The Voice

As The Voice went to press, the process to implement the pay increases for UUP members negotiated in the new UUP/New York statecontract was moving forward. UUP has been pushing the process along beginning the day the contract was ratified, March 13. The unexpected change in gubernatorial administrations and staff delayed the progress.

A “pay bill” — legislation that is required for the release of public funds — is sent from the governor’s office to the state Legislature.

Once lawmakers approve the pay bill and the governor signs it, the next stop is the state comptroller’s office. Then the comptroller will issue a pay bulletin that will stipulate when the paychecks will be issued, including the retroactive pay.

As soon as UUP obtains a confirmed payroll date, the union will notify members through official communications. Also, an announcement will be posted on the home page of the UUP Web site at www.uupinfo.org and chapter leaders will be notified.

— Donald Feldstein

Hundreds of UUP members and other activists arlly at the state Capitol in protest of the governor's action to freeze $110 million in SUNY revunue.

Nearly 400 union members and advocates came to Albany on an unseasonably cool May afternoon to protest a move that would clearly leave SUNY out in the cold — a spending freeze that prevents the university from spending nearly

$110 million it collects from students and hospital patients to run its operations.

UUP President Phillip Smith led the noon hour rally outside the state Capitol, with strong support from UUP’s state affiliate, NYSUT, and other advocates.

“Without a doubt, this is the most devastating financial crisis SUNY has ever faced,” Smith said.
“Unless these cuts are restored, SUNY will be effectively dismantled.”

UUP delegates to the 2008 Spring Delegate Assembly in Albany took time to fax hundreds of letters to lawmakers. An additional 250 signed letters were also collected during the DA and later mailed to Gov. David Paterson.

The faxes and letters call on the governor to rescind his Division of the Budget directive to freeze nearly $110 million in SUNY revenue that the University collects from students and hospital patients. (See related story and UUP’s response, page 12.)

All UUPers are being urged to send faxes. Go to UUP’s homepage at www.uupinfo.org. Under “Call to Action” on the right side of the page are two links to fax the governor. Both connect to the NYSUT Web site.

Once there, follow these steps:

• Click select this letter on the middle of the page;
• Click send faxes on the right side of this page;
• Enter your zip code in the box provided and click on the arrow next to Look up
  Representatives; and
• Fill out the information and click send faxes in the middle of the page.
• — Karen L. Mattison

Altas Hsie of Utica/Rome, left, raises a point during a meeting of chapter leaders.

The UUP Spring Delegate Assembly is usually a hectic, productive business meeting.

This year’s event was all that and then some.

From rallying at the state Capitol against the Division of the Budget plan to freeze SUNY revenues, to approving UUP’s 2008-2009 budget, to electing statewide officers and Executive Board members, UUPers showed they were ready to take action and eager to make their voices heard.

Delegates came from near and far — and really far — to do so. Ezra Zubrow of SUNY Buffalo traveled from Australia to be at the DA. Robert Compton of Oneonta returned from Zimbabwe to attend.

Floss

Marino

Blackman-Stroud

Abraham

Brown

Dangler

Huerta

Kube

Kyle Britton of Oneonta has been waiting a long time to be seated as an Oneonta Chapter delegate. He has been an observer to UUP Delegate Assemblies and was an alternate delegate to the Winter DA in February. So when his day finally came, Britton said he was excited to have the opportunity to vote in union elections.

“This is the type of democracy I’m glad to see,” Britton said of the process to elect three statewide officers and five Executive Board members. “I think it’s good when people openly go to the microphone to nominate” candidates for office.

He said he was pleasantly surprised that ballots were tallied and results announced while the delegates waited. “This is different than what I’m used to in the national election,” Britton said.

And when all was said and done, Britton and the nearly 300 other delegates in attendance re-elected three statewide officers and put five new members on the Executive Board. All terms are for two years and begin June 1.

