases in their premiums across the board because subsidies have been taken away and are no longer being funded.

- Bills have been gutted that impact community colleges, high schools. Programs cut that impact several jobs. What does this mean for the state budget? NYS is the largest recipient of Medicaid reimbursement from the fed govt. We’re not getting that anymore.

- If you cut healthcare, those cuts end up in education and vice versa. Medicaid cut will impact us.

- City and State revenues in NY are higher than expected, which is a plus, but it doesn’t make up for the Medicaid money we lost as a state.

- We are not backing down from fight to fix Tier 6. Whatever happens federally doesn’t matter. We need to get to a common understanding with other unions and need to compromise at times, but we said we will not compromise on age. Must be 55.

Budget letter - state has good reserves, revenues are up, but Medicaid cuts are so significant that it’s been advised nothing new should be put on the table. That would be Tier 6. We will still fight.

City

- When we next come together, we will have a mayor elect. We have endorsed Mamdani. Also focused on the City Council. We will have a new City Council in January. This morning, Mamdani had a press conference where he presented an idea to fund a program that will help people become educators. Asked him about the para bill. Mamdani said it’s clear we need to pay them more. We’ll see where this all goes after Election Day, which is remote.

- We have one more mandated child abuse training that must take place this year. Everyone will be sent a registration link. Everyone will be able to use two hours of Election Day to fulfill requirement from education department to do child abuse training. Everyone cannot log on at the same time or else it will crash. Need to time it out. Every couple hours, new group will log on. Six separate opportunities to log on.

Thanks to VP Vaccaro for getting this done.

- Another thing that must be done before Election Day. The Chapter Leader and Principal will do a joint in-person training about the actual regulations and policies there are in Special Education. Hear something different in every school. People make shit up then swear it’s a regulation. If you’re having a problem with that, email the District Rep or VP Mary Jo Genese.

- The way the cell phone ban has rolled out has been a phenomenal success. Always a little turbulence, but between class size hitting 60% and the cell phone ban, we have now directly impacted the working conditions inside of the school. It wasn’t easy getting legislation passed in Albany. 30 years for class size. 7 years for cell phone ban. It’s a big deal.

- MTSS. 1) Nobody gets an additional period to do MTSS work. Progress monitoring - 5-7 times per year, not per week. No spreadsheets. Going back and forth with DOE. Lack of clarity. They know that they can’t send out 10 different memos contradicting each other.

- Follow-up on Reso we passed. Holding and scheduling immigration workshops. We’ve been working with multiple groups, pro bono lawyers. Workshops must be in person. Bronx - 11/29, Queens - 11/13. We will have a Brooklyn North and Brooklyn South program.

- Para Respect Check: The date has been moved. The date is now 11/13. There’s a motion on this today. Public hearing is now 11/13. Then, the committee who does the public hearing has to vote on the bill. We will push that after the hearing. If we have to do an action again to get it done, we will. We need to get the vote by the City Council done as quickly as possible. We have 48 out of 51 sponsors. Some people have lots of power. After that, it goes to City Hall. The mayor can sign or veto. There would have to be a 2/3 majority to override the mayor’s veto. The next time we’ll have to take an action is to get a vote on the floor of the whole City Council. Para town hall next Wednesday, 10/22. All Chapter Leaders will also be invited.

- This weekend – No Kings March, canvassing. This weekend we start strides. Three sites. Jones Beach, Manhattan, and Queens. Following weekend is Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Bronx. Number of schools participating increases every year.

- Next two Delegate Assemblies we need coats and toys.

Staff Director’s Report

- No Kings march this Saturday, 10/15. All across country with AFT

- Anti-bullying conference. 10/23 at 52 Broadway.

- American Heritage Committee - 10/25 at Queens UFT Office

- Coat drive - jackets, mittens, etc. Bring whatever you can to the next DA in November.

- Toy drive. New, unused toy. November and December DAs.

- 10/19 - Central Park, Flushing Meadows Park, Jones Beach… 10/26 - Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island for strides.

- Next DA is 11/12.

Question Period

MM: Change of location for Saturday’s No Kings march?.

VP Hinds: Saturday’s No Kings march - Labor delegation meeting at corner of Canal St and 6th Ave.

#2: Whatever happened to the resolution that passed overwhelmingly about teachers getting four observations when returning from leave, sabbatical, etc.

MM: The DOE is not interested. Have to go to a next step. Need to form a negotiating committee. CSA and us agree on this. We will continue to push them on this issue. We have thousands of members on a yearly basis who do not get observed. Administrators do not get punished. Every year, we have fights over the sacred lesson plan. We already won the AI fight on the lesson plans. 50% of educators don’t make it through the fifth year. Everything is a fight. Apologizes for going off.

#3: MTSS and progress monitoring. Periods at my school being cut short. Need clarification.

