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United Federation of Teachers

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UFT
United Federation of Teachers
FoundedMarch 16, 1960 (1960-03-16)
Headquarters52 Broadway, New York, NY
Location
  • United States
Members
189,624 (2022) [1]
Key people
Michael Mulgrew, president
AffiliationsAmerican Federation of Teachers
Websitewww.uft.org

The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. As of 2005, there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and nearly 30,000[2] paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about 54,000 retired members. In October 2007, 28,280 home day care providers voted to join the union. It is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the AFL–CIO and the Central Labor Council. It is also the largest member of New York State United Teachers, which is affiliated with the National Educational Association and Education International.

History

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Two previous unions of New York schoolteachers, the Teachers Union, founded in 1916, and the Teachers Guild, founded in 1935, failed to gather widespread enrollment or support. Many of the early leaders were pacifists or socialists and so frequently met with clashes against more right-leaning newspapers and organizations of the time, as red-baiting was fairly common. The ethnically and ideologically diverse teachers associations of the city made the creation of a single organized body difficult, with each association continuing to vie for its own priorities irrespective of the others.[3]

The UFT was created on March 16, 1960, and grew rapidly. On November 7, 1960, the union organized a major strike. The strike largely failed in its main objectives but obtained some concessions, as well as bringing much popular attention to the union. After much further negotiation, the UFT was chosen as the collective bargaining organization for all city teachers in December 1961.[4]

Albert Shanker, a controversial but successful organizer was president of the UFT from 1964 until 1984. He held an overlapping tenure as president of the national American Federation of Teachers from 1974 to his death in 1997.

In 1968, the UFT went on strike and shut down the school system in May and then again from September to November to protest the decentralization plan that was being put in place to give more neighborhoods community control. The Ocean Hill-Brownsville strike focused on the Ocean Hill-Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn but, ironically, the schools in that area were among the few that were open in the entire city. The Ocean Hill-Brownsville crisis is often described as a turning point in the history of unionism and of civil rights, as it created a rift between African-Americans and the Jewish communities, two groups that were previously viewed as allied. The two sides threw accusations of racism and anti-Semitism at each other.

Following the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis, some 14,000 teachers were laid off and class size soared. Another strike addressed some of these complaints and gave long-serving teachers longevity benefits.

Caucuses

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The Unity Caucus, formed in 1962, predominates in the union, holding nearly every leadership position. New Action formed in the 1980s as an opposition caucus but, since 2003, it has cross-endorsed Unity candidates.[5] The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) is a relatively new caucus, formed in 2012.[6] The MORE Caucus has been accused of engaging in and encouraging antisemitism in the NYC public schools.[7]

In the spring of 2013, UFT election campaign, president Michael Mulgrew (Unity) refused repeated requests to debate his opponent, Julie Cavanagh (MORE).[8]

Composition

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Total membership (US records)[9]
Finances (US records; ×$1000)[9]
     Assets      Liabilities      Receipts      Disbursements

According to UFT's Department of Labor records since 2005, when membership classifications were first reported, about 32% of the union's membership are considered retirees, with eligibility to vote in the union. UFT contracts also cover some non-members, known as agency fee payers, which, since 2005, have numbered comparatively about 1% of the size of the union's membership.[9] As of 2013, this accounts for 59,444 retirees and 2,675 non-members paying agency fees, compared to 124,145 "active" members.[10]

Current issues

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The previous president of the UFT, Randi Weingarten, resigned in 2009 to lead the American Federation of Teachers. She has clashed repeatedly with the mayors of the city; in particular with former mayor Rudy Giuliani and mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg made student promotion to third, sixth and eighth grade contingent upon performance on standardized tests, which the UFT and the New York Board of Regents have criticized as being flawed.

