United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew sharply criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration this week over the rollout of the NYC Reads literacy curriculum, threatening to withdraw union support amid falling student reading scores.

Mulgrew pointed to excessive assessments, added interventions, and increased teacher workload as reasons the union could pull its backing of the program. He described the Department of Education's implementation as "completely incompetent and irresponsible," according to recent interviews.

City reading scores declined recently, with more than half of third through fifth graders failing to meet proficiency levels on state English Language Arts exams. The drop came shortly after the city pushed the new curriculum changes.

The UFT had initially supported NYC Reads but now objects to supplemental materials that Mulgrew called contradictory and poorly coordinated with the core program. "We're not going to support it if they want to implement it the way they did this year," he said.

Mayor Mamdani has vowed to expand the initiative despite the results. The tensions highlight growing friction between the teachers union and City Hall just eight months into the mayor's term.

Mulgrew emphasized that the union likes the concept of stronger literacy instruction but insists on better execution to avoid wasting time and resources. The union's stance could complicate the administration's education agenda moving forward.