Incumbent Vice President for Academics Frederick Floss was re-elected to a third term in a contested race against challenger William Simons of Oneonta, 172-117. Floss is a professor of economics and finance at Buffalo State.

John Marino, an associate director of radiology at Stony Brook HSC, was re-elected to a fifth term as vice president for professionals. He ran unopposed.
Rowena Blackman-Stroud, an associate director of nuclear medicine at Brooklyn HSC, was re-elected to an eighth term as union treasurer. She defeated challenger Paul Zarembka of SUNY Buffalo, 188-96.

All but one of the five races for Executive Board were contested.

Running unopposed was Raul Huerta, an academic advisor/counselor at Morrisville, who was elected to represent the technical colleges. Also elected were J. Philippe Abraham of Albany, Peter D.G. Brown of New Paltz, Jamie Dangler of Cortland and Carolyn Kube of Stony Brook HSC.

Dangler, an associate professor of sociology at Cortland, unseated incumbent Lorna Arrington of SUNY Buffalo, 154-112.

Brown, a distinguished service professor of foreign languages at New Paltz, battled it out with Jacqualine Berger of Empire State College in two separate ballots before winning the election, 127-115.

Abraham, a senior academic advisor, won against incumbent Candelario “Kiko” Franco of Old Westbury, 133-104.

Kube, a clinical lab technologist at Stony Brook HSC, defeated incumbent Raymond
Dannenhoffer of Buffalo HSC, 132-88.

Meanwhile, delegates acted on nearly a dozen resolutions and one proposed constitutional amendment during the DA. The issues ranged from support for fair pay, veteran and single-payer health care bills, to solidarity for hotel workers, to a proposal to create a Retiree Chapter.

Delegates took the following actions:

• thanked by acclamation those leaving the Executive Board: Arrington, Dannenhoffer, James Fort of Cobleskill, Franco, and Donald Pisani of Stony Brook HSC.
• referred to the Executive Board a constitutional amendment to create a Retiree Chapter. Judith Wishnia of Stony Brook, chair of the statewide Committee on Active Retired Membership, supported the motion to refer, stating there was not enough time to properly debate the amendment;
• called on UUP to work with lawmakers, affiliates and the media to push for passage of fair pay legislation;
• urged support of an updated GI Bill that would give veterans sufficient funds to attend college at public institutions. “The human cost of this war is being borne by hard-working people and they are the ones who need money for college,” said delegate James Collins of Albany;
• congratulated The Saratoga hotel workers of UNITE Local 471 on their recent organizing win, and commended the workers and management for negotiating in good faith;
• commended the union’s Elections and Credentials Committee for its excellent work in conducting the elections. The resolution also asked the Executive Board to charge the committee with making recommendations to the Fall DA on how best to expedite the election process; and
• reaffirmed their support for the troops serving in Iraq by calling for their immediate and safe withdrawal, and to go on the record opposing any further funding for the war except that needed for the complete withdrawal of troops or for veterans’ needs on their return.

Delegates also adopted six resolutions for consideration during the AFT Convention in July. The resolutions call on AFT to:

• fight to protect and strengthen Title IX, the comprehensive federal law that prohibits sex discrimination against students and employees of educational institutions;
• support United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten in her bid for AFT president;
• support justice for workers at Smithfield Packing in their efforts to organize, and to urge management at the North Carolina plant to stop all forms of abuse, intimidation and violence against workers;
• express outrage at the actions of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute president, provost and Board of Trustees for suspending the college’s Faculty Senate following an election of senate leadership critical of the campus president;
• call on AFT delegates (and the state AFL-CIO) to join hundreds of other unions, federations and labor councils in endorsing HR 676, a federal single payer health care bill; and
• urge AFT to reaffirm its opposition to the war and occupation in Iraq, and to join US Labor Against the War to strengthen the organizational capacity of the labor movement to succeed in this effort.

A similar resolution for the state AFL-CIO convention in August was adopted by delegates.