MM: Need you to make sure this is brought up at Consultation. Sent letter to the Chancellor. MTSS is academic intervention. Sent letter saying don’t cause more work. Make sure you’re doing work that needs to be done. No spreadsheets. Found a school that’s using nine different screeners (tests) to screen for literacy development. Common sense. Use one screener. Find out what the superintendent is expecting of the principals. Bring it up in consultation if they are going crazy with progress monitoring.

#4: Can it actually be brought to citywide consultation level about supports school are receiving? Would be nice if there were highly trained reading coaches - oh wait, they took them away. Millions put into consultants instead of us. Can we ask them why and unring this bell?

MM: This is a constant source of frustration. That decision was made because a previous Chancellor had a problem with a reading coach, so they got rid of them all. Every school is not getting support.

Motions directed to the agenda

Maria, District 15: Propose resolution for this month’s agenda (requires 2/3 vote) to help Broadway workers in contract fight.

Vote - Yes: 583 No: 234 (online) Yes: 298 No: 48 (in person) 76%. It passes. On this month’s agenda.

MM: We do a lot with Broadway. Lots of Broadway trips and plays. Assuming Broadway will close. Not canceling trips, but rescheduling them until they pay their workers correctly.

Lauren, District 2 CL: Resolution for next month’s agenda (simple majority required) to protect play and experiential learning throughout the school day.

Vote - Yes: 856 No: 33 (online) Yes: 345 No: 3 (in person) 97%. It passes. On next month’s agenda.

Resolutions

AGENDA ITEM #1 - SUPPORT FOR THE RESPECT CHECK LEGISLATION FOR PARAPROFESSIONALS

Proposed amendment from Ashley Rzonca to include language pushing to continue collective bargaining for paraprofessionals since the Respect Check is not pensionable. Must still collectively bargain for paras to get pensionable raises.

MM: We need to solve the immediate crisis in front of us. We have to get the City into a place where they can’t hide behind the rule of collective bargaining. Can’t have DA vote on collective bargaining negotiations. We need to accomplish both of these things, but first things first.

Vote - Yes: 719 No: 18 (online) Yes: 330 No: 1 (in person). 98%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #2 – RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF RECLAIMING UNUSED SPACE FROM CO-LOCATED CHARTER SCHOOLS

Vote - Yes: 770 No: 9 (online) Yes: 315 No: 1 (in person). 99%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #3 – “HANDS OFF OUR SCHOOLS” RESOLUTION

Rachel Paguaga: Things have gotten objectively worse since this resolution was proposed in February. We are in an existential moment as a country, state, city, and labor union. Vote yes to mandate this union to activate relationships we have across this country to fight back. Nobody is coming to save us. It has to be from us. Authoritarians hate people coming together against them. Asking you to vote ‘yes’ on this resolution.

Vote - Yes: 672 No: 56 (online) Yes: 314 No: 10 (in person). 94%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #4 - RESOLUTION: TO OPPOSE BUDGET AMENDMENT 70043-04-5

is moot. On to #5.

AGENDA ITEM #5 - RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO THE DISMANTLING OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Vote - Yes: 611 No: 62 (online) Yes: 287 No: 5 (in person) 93%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #6 - RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF SAFE, CONSISTENT AND RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION FOR STUDENTS IN NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Vote - Yes: 615 No: 22 (online) Yes: 293 No: 0 (in person) 98%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #7 - RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH A TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL COMMITTEE

Vote - Yes: 603 No: 27 (online) Yes: 266 No: 8 (in person) 96%. PASSES.

AGENDA ITEM #8 - RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF PROTECTING NYC PUBLIC STUDENTS FROM ICE DETENTION

Vote - Yes: 719 No: 18 (online) Yes: 330 No: 1 (in person) 98%. PASSES.

Editor’s Note: There is only one item on the agenda for today’s meeting: The UFT Healthcare Committee Recommendation. The DA minutes are below.

President’s Report

MM: This is not a normal delegate assembly. The only order of business for the day is talking about the issue of the PPO on the GHI CBP plan.

President’s Report: A quick background of how we got here and why now. I’ll try to answer as many questions as possible.

Why now? This process started in 2022. This did not start last year. The overall process itself started 16 years ago when de Blasio became mayor. Got a commitment from City Hall to work with us since healthcare prices go up on a yearly basis. 45 million getting a 20% increase across the U.S. in the next couple days.

The MLC bargains all NYC healthcare on behalf of their workers. The MLC had a vote this morning to allow the vote to continue to go to the general membership of the MLC. It was a vote to let the process continue - not a vote on whether or not we’re replacing the GHI CBP plan with the PPO. That meeting is tomorrow.

UFT - We had to learn a lot about healthcare. The rest of the country is getting slaughtered. We learned a lot. About 14 years ago, we went to all hospitals and healthcare providers. They said too many people were having procedures done in hospitals, so we designed a whole new program. A lot more outpatient. Saved money. Two years later, the price on all outpatient procedures went up. Decided to go just after straight rates.

20% of those people coded as a base rate. 60% were upcoded into the high risk category. Doctors aren’t bad. It’s the industry itself. The one thing the hospitals and insurance companies told us was that if all city workers went to one hospital chain, they’d give us a better rate.

