On the Record with Michael Mulgrew

The latest episode of the UFT podcast "On the Record with Michael Mulgrew" focuses on the city Department of Education's foot-dragging on the new state law requiring New York City to lower class sizes in its public schools. Mulgrew and education activist Leonie Haimson discuss how educators, parents and community groups need to push the DOE to implement the new law. The clock is ticking for the DOE to plan for September 2023, when the first 20% of New York City public school classrooms must meet the new class-size caps.

The most recent episode of the UFT's On the Record with Michael Mulgrew delves into two thorny issues for NYC public school educators: the DOE's high school admission process and its byzantine process for determining school budgets. Episode 3 also includes highlights from the Nov. 8 elections and some memorable moments from Teacher Union Day on Nov. 6.

The UFT podcast "On the Record with Michael Mulgrew" tackles two key issues for UFT members: the DOE-UFT contract and health care. Episode 2 opens with a briefing on efforts by the UFT and the other municipal unions to preserve premium-free health care for their members. And then two UFT officers who attended the union's first bargaining session with the city and the DOE walk us through what to expect as contract talks get underway.

The UFT podcast "On the Record with Michael Mulgrew" starts its fourth season with a deep dive into the new class size law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. UFT President Michael Mulgrew is joined by state Sen. John Liu, a major force in getting the law passed. And we will meet the 2023 New York State Teacher of the Year Billy Green, an innovative chemistry teacher from East Harlem. 

The UFT is restarting its podcast, "On the Record with Michael Mulgrew" on Sept. 22. We'll be talking about the new small class size law, the on-going fight against school budget cuts and stories about the great work UFT members are doing. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

If teaching during this pandemic has taught us anything, it's that lowering class size is integral to keeping education sustainable for us and our students. We have always known that reducing class size is fundamental to student achievement, teacher retention and equitable schools, but it's now also become an issue of public health. At last, the City Council is considering a proposed landmark bill that would reduce classroom occupancy limits — and lower class sizes in every school in the years to come. On this special edition of 'On The Record With Michael Mulgrew', we're sharing highlights from the UFT's Class Size Town Hall on November 15th, 2021.

In this episode of "On the Record," UFT President Michael Mulgrew outlines the union's five-point plan to use more than $1 billion in new federal COVID-19 relief funds to help New York City public school students overcome the pandemic's impact on their academic and social-emotional health. Mulgrew is joined by three city educators.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer joins UFT President Michael Mulgrew at a recent UFT virtual Town Hall to talk about the new administration, flipping the U.S. Senate and how to leverage this change to provide public schools the resources they need to deal with the trauma of the pandemic.

In the latest episode of "On the Record," UFT President Michael Mulgrew joins UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro and Manhattan high school teacher Dominique Cistac to talk about the challenges of remote learning. This is part of an ongoing conversation about how to improve remote learning for both students and educators.

In this episode of "On the Record," UFT President Michael Mulgrew joins AFT President Randi Weingarten and UFT Retired Teachers Chapter Leader Tom Murphy to discuss the role public school educators are playing in this year's elections and how educators are sick of lip service and are demanding that their elected leaders support public education and respect the work they do.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew joins two of the union's Albert Shanker Scholarship winners to talk about their experiences with remote learning, their future plans and social activism during the pandemic.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew joins U.S. Senator Charles Schumer to discuss what educators can do to help get the federal HEROES Act passed into law. This vital legislation, which must pass the U.S. Senate, would provide $1 trillion for vital state and local services, including $100 billion for public schools, at a time when the pandemic has blown a large hole in state and local budgets nationwide.

New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa, a UFT Teacher Center instructional coach and a New York City public school parent join UFT President Michael Mulgrew to discuss the first two months of remote learning and how educators and parents need to drive decisions about the shape that schooling will take in the fall.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew talks about the support and counseling services the union is offering UFT members to help them cope with the stress and anxiety triggered by the school shutdown and the coronavirus crisis. He and Tina Puccio, the director of the union's Member Assistance Program (MAP), talk about the need to stay connected even when everyone is practicing social distancing. For more information about MAP, go to www.uft.org/MAP.www.uft.org/MAP.

In this special edition of On the Record, UFT President Michael Mulgrew talks about the steps the union has taken  during the coronavirus outbreak to help protect our members and communities. UFT industrial hygienist Jennifer Long joins the discussion to separate fact from fiction. Go to the new UFT info hub for additional information and protocols regarding the coronavirus.

In the second of a two-part series, "Am I Patient #6?", UFT President Michael Mulgrew talks with the union's point person for nursing, Anne Goldman, about why the UFT is fighting for legislation that would set mandatory staffing levels for surgical, emergency, critical and acute care units. Too many New York hospitals cut corners on nurse staffing, with most patients not knowing their risk of injury or death rises when a nurse-to-patient ratio increases — by even one patient — beyond 1:5. 

Let's say you land in a well-known New York hospital for a medical procedure or an emergency. The hospital is housed in an expensive, new building. You take for granted that there will be enough nurses on duty. You shouldn't. Too many New York hospitals cut corners on nurse staffing, with most patients not knowing that their risk of injury or death rises when a nurse-to-patient ratio increases — by even one patient — beyond 1:5. In a two-part series, "Am I Patient #6?", UFT President Michael Mulgrew hears from front-line ER nurse Howard Sandau about the dangers patients face when hospitals refuse to properly staff units, and the need for New York to pass a safe staffing law.

Teachers across the country are leading a labor resurgence as they fight for their students, their schools and their profession. Hear UFT President Michael Mulgrew and former New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse discuss this movement as they talk about Greenhouse's new book, "Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present and Future of American Labor" on the latest episode of "On the Record with Michael Mulgrew."

How can we make teacher observations less intimidating and more meaningful? In this season's first episode of "On the Record with Michael Mulgrew," UFT President Michael Mulgrew talks with three New York City public school educators about ways teachers can take more control over their observations. The UFT recently negotiated needed changes to the teacher evaluation process, including reducing the minimum number of observations for most teachers to two a year. But real change, Mulgrew and his guests say, will only come when we change the culture around observations – when we see observations as an opportunity to have a conversation about educational practices between two professionals.

In this latest episode of On the Record, President Michael Mulgrew talks to Meera Mangaroo of PS 18 in the Bronx, and Kirk Schneider of Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in Manhattan about how their schools and students are adapting to this new learning environment.  He also talks with Tina Puccio, Director of the Member Assistance Program, about new services available for members coping with the challenges of the current crisis.