Current Issues
The previous president of the UFT, Randi Weingarten, resigned in 2009 to lead the AFT. She has clashed repeatedly with the mayors of the city; in particular with former mayor Rudy Giuliani and current mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg has controversially 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.
The UFT strongly supports the reduction of class sizes for all subjects and grade levels in New York City public schools.
Read more about this topic: United Federation Of Teachers
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