There are approximately 750,000 people inside this plan. The highest percentage of union members in GHI CBP are UFT members.

We wanted to trim rates with guarantees. Our networks and providers were shrinking. Also in a crisis for providers for mental health.

We wanted to lock the copays down and no increases.

Wanted to limit prior authorization. It’s a waste of money. Prior authorization is the process between the insurance company and the hospital. The hospital orders a procedure. Insurance companies can take 3 days or 3 weeks to decide. Sometimes they deny. We get charged for their stupidity of fighting with each other over prior authorizations.

We also wanted to stop the one-year plans because we don’t know what’s coming at us from year-to-year. Big Beautiful Bill helps insurance companies. Learned volume is key. We can have transparency. We need to know what you’re charging us for all procedures. We don’t want to wait until the end of the year to find out our costs went up 15%.

I want to be clear - these are fights. The city was our biggest fight at first. They figured they’d eventually put premiums on all city workers. This happened under this administration. Not just the mayor. We had to fight with them the first two years of this process. Told them we wouldn’t agree. I received a letter saying they’d make all city workers pay premiums. We fought it back. We finally got to the negotiation table with providers - UnitedHealthcare and Emblem - under a new plan.

We were able to achieve goals we wanted. There were a lot of givebacks they wanted from us. We had a DA vote last year. We had a healthcare committee who met seven times during this process. Thank you to the healthcare committee. In the end, we achieved our goals. We expanded the network here and across the U.S. Expanded our mental health providers. For pre-Medicare retirees outside NYC - and for anyone that travels out-of-state - we have nationwide coverage. That’s a big deal. All out-of-pocket expenses are staying the same. Half of procedures that require a prior authorization no longer need one anymore.

We have a five year plan so we don’t have to worry year-to-year about this fight. I’ve heard a lot about meeting certain savings. Savings not guaranteed by us or MLC. Doesn’t matter if we go over the savings or under the savings, nothing in the plan changes. If we want to change the plan, we can’t unless the insurance companies and city agree with us. If they want to change it, they can’t unless we agree. Nothing can change without us saying yes.

We were physically at the table from right after the 4th of July. Then, it was oversight. We like doctors, not the hospitals. Have to negotiate with hospitals. Insurance companies like to go to court. We said no, we’re going to expedited arbitration. Have our own independent company looking at everything for us. We got an oversight committee. If we feel they’re not living up to the contract, we can go right to an expedited arbitration.

Why now? Why not now? There’s two things whenever you’re doing a change. When doing changes, you want no disruption. That’s why the goal date is 1/1/26. From now on, you’ll only have one card. No longer wondering about who you need to call. January 1st, you’re in the new plan. Your doctors and providers, if they’re currently under contract with Emblem GHI CBP, then those providers are in the new plan. This plan does not exist yet, so if you call your doctor and ask if they are in this plan, they will say no because it does not exist yet.

The contract says the plan starts on January 1, 2026. People ask what happens if we don’t vote. Then we don’t have a contract. Today and tomorrow are the last two days we have to approve this to guarantee this starts on January 1st.

In two days, 45 million people - everybody under the Affordable Care Act - will see a 20% increase in their healthcare. All teachers in U.S. - ask them about premiums. The difference is the workers of NYC took a different approach. We’re not going to sit back and wait for an industry to become ambivalent when they’re only driven by money, Our healthcare is important. You gotta fight for it. Can’t just bitch and complain. We want federal intervention but not the one we just got.

It’s important we keep healthcare premium free but also have to make sure it’s quality. Do we want to waste time and money monitoring all procedures? No, but we have to. Expanded managed care program. Part of the contract was redacted because companies didn’t want competitors and other parties knowing our deal.

I did not think I’d be in a place where I could say we achieved all of our goals and more. We see nationally it’s the worst time for healthcare. The MLC vote is tomorrow. We need to move forward.

Our healthcare committee was given the authority by the DA to put forth this plan if they felt it should go forward. They voted unanimously on that.

Question Period

#1: Fight against forcing retirees onto Medicare Advantage. Recommending UFT vote yes for NYCE PPO plan.

Point of Information: If MLC votes against this plan, will GHI continue?

MM: Would have to go back to GHI and Anthem and negotiate an extension of the current plan. You can imagine what would happen if we have to negotiate with Anthem since they were part of the bidding process and not chosen.

#2: Mental health is very important. Fearmongering on social media for likes instead of pursuing an actual solution isn’t helping. With the PPO, we will keep premium-free healthcare with improvements. Divisive distractions can rob us of a great opportunity.

#3: Big question I have. What if the city does not save the $1 billion they intend to save here?

MM: There is no contract on that. This is a five-year contract. No premiums in the contract. They don’t get to change anything without the insurance companies and us agreeing. If they choose to change anything, they are not allowed to do it.