— Karen L. Mattison

UUP members from several chapters receive awards for newsletter and web site excellence in the annual UUP Journalism Contest run by the union's communications department

Seven chapters were recognized for their outstanding communications efforts during the ninth annual UUP Chapter Journalism Contest.

The competition is supervised by the UUP Communications Department and is judged by professional journalists from the Capital District.

“Our chapters do an outstanding job of communicating with members,” UUP President Phillip Smith said. “I am proud to recognize their selfless dedication to the union, the University and their colleagues.”

Delegates to the Spring DA overwhelmingly approved UUP’s annual spending plan, which includes an operating budget of $8.18 million for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

The budget “reflects our union’s priorities for 2008-2009: implementation of the 2007-2011 collective bargaining agreement between UUP and New York state; outreach activities; service to the membership; and recruitment of new activists,” said statewide Treasurer Rowena Blackman-Stroud.

In her report to union delegates, Blackman-Stroud noted that UUP negotiated a total of nearly $2 million in direct support from NYSUT, up by nearly $200,000 from last year.

The union will use a one-time lump sum NYSUT payment of $125,000 to increase the coffers for UUP’s outreach advertising campaign. The total amount allocated for outreach activities is $500,000.

“We recognize the importance of the union’s advertising campaign, as well as other statewide and regional legislative activities, in the ongoing battle for increased higher education funding,” Blackman-Stroud said.

From left, Micchael Zweig of Stony Brook, Martha Livingston of Old Westbury, and Carolyn Kube, Ben Williams and Bruce Kube, all of Stoony Brook HSC, listen to speakers at the RA.

Taking a page out of Martin Luther King Jr.’s repertoire of inspirational and motivational speeches, NYSUT leaders throughout the 36th annual Representative Assembly (RA) in April told delegates their union is “on the move” toward activating members to fight for issues that are paramount to labor unions.

“I am proud to be a force for working people and for social justice,” NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi said during the three-day convention in Manhattan.

NYSUT honored the great civil rights leader on the 40th anniversary of his assassination in Memphis, Tenn., with a prestigious photo exhibit on loan from the Wayne State University Library. King first trumpeted, “We’re on the move” during the historic 1965 march for freedom from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.

Iannuzzi said King had begun to take his fight for justice and freedom beyond civil rights, by making the connection between racial injustice and economic oppression. The day before his assassination, King was speaking out for 1,300 striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn.
As King once proclaimed: “Americans of goodwill have never connected bigotry with economic exploitation. They have deplored prejudice but tolerated or ignored economic injustice. But … these two evils have a malignant kinship.”

Other speakers also referenced King, but none more personally than the Rev. Joseph Lowery. As co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Lowery marched alongside King in Alabama and elsewhere.

“‘On the move’ means higher and harder toward goals of justice and equity,” Lowery said.
“We do together what none of us can do individually.”

He called on RA delegates to “take our country back.”

“This is a government of capitalism, and all we’ve got is the ‘ism’ and they’ve got all the ‘capital,’” Lowery said. “There’s something wrong with the system when a few have more than they’ll ever need and the masses have less than they always need.”

Lowery’s keynote speech drew rousing applause from delegates. NYSUT honored him with this year’s Albert Shanker Award for Distinguished Service, the union’s highest honor.

Iannuzzi said he is hoping King’s words will continue to resonate with unionists and inspire them to take a leading role in their union. The goal, he said, is to level the educational playing field by attacking the education gap’s root cause: poverty.

“There seems to be no outrage” over the growing disparity between the affluent and the poor, said NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin. He told delegates their union is pushing for a progressive tax structure that will “close the wealth gap economically.”

“Complacency among members is unacceptable,” Lubin added. “Working toward social justice is not extracurricular activity. … We need to move this country and this union forward. Let’s get on the move. Let’s get it done.”

Vice President Maria Neira didn’t miss a beat, calling on delegates to “rock the boat,” by being at the “center of change” for decisions that affect the workplace.

