Official Publication of United University Professions n The Nation’s Largest Higher Education Union Working For You THET September/October 2014 Labor on the move — Page 12 THE What ’s inside Voic e this issue Volume 42, Number 1 The VOICE is the official publication of United University Professions (UUP), bargaining agent for the more than 35,000 academic and professional 4 Unions to seD: Address the issues employees of the State University of New York. COvEr PhOtO BY UUP, NYsUt and Professional staff Congress/CUNY DONALD FELDstEIN are dismayed by sED’s reluctance to discuss edtPA. Contact UUP at P.O. Box 15143, Albany, New York 12212-5143. Telephone (518) 640-6600 or toll-free at (800) 342-4206. UUP’s Internet site 18-19 UUp awards seven members is www.uupinfo.org. UUP is Local 2190 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO) three longtime UUPers will receive the union’s and is affiliated with NYSUT and the National on the cover: Nina Mitchell Award for Distinguished service. Education Association. UUP also honors two courageous part-timers Union pride! with Fayez samuel awards, and two outstanding UUP STATEWIDE OFFICERS 14—the UUP officers lead hundreds of retirees with Pearl h. Brod awards. FREDERICk E. kOWAl members down the streets of Manhattan President to showcase the union’s strength, 20 students earn UUp scholarships solidarity and willingness to defend UUP recognizes one undergraduate and two post the work of UUP members. baccalaureate students with scholarships of $2,000 J. PhIlIPPE AbRAhAm for academic excellence and community service. Also, the Labor Day parades kicked off Vice President UUP’s campaign to get pro-education, for Professionals pro-labor candidates elected—page 6 24 contingent issues in the fore UUPers join hundreds of full-time and part-time contingent employees from the U.s., Canada and JAmIE F. DANglER Mexico to discuss employment practices in higher ed. Vice President Letters poLicy for Academics The Voice welcomes timely ALso : letters about university and union issues, politics and other events 3 to the point: Every vote counts EIlEEN lANDy relevant to UUP’s concerns. All 11 Outreach Committee plans for year ahead Secretary letters are subject to editing for 16 UUP hires It associate, legislative interns length, accuracy and clarity. Please type or email your letters, 15 UUP urges release of abducted former member ROWENA J. limit them to 300 words, and 17 Who’s who: Chapter presidents blACkmAN-STROUD include your name and daytime 22 spotlight shines on UUPers Treasurer phone number for verification. Unsigned letters will not be 23 hBO’s ‘Girls’ films on the New Paltz campus published. 26 UUP Benefits outlines what’s available EDISON bOND JR. Email letters to UUP Interim Membership Director of Communications Development Officer Michael Lisi at [email protected] or send them to his attention at: The Voice , United University Professions, P.O. Box 15143, UUP COMMUNICATIONS DEPT. Albany, New York 12212-5143. mIChAEl lISI Did you know you can Interim Director of Communications read The Voice online at kAREN l. mATTISON Publications Specialist FOllOw UUP uupinfo .org DONAlD FElDSTEIN Media Relations Specialist Just click on Th?e Voice On FacebOOk icon on the Home Page ANgEll m. lAW and TwiTTer ! Communications Assistant Members who would prefer to read The Voice The VOICE is a member of the American Federation Go to www. UUPinfo.org online are able to opt out of receiving the magazine of Teachers Communicators Network and the by mail. Go to http://uupinfo.org/voice/optout.php International Labor Communications Association. to sign up today. or call UUP Communications for more information. 2 The Voice SepTember /o cTober 2014 To the Point Vote, volunteer for change cannot stress strongly VolunteeR! enough how important Over the next few weeks, it is for you, as a union I, along with your statewide member and as an Ameri - officers, will be traveling to Ican, to go to the polls on Tues - campuses in districts with key day, Nov. 4, and cast your vote. races. We’ll be there to urge our Do it. members to consider voting for Vote. NYSUT-endorsed candidates and The right to vote, to freely to recruit volunteers to help pro- choose those who will lead us labor, pro-education candidates without fear of reprisal, is a right win or stay in office. that Americans have fought to A number of candidates that gain and defend since this great we worked for in the September country was established more than primary have told me that they two centuries ago. deeply appreciated our help. These days, far too many Amer - I’m looking forward to working icans take