#4: Calling in to speak against the resolution. Reservations about the resolution. Many of my members have come to me with concerns. Boils down to that there are known unknowns and unknown unknowns. Do not have all the information. The healthcare committee did not see all the details. You wouldn’t sign a mortgage or contract without seeing all the details. There’s a history of membership being told one thing or information being omitted like 2018 with Appendix B, so I’m urging membership to vote against this. Thank you.

MM: Stuff that was redacted was proprietary. All of our current benefits remain. All this new plan does is add new benefits. We have a five year lock premium-free.

#5: Speaks in favor of resolution. Expansion of mental health coverage, premium-free.

#6: Motion to call the question.

Point of Information: This is too important. Why can’t we have a union that has a full discussion for huge matters before the body? One person against?

Point of Information: Can we have one speaker for and one against before voting?

MM: No. Voting to call the question.

Vote: Online - Yes: 986 No: 680 In-Person - Yes: 334 No: 180. Failed. Open for debate.

#7: I have Aetna. Does this affect me?

MM: No. Just for GHI CBP.

#8: Once bitten, twice shy. I oppose this medical plan. No discussion of what could be a multi-tiered system that discriminates against the lowest paid members of this union. Will push them into inferior hospitals. The equipment, machinery, skills of physicians are much worse in the city hospitals. The attempt of people to end this debate early is divisive. We would be foolish to take your word, Michael. You talked up there about authoritarianism then you practice it. Your authoritarianism is off the wall.

#9: I support the new plan.

#10: Resolved we would have at least one month to deliberate before voting. Not all the way to being informed but have had many questions answered on UFT website and slides. That’s good but only the healthcare committee got to see the redacted contract and only for two hours. Nobody outside of city and insurance lawyers have seen the unredacted contract. How can we be sure about the contract if not even leadership has seen it? I want to believe that what we don’t know won’t hurt us. The committee listened to members like never before but there are good reasons why it would be hard for many of us to take a leap of faith. We’ve been burned before by cost saving agreements by MLC and OLR. The cynicism that causes will prevent many of us from voting for this. It will not prevent me, though. As chapter leader of RTC, I believe retirees will see improvements. GHI CBP does not work well for those outside New York. When I visited with RTC members in Florida last year, I was shocked at how poorly GHI CBP worked for them. High out-of-network costs, having to waive NYC health benefits, delays. My focus on the healthcare committee is to help those out of state get better healthcare. As imperfect as the NYCE plan may be, as much as UHC sucks, I can’t tell our out-of-state retirees that I didn’t vote in favor because the contract was redacted and I don’t trust leadership. Must be diligent in oversight duties and be a watchdog. If an unexpected change pops up, we must come back to assess, deliberate, so I will swallow hard and cast a yes vote for this resolution.

MM: Everything that’s been presented has been verified by our lawyers. Not a nice thing to say I didn’t see it. Verified by two insurance companies lawyers, city’s lawyers, MLC lawyers, and our lawyers. So we know everything that’s in that contract.

#11: We’ve had a month to discuss this with CLs and DRs. We looked at the plan. It’s been explained many times. If you don’t like the people who put this together, they wouldn’t hurt themselves.

#12: Knowing the people who sat down and made this plan - from many unions throughout the city - I encourage everyone to vote yes.

#13: In support.

#14: Close debate and call the question vote.

Vote: Online - Yes: 1,269 No: 349 In-Person - Yes: 417 No: 81. 80% Question is called. The debate has ended.

Resolution Vote

AGENDA ITEM - UFT Health Care Committee Unanimously Recommends NYCE PPO

WHEREAS the UFT Delegate Assembly, at our December 2024 meeting, passed the resolution “No changes to UFT members’ healthcare without Delegate Assembly approval”; and

WHEREAS the above-mentioned resolution guaranteed “that any significant changes to members’ healthcare be submitted to the Delegate Assembly for approval, that the changes will be clearly outlined in detail, and that the Delegate Assembly will receive the details of the proposed changes at least one month before being asked to vote on them”; and

WHEREAS the resolution further committed the UFT to “Convene a permanent, UFT Healthcare Task Force, with retired and in-service members of multiple caucuses to review all significant changes to healthcare and make recommendations to the Delegate Assembly”; and

WHEREAS such a Task Force has been convened and named the UFT Health Care

Committee; and

WHEREAS the Health Care Committee said any plan must accomplish the following goals on behalf of UFT members and their families: 1. keep our current network of doctors and add more, 2. maintain and expand our benefits, 3. expand access to mental health care, 4. protect us from rising copays, and 5. lock in premium-free coverage for five years; and

WHEREAS on August 28, 2025, the Municipal Labor Committee, including the UFT, the City of New York and EmblemHealth/UnitedHealthcare reached a tentative agreement on a new health care plan for in-service and pre-Medicare retirees; and

WHEREAS the proposed plan – the NYC Employees Preferred Provider Organization Plan (NYCE PPO) –the product of years of negotiations, meets these goals; and

WHEREAS the NYCE PPO also reduces the number of prior authorizations and increases the network of doctors and other providers for members, including pre-Medicare retirees and their families around the country; and

