Happy first day of September, and SURPRISE! The Office of Labor Relations (OLR) has removed classroom setup time from this year’s labor guidance sent to superintendents and principals.
Classroom Teacher and UFT Chapter Leader Leah Lin breaks it down:
When language affecting our time and working conditions changes, who is paying attention before members are left to discover it themselves?
Click the Instagram link below to listen to more, and hopefully, when you walk into your building this week, you will actually get some time to set up your classroom.
As educators prepare to return to their classrooms, there’s an important change in this year’s Office of Labor Relations guidance that deserves attention. Last year’s 2025-2026 guidance specifically stated that one of the first two staff-only Chancellor’s Conference Days should be used “first and foremost” for classroom preparation and the arrival of students, with professional development taking place only if time permitted. In the 2026-2027 guidance, that language is gone. Instead, those days are now designated for professional development consistent with the school calendar.
That may sound like a small wording change, but for educators who need time to physically prepare classrooms before students arrive, it can have a very real impact. What makes this even more frustrating is that members are being directed to the UFT website for support, while the information there on this issue appears outdated and can leave members with a very different understanding of what to expect.
The language in OLR’s labor guidance for this school year needs to be changed, and we need our current UFT leadership to advocate, organize and actually communicate with UFT members about what is happening.
Click here for more info.
I am writing this from my classroom, a week before we’re due back! I’ve had to move 3 times in 4 years, and never had the chance to fully organize and unpack everything. I admit that people more organized than I am might not need as much time, but the idea that NO time is needed is insane—especially with all the curricular changes in elementary school in recent years.
This labor guidance definitely pushes teachers toward doing classroom setup during our vacations and/or before and after school. The DOE is normalizing coming in and working during our time off, with zero compensation. Not only do Mulgrew and Unity allow it, they practice their own version of it by conducting UFT chapter leader trainings this week.