The UFT opposes merit pay for teachers, opting for seniority-based pay, but joined in November 2007, with Mayor Bloomberg in agreeing to a voluntary incentive program for high-achieving schools with high-needs populations. The union does not support a proposed reform of the seniority-based LIFO (education) law. In July 2007, Weingarten collaborated with Mayor Bloomberg in supporting a modified merit pay program with bonuses to schools and additional bonuses targeted for specific teachers.[11]

The UFT strongly supports the reduction of class sizes for all subjects and grade levels in New York City public schools.

The UFT, under the leadership of presidents Weingarten and Mulgrew, has collaborated with tenets of the education reform movement, such as support for value-added modeling for teacher evaluation.[11][12]

In 2023, the UFT sued New York City for school cuts.[13]

In 2023, the UFT negotiated with the City for a plan that would move UFT retirees and other retired New York City workers from traditional Medicare into a new, privately run Medicare Advantage plan. Large numbers of UFT retirees have complained about the proposed plan.[14] Retired UFT members and other New York City retirees have protested that the new plan falls short and organized opposition to the new plan.[15][14][16]

In 2024, the UFT sued to block congestion pricing in lower Manhattan.[17] The union argued that congestion pricing would worsen pollution and harm children.[18]

Lawsuit against school co-location

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In May 2011, the UFT, along with the NAACP and others, filed a lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education to stop school closings and the co-location of schools.[19][20][21] In the lawsuit, the union charged that the Department of Education was improperly closing schools.[22][23] The lawsuit also asked the court to stop school co-locations.[24][25][26] Before a court hearing on the suit in June 2011, parent groups held a news conference to thank the NAACP for fighting on behalf of all kids and to press for fairness and equity.[27][28]

The New York City Parents Union filed its own lawsuit in June 2011 to stop co-locations and school closings, stating, “Despite inconsistent and uncertain results, the DOE continues to push public school parents into a privately managed school system where many charters perform worse than the public schools while failing to serve their fair share of students with special needs and English Language Learners.”[29]

Preventing layoffs

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On Friday, June 24, 2011, UFT President Michael Mulgrew, along with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced that an agreement had been reached to prevent the layoff of 4,100 New York City teachers.[30][31] The agreement came six months after Mayor Bloomberg had warned 21,000 layoffs were possible.[32] The union had opposed all layoffs with a strategy of leafleting, marches and rallies,[33][34][35] including a march on Wall Street on May 12, 2011, with 20,000 participants.[36][37][38]

Presidents

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1960: Charles Cogen
1964: Albert Shanker
1986: Sandra Feldman
1998: Randi Weingarten
2009: Michael Mulgrew