WHEREAS, the NYCE PPO provides for monthly oversight meetings, the findings of which can and will be shared with the UFT Health Care Committee; and

WHEREAS that the Delegate Assembly received the details of the proposed changes at least one month before being asked to vote on them; and

WHEREAS the UFT has held numerous events allowing members and delegates alike to learn about, ask questions, and evaluate the plan; and

WHEREAS the UFT Health Care Committee has thoroughly reviewed the proposed changes to our health care and has unanimously recommended that the plan be adopted by the Delegate Assembly; therefore be it

RESOLVED that the UFT will continue in its prior commitments to “fight arduously to enact federal legislation that will protect against any diminishment of Medicare or Social Security benefits” and to “never agree to force any retired member into a Medicare Advantage Plan”: and be it further

RESOLVED that the UFT Delegate Assembly votes in favor of the NYCE PPO plan, and directs UFT President Michael Mulgrew to likewise vote in favor at the appointed MLC meeting

Online- Yes: 1,416 No: 421 In-person - Yes: 416 No: 99. 78%. The resolution passes.

We attempt to look at what is currently known about the proposal as even handedly as possible, and within the context of the larger healthcare agreements from which this proposal stems.

Because the document is much too long to post here on Substack, please go to https://newaction.org to see our initial thoughts and questions about the new healthcare proposal for UFT and other city workers.

The results are much too lengthy to post here on Substack, but if you would like to see a detailed analysis of principal/administrator data for all NYC public schools, head on over to:

https://newaction.org

Please feel free to leave us feedback. We hope you find the information useful.

- New Action Caucus

The results are much too lengthy to post here on Substack, but if you would like to see a detailed analysis of principal/administrator data for all NYC public schools, head on over to: https://newaction.org.

Please feel free to leave us feedback. We hope you find the information useful.

- New Action Caucus

A lot going on with the federal government the last couple days. If people don’t understand public education is under attack, I don’t know what I can do to make you understand that. There is a national voucher law. They are prioritizing privatizing public education.

Remember what you have been elected here to do. You’ve been elected to do what’s best for the United Federation of Teachers. We are the largest local union on the planet. We have the most diverse group of people with the most diverse political opinions, agendas, and everything that comes with that. We try to be respectful towards all that but we must leave outside agendas outside the room. Need to look out for the best interests of our union.

Media was here this morning. Earlier today we made our announcement that we are starting the AI Institute of Education and will be housed in NYC here at the UFT. We’ve had conversations with different companies. AI is something we need to take control of before someone weaponizes it against us. Every time there’s a new reform or technology, there’s more paperwork and less support from people who don’t know how to do the work we do every day.

Over the next few years, we are hoping to train 40,000 teachers. We want AI to work for us. This tool can be very helpful to us if we learn how to use it in a way that helps us help children. We’ve been clear with the companies we’ve spoken to. Not here to help companies push products. We are agnostic. It’s about the interaction between school staff and students. We want guardrails for our privacy. The federal government should’ve done that but they have not.

Primary elections: We invested a lot on City Council. 905 of candidates have won. 41 out of 44. 51 total members on City Council. 41 members that we endorsed have prevailed in the elections. We focused on this because we do not know who the mayor is going to be. A strategic decision.

Mark Levine won City Comptroller. Jumaane Williams won Public Advocate. We endorsed both.

Endorsement process - Spending a day in the classroom, mayoral forum at the Spring Conference. Asked members for views by sending out survey. People asked to see results. When you get less than 2.300 people responding, you don’t want to share results. 600+ retirees voted. Cuomo was #1. Stringer was #2, further down. Not close. On in-service side, Mamdani was #1. Stringer was #2, further down. Not close. 

The membership made their priorities clear. Tier 6, affordability, dealing with the federal government, running the city correctly. Affordability, the federal government, running the city correctly were the top 3. Fourth priority was education. What does that say to us? Affordability and living in this city is the real crisis we are having. At a crisis point because of Tier 6. There’s not a single city agency that can fill open positions. Only one thing in common with all city agencies. Tier 6. Statewide is the same problem.

2,300 is a very low number for the survey. We didn’t release results to protect our union. Some people want to use that in a different way.

I said on NY1 today. I spoke about the AI Institute. They asked about our endorsement. I told them it’s up to the Delegate Assembly. There will either be an endorsement or no endorsement today.

Four nominees. Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Zohran Mamdani (big cheers for Mamdani audible on the call). 

What does an endorsement mean from the UFT? We are never telling anyone who to vote for. That’s not what our endorsement is. Our endorsement means we are recommending a candidate who will help us most, what is in our union’s best interest. Who will help our profession, who will help you take care of your family. The job of the union is the union. 

We have all these different personal values and belief systems. I embrace that, makes us more fun. Our duty is to prioritize our members, our professions, and our livelihoods. We must choose a candidate who will fight for our students and our schools every day.