voting for granted. with them. Many more think that their vote We will have friends in Con - doesn’t matter. gress, and the state Senate and That’s nonsense. With your Assembly. I believe that together, votes, you have the power to elect we can achieve positive change. candidates who are pro-education, pro-labor advocates who believe michael liSi giV e to Vote-cope in a strong, working middle class To do that, we need you to get UUp p reSidenT Fred Kowal hopeS eVery UUp member will and a vital public higher education involved. And you won’t be alone. VoTe For endorSed candidaTeS in The noVember elec Tion . system. Your union leaders will be working right along with you. RegisteR now If you don’t have the time to vol - If you haven’t registered to vote, do it. support the issues that we support—a unteer, you can help by opening your There’s still time. vibrant SUNY, union jobs with fair pay wallet and contributing to VOTE-COPE, In New York, you have until Oct. 10 to and benefits, and a strong working class. NYSUT’s nonpartisan action fund. file a voter registration application with VOTE-COPE dollars are used to support your local board of elections; mail shoe leatheR campaigns NYSUT-endorsed candidates and their applications must be postmarked by That’s why UUP members across the campaigns. Oct. 10 and received by Oct. 15. state have been working since late sum - It is vital that UUP members contribute Before you enter the voting booth, mer as volunteers for candidates backed to VOTE-COPE to help us work for can - I hope that you will consider pulling the by NYSUT and the state AFL-CIO. didates who solidly support public educa - lever for candidates endorsed by NYSUT You’ll read about them in this issue. tion and labor. and the New York State AFL-CIO. UUP You’ll also read about how we kicked But it all starts with one word: vote. doesn’t endorse candidates, but our lead - off our November election campaign with If you haven’t registered to vote, regis - ers played a part in selecting candidates a show of strength at the Sept. 6 New ter. If you’re registered to vote but didn’t for NYSUT and the state AFL-CIO to York City Labor Day Parade. More than vote in last year’s election or the Septem - support. Both unions issued their en dorse - 300 members, family and friends ber primary, make a point to get to the ment lists in August; they can be viewed marched in the Manhattan parade, one polls Nov. 4. on the UUP website at www.uupinfo.org. of the America’s premiere Labor Day One vote—your vote—can change the Labor and public education is under marches. Members also marched course of history. attack. The middle class is steadily erod - in parades in Buffalo and Syracuse Do it. ing, the unemployment rate continues to on Labor Day. Vote. hover around 6 percent, and there are too Maybe you were there. If you were, many low-paying jobs. thank you! If not, join us next time. We need to elect representatives who We want you with us. SepTember /o cTober 2014 T he Voice 3 UUP front unions to seD: get it right by Karen l. m aTTiSon participate,” Dangler said. Fig hting back The unions—UUP, NYSUT The task force was established by UP, its state affiliate, and Professional Staff Congress/ the state Board of Regents in April and its sister union CUNY—are disappointed by under the threat of legislative inter - at CUNY are SED Commissioner John King’s vention into SED’s botched imple - “dismayed and disregard for the concerns raised mentation of a new teacher perfor- Udiscouraged” by the way the by unionists since the task force mance assessment and other certifi - State Education Department is was convened in July. cation requirements. handling a task force it set up to In separate correspondences to Following discussions with review one of the state’s new King and Deputy Commissioner NYSUT, the Regents provided a teacher certification require - John D’Agati, the unions ques - safety net that delays full imple - DANglER ments, the educative Teacher tion if SED is truly willing to mentation of the edTPA. It also Performance Assessment. work collaboratively and produc - allows teacher candidates who “We cannot—we And the unions are not inclined tively to “address the unfair and fail that exam to use a passing will not—participate to sit back and allow SED to jeop - educationally unsound teacher score on the Assessment of Teach - in an SED ruse ardize a generation of future teach - certification changes imposed by ing Skills-Written test for initial ers or the state’s public teacher SED without adequate faculty designed to ensure certification through June 30, education programs. input,” Dangler said.