“We’ve heard a lot about how we should do our jobs from CEOs, lawyers, foundations, corporate-funded think tanks and, of course, the federal government,” Neira said. “Well, I have a message for all the so-called experts who have never worked a day in a school, at a college or in health care: NYSUT is in the business of rocking boats.”

She said NYSUT and AFT continue to “make waves” on the ill-conceived No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, and are encouraged to know AFT-endorsed presidential candidate — U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton — has pledged to end NCLB.

“I’m in this race for you and for all our children,” Clinton said via phone from the campaign trail in Pennsylvania. “I intend to take your needs to the White House.”

Lubin urged members to volunteer for Clinton in door-to-door or phone campaigns and to contribute to the union’s political action fund “like your future depends on it — because it does.”

Vice President Kathleen Donahue encouraged members from all NYSUT constituency groups to come together to strengthen schools and hospitals, and work to achieve social justice and to improve the professional, economic and personal lives of members.

NYSUT members need to “reach out, strengthen our connections and stay united for our common good,” Donahue said.

Their pro-union, pro-justice message didn’t fall on deaf ears.

“The neat thing about the RA is there’s a sense of connectedness with members of a variety of unions,” said UUPer Karen Volkman of Plattsburgh. “It enhances the state of solidarity — that we’re all in this together.”

Edward Drummond of Stony Brook HSC added, “People are realizing that we’re in a bad situation economically. The fact is, unions can make a difference.”

Meanwhile, delegates re-elected four NYSUT officers and elected a new secretary-treasurer.
Re-elected to three-year terms were NYSUT President Iannuzzi, Executive Vice President Lubin, Vice President Niera and Vice President Donahue. Vice President Robin Rapaport, former president of NEA/NY, continues in office until July.

Lee Cutler, a former middle school English/language arts teacher for more than 24 years in Westchester, Ulster and Rockland counties, was elected to his first term as secretary-treasurer.
He succeeds Ivan Tiger, who is retiring.

Delegates also elected at-large delegates to the NYSUT Board of Directors, including UUPers Phillip Smith, Patricia Bentley, Rowena Blackman-Stroud and Thomas Matthews.

Delegates throughout the RA adopted a number of resolutions that will chart the union’s course over the next year. The resolutions, including seven submitted by UUP, range from federal
education mandates and retiree benefits to the environment and human rights.

The delegation also threw its collective weight behind United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten for AFT president. Current AFT President Edward McElroy will step down in July during the federation’s biennial convention.

— Karen L. Mattison

COARM Chair Judy Wishnia accepts two 2008 journalism awards from NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi

UUP members made their presence felt during the 36th annual NYSUT Representative Assembly (RA) in April in New York City. The largest delegation of UUPers to ever attend an RA — more than 110 in all — debated nearly 70 resolutions, shared opinions on myriad issues, and elected four of their colleagues to the NYSUT Board of Directors.

UUP President Phillip Smith was elected as the union’s at-large member of the NYSUT board. And in the sole contested race for board seats from NYSUT Election Districts, UUP delegates re-elected Rowena Blackman-Stroud of Brooklyn HSC, Patricia Bentley of Plattsburgh and Thomas Matthews of Geneseo. Glenn McNitt of New Paltz, chair of the statewide UUP Outreach Committee, challenged the incumbent board members.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton — “I want to make college affordable and make sure that we supply the resources students need. ... I believe in you and I will fight for your issues as your president.” — via phone

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer — “I have labor in my corner. That’s how I got elected and I won’t forget it. ... We can, we will, we must take back America.”

NYS Gov. David Paterson — “SUNY and CUNY saw budget cuts because higher education is connected to other state agencies ... We made education a priority this year and we need to extend that same priority to higher education next year.”

NYS Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno — “The state budget is truly a victory for every student, teacher, parent and taxpayer in New York. It ensures that the state’s resources are sent directly into the classroom.” — via phone

NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — “We have a moral obligation to provide our children with an education, regardless of politics or the economic cycle.”