Since the primary victory, there are things I will update you on. The Big Beautiful Bill is an existential threat to public education. If we can’t get together on that one, we got problems. The U.S. now has a national voucher bill. That means people can donate money to private institutions and get it back as a tax credit. They’re basically saying you don’t have to send your child to public schools anymore and we can privatize America. They’ve cut Medicaid horrendously. They’ve cut out SNAP. They’re cutting out the social safety net that millions of families in this city, state, and country rely on. They did that and redistributed that money to the wealthiest people in the country. That’s the priority of this union now moving forward. They’re here. The bombs are landing. They’re going after all sorts of other things at the same time. The State will likely have to come back into session. Medicaid cuts lead to education cuts. We gotta work real hard, real fast before the midterm elections to get people to understand what’s going on. Giving people a tax break across all economic zones would’ve been fine, but they’re only giving it to the wealthiest.

Our endorsement process will end today either way. We will never have a perfect candidate. I will tell you that after the primary I spoke to Mr. Mamdani. Told him our concerns about antisemitism and the state of Israel. Asked him where he’s at. That’s my job. There are all sorts of political beliefs and systems in this union. I will always confront an elected official over issues that impact this union. It’s about our union as a whole. Mamdani said I hear you loud and clear. I’m going to work to clarify my positions publicly over the next few weeks. To his credit, he did that. It’s not to the satisfaction of some people in our union but that’s the work. That’s what you’re supposed to do.

So, we now have Mr. Adams, Mr. Cuomo, and the other guy (Sliwa) who wants the school year to end on July 31st.

Very powerful, affluent people in this city are crazed. Doing everything in their power to create a path for anyone but Mr. Mamdani. Yesterday was an embarrassment where you had one calling the other to drop out and one saying you’re an arrogant SOB (referring to Adams and Cuomo). All that tells me is that both of those candidates are going to be completely beholden to those rich and powerful people who want nothing to do with the working class and lower class. 

Whenever possible, it’s always in our best interest to do an endorsement. It was tough for me not to do an endorsement in the primary. Always better to be at the table to move your agenda. Our agenda is very simple. 

Top priorities that we need to get done:

- Protect all members healthcare

- Fixing Tier 6

- Passing RESPECT check bill for paras

- Revamping mayoral control to give more say to educators and parents. We don’t need anymore evidence why we need mayoral control. Bloomberg, de Blasio, Adams. Enough already. We need to change it. We need a balance.

- Fully implementing the Class Size Law

- Fully funding pre-K and 3K programs

- Defending workers’ rights

- Protecting NYC from federal cuts and immigration enforcement overreach

- Making our city more affordable

We need to look at our priorities, look at the candidates, and decide if there is one candidate who will fight most for our priorities.

Members have great concerns over different candidates for different reasons. A lot of people are worried about antisemitism but we also have to be worried about Islamophobia, as well. The president of the U.S. is already talking about one of the candidates in a way reminiscent of Islamophobia.

Make your decision not based upon other political beliefs but on what you’ve been elected to do, which is to move the agenda of this union. To get better benefits. To get what is important to us. That is our job. And now we will start our debate.

Question Period/Resolution for this month

Victoria Lee, UFT Treasurer: Resolution to endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor in the 2025 general election. This was already passed by AdCom.

Point of information (question not heard)

MM: Adcom passed it this morning. We brought it to the DA today which we are allowed to do.

Point of information - People attending virtually do not have a copy of the reso.

MM: That’s why we had it read out loud. We didn’t put anything out because people would try to interlope in our business. Not open to outside interlopers. This is our union, not theirs. It takes a lot of work to vet these candidates.

Marsha, Retiree Teacher Chapter: I watched the Mamdani healthcare video. At no point did Mamdani mention retirees.

MM: I spoke to him about that.

Mike Sill, UFT Assistant Secretary: I stand before you to support the endorsement of Zohran Mamdani.

Ryan Bruckenthal: Also supports Zohran Mamdani. As a Jewish member of this union, 

Name not heard: Amendment to resolution. Be it resolved that UFT educates members on Zohran Mamdani and continue to mobilize and fight for Mamdani’s platform, win or lose. Fight for all points on his platform, such as freezing rent, $30 minimum wage, and raising taxes on wealthiest New Yorkers.

Amendment now on floor for debate.

Leroy Barr, UFT Secretary: I rise reluctantly to speak against the amendment. I agree with many things in his platform but may not agree with everything. I do not want to lose the momentum of the moment. We would love to have a 90-100% vote. When you add all these different policies to this basic resolution, it can cause confusion. If we vote to endorse him, we will have the opportunity to sit and talk with him. I want to stick to the very basic endorsement before you and not add everything but the kitchen sink. Asking you to vote strictly for the endorsement, not the amendment.

Vote to support amendment: Yes: 280, No: 587 (online). Yes: 52, No: 127 (in-room). 68% voted amendment down. Amendment does not pass.

Now back to the original resolution.

