Michael Mulgrew

Michael Mulgrew is the fifth President of the United Federation of Teachers, the trade union of teachers in New York City, New York. The union's executive board elected Mulgrew in July 2009. Prior to his current position, Michael was elected Vice President for Career and Technical Education (CTE) High Schools in 2005 and became the union’s Chief Operating Officer in 2008.^[1]

In April 2010, Mulgrew was elected president by 91% of the UFT membership.^[2][3] He is serving a three year term that began on July 1, 2010.^[4]

In an article in City Hall News in July 2009, Mulgrew talked about his strong belief in collaboration with parents, saying, ”I always like to keep up community involvement, working with parents and advocating for students. We do a lot of that now and that’s what we need to do more of, to help the schools that are struggling and to figure out ways the UFT can support and help them.”^[5][6]

Early Life and Teaching Career

Mulgrew was born in Staten Island, New York in 1965. He attended Roman Catholic schools; and he graduated from the City University of New York system with a BA in English literature and a minor in psychology. At one time, he apprenticed and worked as a carpenter.^[7][8]

Mulgrew began his teaching career working as a substitute teacher at South Richmond High School IS/PS 25 on Staten Island, a District 75 school. He became a full-time teacher at William E. Grady Career and Technical Education High School, a vocational school in Brooklyn, New York in 1993. He held his first UFT office, as chapter leader at the high school in 1999, and his helped win the Grady High School UFT chapter a Trachtenberg Award for its strength and unity in 2002.^[9]

School budget fights

Mulgrew was often the public face of the UFT during 2008 and 2009 when the union joined with advocates, community groups and other unions to fight for more school funding. In 2008, the UFT helped form a coalition called "Keep The Promises".^[10] The coalition held dozens of rallies and other events around the city^[11] until eventually $129 million in education funding was restored to the City budget.^[12]

In February 2009, Mulgrew organized a bus caravan of teachers to Washington DC to fight for federal stimulus money for schools^[13] and also organized leafleting and phone banks in advance of a massive union rally at New York's City Hall on March 5, 2009.^[14] Mulgrew served as emcee of that rally^[15][16]

Agreement to Close Large Temporary Reassignment Centers (Rubber Rooms)

On April 15, 2010, Mulgrew and Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced an agreement to close temporary reassignment centers (TRCs), also known as “rubber rooms”, where the Department of Education sent teachers who were being investigated or going through a hearing process. “Fixing this problem has been a high priority for me ever since I became President of the UFT eight months ago,” wrote Mulgrew in an opinion piece posted on "The Huffington Post."^[17] “Teachers know that any system needs a disciplinary process - but not one that takes forever and punishes the innocent as well as the guilty. Closing the rubber rooms, eliminating the backlog of cases - which we intend to have completed by the end of this calendar year - and creating a fairer and faster disciplinary process is a solution that works for everyone.”^[18][19][20]

However, as of May, 2012, over 100 teachers are in mini-rubber rooms. One to three reassigned staff are assigned to district offices, for two months or more, often having received no charges.^[21]

Election

In the spring 2013 UFT election campaign, Mulgrew rejected requests for a debate from his opponent, Julie Cavanagh (MORE caucus). ^[22]

Notes