Points Of Unity

Our points of unity were adopted in a membership vote in April 2021.

Building a Fighting and Democratic Union

The Movement of Rank and File Educators offers a democratic vision for the leadership of the United Federation of Teachers. We are committed to building a grassroots union to fight for a just and equitable school system.

People Power

We build power chapter by chapter and district by district. We empower individual rank and file members to take action and leadership in their own schools and stand in solidarity with educators, school staff, students and communities across the city.

We Can End Austerity

We believe underfunding—a direct result of structural racism, capitalism, and neoliberal austerity—threatens public education as we know it. We have a professional responsibility to demand equitable redistribution and policy change at every level of government until we and our students have the fully funded schools we deserve.

Member Driven Leadership

We are a member driven union caucus that thrives on democratic leadership of the rank-and-file. Voting membership is open to all UFT members. Non voting membership is open to all community allies.

Education For Liberation

We value pedagogy that is student driven, developmentally appropriate, and honors students, families, and communities.  We call for the dismantling of corporate driven high-stakes testing that is rooted in racism and eugenics. Our classrooms should be centers of liberation that help students celebrate their full humanity.    

Organizing the Rank and File

A MORE leadership will organize rank and file members at the school level, train them to be leaders and organizers ,and launch campaigns. When necessary, we will mobilize the full strength of membership to strike for the schools our members and communities deserve.

Abolish the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Prisons are a vestige of legalized slavery in the United States and we take responsibility for the well documented role schools play in populating prisons. We believe all educators have a responsibility and play a crucial role in abolishing the school-to-prison-pipeline.  We support the demands of the Black Lives Matter At Schools as crucial steps in stopping the school-to-prison pipeline.

Democratically Run, Community Controlled Schools

We believe in democratically run, community controlled schools where families, students, and educators collaborate.   We therefore fight for the end of mayoral control, and demand public schools be governed by and accountable to the public.

We Build Coalitions and Fight Alongside Allies

We build coalitions with organizations and communities that organize for the common good. This includes our siblings across the labor movement, communities of color,  disabled people,  undocumented people, LGTBQ+ people, and all oppressed peoples.  We center those most threatened by the oppressive systems we seek to change as we fight for more just and equitable schools and curricula.

Our Working Conditions Are Our Students’ Learning Conditions

We believe in the power of social justice unionism to build a more just and loving world. Thus we fight not just for our members’ rights as workers, but alongside our students and their families and communities, united with them in struggle to ignite social change. We know that better working conditions means better learning conditions for our city’s youth.