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATION ANNUAL REPORT". OFFICE OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT STANDARDS (OLMS). US Dept of Labor. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Brown, Hannah. "Recognizing 53 years of fighting for paras". UFT.org. UFT. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  3. ^ A different kind of teachers union. Review by Peter Lamphere and Gina Sartori. International Socialist Review. Issue #80. November 2011. Review of: Reds at the Blackboard: Communism, Civil Rights, and the New York City Teachers Union by Clarence Taylor. Columbia University Press, 2011.
  4. ^ Levine, Marvin J. (1970). "The Issues in Teacher Strikes". The Journal of General Education. 22 (1): 1–18. ISSN 0021-3667. JSTOR 27796193.
  5. ^ Anna Philips, "Teachers union election: a look at caucuses and candidates," Gotham Schools, April 5, 2010
  6. ^ Cersonsky, James (July 17, 2012). "Dissident Caucus Aims to Give NYC Teachers Union M.O.R.E." In These Times. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Classroom, KRISTINA WATROBSKI | Crisis in the (November 13, 2023). "Concerns grow about NYC educators encouraging anti-Israel rhetoric". WHAM. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  8. ^ Yoav Gonen and Carl Campanile, "Foe: UFT Boss is Chicken," New York Post, March 28, 2013
  9. ^ a b c US Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. File number 063-924. (Search)
  10. ^ US Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. File number 063-924. Report submitted December 23, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Elissa Gootman, "Teachers Agree to Bonus Pay Tied to Scores," The New York Times, October 18, 2007
  12. ^ Maura Walz, "Klein, Mulgrew to help pitch New York’s Race to the Top plan," Gotham Schools, July 28, 2010
  13. ^ "NYC teachers sue Eric Adams over school budget cuts". City & State NY. December 21, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Irizarry Aponte, C. (March 21, 2023). Teachers Buck Mulgrew, Petition for Referendum Vote on Medicare Advantage. The City. [1]
  15. ^ Jenny Brown (March 10, 2023). New York City Retirees Fight Their Own Unions to Stop Catastrophic Health Care Cuts. Labor Notes. [2]
  16. ^ Health Care {https://www.nycretirees.org/healthcare]
  17. ^ "NYC teachers' union, Staten Island Borough President sue to stop MTA congestion pricing". New York Daily News. January 4, 2024.
  18. ^ "UFT, Staten Island borough president sue to block congestion pricing". City & State NY. January 4, 2024.
  19. ^ "UFT, NAACP, elected officials, parents, sue to halt closing and co-location plans for dozens of public schools". Our Schools NYC. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  20. ^ Gustafson, Anna (May 19, 2011). "UFT, NAACP sue city to stop school closures – Queens Chronicle: News". Qchron.com. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  21. ^ "United Federation of Teachers, NAACP to file suit to stop 22 public school closures". New York Post. May 18, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  22. ^ Decker, Geoff (June 8, 2011). "NAACP's Dukes defends suit: "I'm not against charter schools"". GothamSchools. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  23. ^ SHELLEY NG PIX11.com May 19, 2011 (May 19, 2011). "UFT/NAACP To File Suit To Stop Closure Of Schools". WPIX. Retrieved October 18, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Gordy, Cynthia (June 23, 2011). "NAACP Lawsuit Against Charter Schools: Latest Salvo in Education Fight". Theroot.com. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  25. ^ "War Over New York City Charters Schools Using Public School Resources Lands In Manhattan Supreme Court « CBS New York". Newyork.cbslocal.com. June 21, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  26. ^ Fertig, Beth (June 21, 2011). "City Goes to Court Over Charter Schools". WNYC. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  27. ^ Cramer, Philissa (June 21, 2011). "As hearing begins, UFT and NAACP drop three schools from suit". GothamSchools. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  28. ^ "Judge asked to rule on 'gross inequality' | United Federation of Teachers". Uft.org. June 21, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  29. ^ "Parents Union Files Lawsuit over School Closings & Co-locations « New York City Parents Union". Nycparentsunion.org. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  30. ^ Santos, Fernanda (June 24, 2011). "Deal Reached to Avert New York Teacher Layoffs". The New York Times.
  31. ^ "BREAKING: Bloomberg Administration, Teachers Union Strike Deal To Avoid NYC Layoffs – UPDATED | New York Daily News". Daily News. New York. June 24, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  32. ^ "Mayor Bloomberg warns of mass teacher layoffs". New York Post. January 28, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  33. ^ Edelman, Susan (May 7, 2011). "UFT vows 'Wisconsin' protest over teacher cuts". New York Post. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  34. ^ "Members leaflet across the city | United Federation of Teachers". Uft.org. April 14, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  35. ^ Decker, Geoff (June 1, 2011). "Before City Council's budget hearing, a rally against layoff plans". GothamSchools. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  36. ^ Sledge, Matt (May 12, 2011). "March On Wall Street: Thousands Of Teachers, Advocates Rally Against Bloomberg Cuts (PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  37. ^ "Protesters March Against Wall Street, Budget Cuts In Lower Manhattan « CBS New York". Newyork.cbslocal.com. May 12, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  38. ^ "Blog» Blog Archive » On May 12, Wall Street was the People's Territory". Unions.org. May 16, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.

Further reading

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  • Taft, Philip. United they teach; the story of the United Federation of Teachers (1974) online
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