United Federation of Teachers
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| United Federation of Teachers | |
| Founded | 1960 |
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| Members | 201,486 |
| Country | United States |
| Affiliation | AFT |
| Key people | Randi Weingarten, president |
| Office location | New York, NY |
| Website | www.uft.org |
The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most educators in New York City public schools. As of 2005, there were about 118,000 in-service educators and 17,000 paraprofessionals 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, sending the UFT's total representation well past the 200,000 mark. 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.
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[edit] History
Two previous unions of New York schoolteachers, the Teachers Union, founded in 1916, and the Teachers Guild, formed in 1935 failed to gather widespread enrollment or support. Many of the early leaders were pacifists or socialists and viewed with suspicion. The ethnically and ideologically heterogeneous nature of the teaching community and of New Yorkers as a whole also made the creation of a single organized body difficult.
The UFT was founded in 1960, largely in response to perceived unfairness in the educational system's treatment of teachers. Pensions only were awarded to retired teachers over 65 or with 35 years of service. Female teachers faced two years of mandatory unpaid maternity leave after giving birth. Principals could discipline or fire teachers with almost no oversight. The schools, experiencing a massive influx of Baby Boomer students, often were on double or triple session. Despite being college-educated professionals, often holding advanced master's degrees, teachers drew a salary of just $66 per week - in 2005 dollars, the equivalent of $21000 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 1974, when he became president of the larger AFT.
In 1968 erupted one of the most important strike movements in New York City's history as the U.F.T. 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 conflict focalized on the Ocean Hill-Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn but, ironically, the schools in that area were among the only ones 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 giant 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.
The 1970s were a time of fiscal crisis for New York City. In 1975, 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.
[edit] Current Executives
President: Randi Weingarten, Secretary: Michael Mendel, Assistant Secretary: Robert Astrowsky, Treasurer: Melvyn Aaronson, Assistant Treasurer: Mona Romain, Director of Staff: Leroy Barr, VP of Elementary Schools: Michelle Bodden, VP of Junior High and Intermediate Schools: Richard Farkas, VP of Academic High Schools: Leo Casey, VP of Career and Technical High Schools: Michael Mulgrew, VP of Special Education: Carmen Alvarez, VP of Education Issues: Aminda Gentile
[edit] Current Issues
The current president of the UFT is Randi Weingarten. She has clashed repeatedly with the mayors of the city; in particular with former mayor Rudy Giuliani and current mayor Michael Bloomberg. The latter has controversially made student promotion to third, sixth and eighth grade contingent upon performance on standardized tests; the UFT opposes these plans.
The UFT opposes merit-based teacher 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 UFT strongly supports the reduction of class sizes for all subjects and grade levels in New York City public schools.
