Eric Severson

For VP of CTE, Solidarity UFT

Eric Severson is in his 16th year as a special education teacher specializing in social studies instruction at Clara Barton High School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Eric has been an active union member from attending rallies in support of ATRs and writing for his school chapter's newsletter to twice serving as chapter leader and fighting excessive paperwork and administrative micromanagement.

Eric ran with Solidarity in 2016 and 2019 and is proud to join the United For Change coalition and bring his firsthand experience as chapter leader of a CTE school to the slate.

Eric is running with United for Change because he has seen how many times the long-ruling Unity Caucus has failed: they have not stopped the privatization of retiree healthcare, have not fought back effectively as the city cuts pensions and offers contracts that don't keep up with inflation, and have neglected working conditions that impact our students from failing to truly fight on class size to not pushing back when educator health and safety was and continues to be in jeopardy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eric was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit over the unfair and inadequate health exemption policy of the DOE back in September 2020 and was instrumental in getting teachers the support they needed to stay safe and healthy.

The time when rank and file educators replace career bureaucrats in the New York City teacher's union is long past, and Eric will work to make that so as he has for over 15 years in the classroom and the streets of this city.