The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the
labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...
that represents most teachers in New York City
public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and 17,000
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
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
and the
Central Labor Council. It is also the largest member of
New York State United Teachers
New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) is a 600,000-member New York state teachers union, affiliated since 2006 with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the AFL–CIO, and the National Education Association (NEA). NYSUT is an umbrella grou ...
, which is affiliated with the
National Educational Association and
Education International.
History
Two previous unions of New York schoolteachers, the
Teachers Union
The New York City Teachers Union or "TU" (1916–1964) was the first New York labor union for teachers, formed as "AFT Local 5" of the American Federation of Teachers, which found itself hounded throughout its history due largely to co-membership ...
, 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
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and so frequently met with clashes against more
right-leaning newspapers and organizations of the time, as
red-baiting
Red-baiting, also known as ''reductio ad Stalinum'' () and red-tagging (in the Philippines), is an intention to discredit the validity of a political opponent and the opponent's logical argument by accusing, denouncing, attacking, or persecuting ...
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.
The UFT was founded in 1960, largely in response to perceived unfairness in the educational system's treatment of teachers. Pensions were awarded to retired teachers only if over 65 or with 35 years of service. Female teachers faced two years of mandatory unpaid maternity leave after they gave birth. Principals could discipline or fire teachers with almost no oversight. The schools, experiencing a massive influx of
baby boomer
Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. T ...
students, often were on double or triple sessions. Despite being college-educated professionals, often holding advanced
master's degrees
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. , teachers drew a salary of $66 per week, in 2005 dollars, the equivalent of $21,000 a year.
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.
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
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.
Conce ...
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
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. The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) is a new caucus, formed in 2012.
In the spring of 2013, UFT election campaign, president
Michael Mulgrew (Unity) refused repeated requests to debate his opponent, Julie Cavanagh (MORE).
Composition
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 An agency shop is a form of union security agreement where the employer may hire union or non-union workers, and employees need not join the union in order to remain employed.Pynes, Joan. ''Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organi ...
payers, which, since 2005, have numbered comparatively about 1% of the size of the union's membership.
As of 2013, this accounts for 59,444 retirees and 2,675 non-members paying agency fees, compared to 124,145 "active" members.
Current issues
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
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
of the city; in particular with former mayor
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...
and mayor
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ...
. Bloomberg made student promotion to
third,
sixth and
eighth grade
Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...
contingent upon performance on
standardized test
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predet ...
s, 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
Seniority is the state of being older or placed in a higher position of status relative to another individual, group, or organization. For example, one employee may be senior to another either by role or rank (such as a CEO vice a manager), or by ...
-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) ''Last in First Out'' (LIFO, or otherwise known as "Last One Hired is the First One Fired") is a policy often used by school districts and other employers to prioritize layoffs by seniority. Under LIFO layoff rules, junior teachers and other employ ...
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.
[Elissa Gootman]
"Teachers Agree to Bonus Pay Tied to Scores,"
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
, October 18, 2007
The UFT strongly supports the reduction of
class size
Class size refers to the number of students a teacher faces during a given period of instruction.
Measurements and definitions
Some researchers and policymakers have studied the effects of class size by using student-teacher ratio (or it ...
s 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
Education reform is the name given to the goal of changing public education. The meaning and education methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, t ...
movement, such as support for
value-added modeling
Value-added modeling (also known as value-added measurement, value-added analysis and value-added assessment) is a method of teacher evaluation that measures the teacher's contribution in a given year by comparing the current test scores of their s ...
for
teacher evaluation.
Lawsuit against school co-location
In May 2011, the UFT, along with the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
and others, filed a lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education to stop school closings and the co-location of schools. In the lawsuit, the union charged that the Department of Education was improperly closing schools.
The lawsuit also asked the court to stop school co-locations.
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.
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.”
Preventing layoffs
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. The agreement came six months after Mayor Bloomberg had warned 21,000 layoffs were possible. The union had opposed all layoffs with a strategy of leafleting, marches and rallies, including a march on Wall Street on May 12, 2011, with 20,000 participants.
Presidents
:1960:
Charles Cogen
:1964:
Albert Shanker
:1986:
Sandra Feldman
Sandra Feldman ( Abramowitz; October 13, 1939 – September 18, 2005) was an American educator and labor leader who served as president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) from 1997 to 2004.
Early life
Born Sandra Abramowitz in Coney ...
:1998:
Randi Weingarten
:2009:
Michael Mulgrew
See also
*
Council of School Supervisors & Administrators: trade union representing supervisors in NYC schools
*
Teachers Union
The New York City Teachers Union or "TU" (1916–1964) was the first New York labor union for teachers, formed as "AFT Local 5" of the American Federation of Teachers, which found itself hounded throughout its history due largely to co-membership ...
*
Teachers Guild
*
American Federation of Teachers
Notes
External links
*
United Federation of Teachers Records Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, t ...
United Federation of Teachers Photographs Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, t ...
United Federation of Teachers Oral History Collection Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, t ...
{{Authority control
Organizations based in New York City
Education trade unions
American Federation of Teachers
Teacher associations based in the United States
Education in New York City
Trade unions established in 1960
1960 establishments in New York City
Labor relations in New York City
Educational organizations based in New York (state)