Matthew Brown: The timing is too rushed. Timing does not allow me to engage my members to see where they’re at. I don’t understand why this resolution is so rushed. Not against Mamdani but against the timing.

Janella Hinds, UFT VP of HS: Standing in strong support of resolution to support Zohran Mamdani.

Michael Shulman, RTC: I rise to support this resolution. One of my main concerns is the issue of creeping fascism in this country under Donald Trump. We need to address the issue of who is best prepared to safeguard NYC residents. Don’t want to miss the boat. Also, the question of protecting our immigrant students and communities is a major question for our union.

Adell Goldberg: I stand against this resolution. It seems to me that while a lot of Mamdani’s programs are beneficial, his plans for funding them don’t seem realistic. The people who have the money who he wants to charge, also have the ability to change their residency and move out of NY. That can land on us.

Kelly Ann: Also worried about how rushed this is. How am I supposed to hold a meeting with my members? We are rushing to do this work when we haven’t been able to talk to our members to advocate for them. We need to hold those meetings in September. 

Yadi Michelle: I don’t think we should endorse any capitalist politician regardless of political party. Republicans are the party of NCLB. Democrats are the party of RTT. Both political parties are guilty. We need to protect immigrants under attack and retirees being threatened with Medicare Advantage.

Mark K: I taught Zohran Mamdani in 10th Grade Global History and 12th Grade AP World History. I enthusiastically support this resolution but would like to add a one-sentence amendment. 

MM: You can’t. You spoke in favor of resolution. If you’re going to make an amendment, you have to add the amendment first.

Rich Mantell, Middle Schools VP: I’m going to speak against this. I heard everything you said, Michael. All the great things he’ll do for us. But, this candidate has world and political views that are divisive. Members have contacted me with their concerns. I’m pro-union. Been in since 1989. But I cannot in good conscience support this amendment.

CL Edward R. Murrow: I rise in support of this endorsement. We’re a union of members fighting for members. Who better to make sure we have a voice than Zohran Mamdani? I am Jewish. This should not be about my religion, race, or creed. This is about the benefit of all members and the union itself. We need to protect and preserve healthcare for all members. Need to be able to afford to live in NYC. 

Andrea Polite, CL: Rise to call the question. 

Vote: Yes: 671, No: 197 (online) Yes: 121, No: 64 (in person) 75%. Question has been called.

Leah Lin: Point of personal privilege. I want to know why District Rep Ashley Rzonca was removed from her position.

MM: That’s not a point of personal privilege. Thanks for wasting our time.

Today’s Resolution

Resolution to endorse Zohran Mamdani

Yes: 575, No: 381 (online). In-person votes inaudible. 63%. Passed.

MM: We have a responsibility and obligation. This endorsement is here because it’s in the best interest of the union. This is very difficult for a lot of people, which is fine. But, as Mantell said, we are obligated to follow the decision. The attacks are going to be immense. We need to do everything in our power to help him. The last two mayors we did not endorse in the primary, just the general. The job of the union is to go to the mayor with the same approach. This is our union, our schools. We work with the community. Need to work in the interest of making our schools and communities better. There’s a lot on the line right now. We have massive enemies on the outside. We always have a target on our back. If this man (Mamdani) becomes mayor, we will have a bigger target on our back. It’s about moving the agenda of our union. That is my ask of all of you. Happy summer.

Mulgrew did not say who we would endorse, as that will be decided by the DA tomorrow, but he did everything short of wearing a “Vote Mamdani” sandwich board around his neck. Mulgrew reiterated over and over that we need to endorse the person who is in our best interest in terms of public education and that we (the union) need to disregard personal views and other issues.

It seems as though Mulgrew is legitimately scared of the forthcoming cuts to public education because he would not have so brazenly pushed Mamdani like this at any other point, especially considering the fact that Unity accused ARISE of being funded by DSA during the UFT elections just a few months ago. The Big Beautiful Bill can very well be a disaster for public education if the thoughts expressed by Mulgrew during today’s Town Hall are any indication. 

Town Hall notes (in full)

MM - I don’t like when newspapers tell our members what we’re doing. There’s a process. Delegate Assembly tomorrow for the sole purpose to consider if we want to do an endorsement for the general election.

Last month in the primary, we did not endorse anyone. The DA made that decision. 

We won 90% (41 out of 44) of City Council races. Won Mark Levine for Comptroller and Jumaane Williams for Public Advocate.

Big Beautiful Bill. We now have a national voucher bill. States can adopt it. Disconcerting to have a national voucher bill because it shows they want to prioritize charters over public schools.

Trying to unpack all the cuts coming to NY. Mostly Medicaid. How will this impact overall education budget for state and city?

Fewer than 2,300 members responded to the Democratic primary survey. Retirees voted Cuomo with Stringer a soft second. For in-service, Mamdani was first with Stringer a soft second.

Union endorsements aren’t about telling members who to vote for. It’s about choosing the candidate we’re recommending based on their views on public education.

Membership was not the #1 issue for membership. Top 3: Quality of life, affordability, federal government. Education was 4th. 

