Janella Hinds

Hinds has advocated for left-of-center education and labor policies, including the elimination of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT), increased public funding for child care, expanded collective bargaining powers, and greater union influence over school governance and policy. She maintains an active teaching license and previously taught social studies at the High School for Public Service in Brooklyn. ^{4 1}

Background

Janella Hinds earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in African American studies from Princeton University in 1993 and a master’s degree in social studies education from New York University. ¹

From 1996 to 2004, she taught social studies and served as a dean and conflict-resolution specialist at high schools in central Brooklyn. She subsequently worked as the public policy director for the New York State AFL-CIO before joining the United Federation of Teachers staff in 2006. Hinds was first elected vice president for academic high schools in 2012 and has been re-elected multiple times. ^{1 4}

Activities

As vice president for academic high schools, Hinds has worked as the United Federation of Teachers’ chief negotiator for the U.S. Department of Education–UFT virtual-learning pilot program. She also functions as the union’s liaison to the School Secretaries Chapter. ¹

In 2013, Hinds urged the UFT delegate assembly to support a NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawsuit challenging New York City’s Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT), arguing that the test contributed to the low enrollment of Black and Latino students in the city’s specialized high schools. ⁵

Through her role as chair of the New York Union Child Care Coalition, Hinds has advocated for substantially increased state funding for childcare programs, higher wages for child-care providers, and more unionization of the childcare sector. ¹

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, Hinds received $110,028 in total compensation from the UFT, consisting of $98,865 in salary and $11,163 in other pay. ⁶

Hinds is also secretary-treasurer of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and is a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. ^{1 4}