Top priorities for UFT: 

Preserving high-quality, premium-free healthcare

Protecting NYC from Trump

Making NYC more affordable

Defending workers’ rights

Reforming mayoral control

Reducing class size

Funding universal pre-K and 3K

Fixing Tier 6

Passing the “RESPECT check”

All candidates are flawed. No perfect candidate. You do the best you can do and figure it out.

Tomorrow (at the DA), we will decide if there is a candidate we want to endorse.

Newspapers give bad information to our members. We don’t tell them anything. It’s none of their business.

We will open up in September with a paraprofessional crisis. Speaker and her staff didn’t want RESPECT check bill to go through. 

Q&A

UFT’s position on antisemitism in Mamdani campaign?

MM - Told Mamdani there are a lot of concerns. Mamdani said he’s been misrepresented in the press. MM told him we need him to clarify. Need to know your position on these specific issues. Mamdani has been clarifying lately. Mamdani has been clarifying for us but members still will have their own opinions. Hopefully we’re making decisions based on the best interests of our members and our profession.

Mamdani went the furthest saying mayoral control doesn’t work and needs to change and that we need to build schools quicker to abide by the class size law.

Will there be major changes to healthcare in coming months? What are we asking the potential endorsee in terms of helping us?

MM - Need to handle that federally. We want a partner who will go back to agencies and tell them they need to work with the workers.

Tier 6. How can next mayor be an ally in fixing Tier 6?

MM - Go to Albany. Use bully pulpit. Tell the truth. City can’t fulfill job openings because of Tier 6. Not normal for a mayor to say that but it would make our work much easier. Mayor usually wouldn’t want to advocate for fixing Tier 6 because they’d have to pay out of NYC budget. At the Spring Conference, many candidates said we need to fix Tier 6, both age and contributions.

Update on RESPECT check bill? What are we asking the candidate we’re endorsing to do to get that passed?

MM - There was a June 28 deadline to get a hearing. We pressed hard. Politics involved. The speaker (Adrienne Adams) and her staff backed off after saying they would endorse. We pressed them, they got angrier. Got notice that they set a committee hearing for 12/19, basically their way of telling us to go F ourselves. 

A lot of people still frustrated with curriculum. How can we apply pressure on the mayoral candidate to help us?

MM - Fire anyone who pushed the last curriculum. People inside DOE giving rules to superintendents saying we had to follow curriculum with fidelity, word for word, page for page. That is gross incompetence. Don’t tell us we can’t change pacing. No support. It was a mess. Those people need to be gone. Trying to protect the children. Need to tell the mayor it’s not hard to roll out a curriculum. There’s a process in how to do it correctly.

Does the UFT think there will be any shifts in mayoral control? What would we like to see?

MM - Mamdani went furthest at the Spring Conference. Said it has to be a partnership with the mayor, community, and people who work in the schools. Nobody else has gone that far. That’s the UFT’s position. The rest said we need to  “tinker” or “I’m going to be a better mayor.”

Cell phone policy. Concerns from people that their schools don’t have a plan in place.

MM - We like the law from Albany. Bell to bell. Children can’t have access. Can’t tell child to put it in their backpack. Cell phones need to be away where children can’t get to them. The Chancellor knows that’s the rule. 

One thing to consider when passing these laws is that in NYC, we’re not a regular school district. It has to be passed by the PEP panel, a large process where it’s looked at, then 30 days of public input. PEP hasn’t passed it yet because of timelines in mayoral control. Just read the law. Bell to bell, no access to phones. Two choices: collect phones or children don’t have access. Pouches, small lockers, etc. 2-3 months after implementation everything will quiet down. Students will be able to focus, have face-to-face conversations. Phones causing major damage.

How will big federal bill impact our staff? How can the mayoral candidate help us fend off some of this?

MM - They’re going to move public education money to vouchers. Medicaid cuts will lead to education cuts. NY has largest Medicaid population and money will be needed to cover. Need to push back against federal government through legal processes. Need the Attorney General to push against them. Medicaid is a Federal program now shifting to the State, who will have to use their money to solve the problem. 

Majority of Medicaid services in schools are IEP related so they legally have to stay. The federal debt is exploded, services taken away from children who need it more than anyone else. Tax breaks for the wealthy.

Class size. Update where we are? What will happen if we don’t have enough teachers to fulfill the vacancies? What can the mayoral candidate do to help us with this law?

MM - Move quicker on capital plan - building new schools or annexes. We believe that has been deliberately slowed down. Want schools to come up with plans. A couple thousand teachers have already been hired. We need to stay focused. It’s a law. Waivers aren’t permanent. There needs to be a plan. Plenty of funding, just no capital plan. Important to have a comptroller who will push the city to get this done. I believe we have that in Mark Levine. Over 700 schools created their own plans. We will be working with them. But we have challenges. Medicaid cuts. Shifting money from public to private schools with vouchers. We’ll deal with the numbers and come up with the plan. It’s all political.