“Keeping our union strong requires hard work from the ground up on the part of our locals,” said Ron Gross, NYSUT second vice president. Part of that hard work is making a three-year commitment to union summer school.
NYSUT’s 2023 Local Action Project runs July 17-21 at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs, and six first-year locals, five second-year locals and seven graduating third-year locals will learn strategies to boost member engagement, build community support and achieve better results with homegrown issues such as contracts and school budget votes.
“Since it began back in 1997, LAP has asked locals to commit to building strength by getting more members involved and forging stronger bonds within their community,” said Gross, whose office coordinates the annual LAP event.
This year’s participants hail from throughout New York state, from the third-year Port Washington Teachers Association on Long Island to the second-year Teachers Association of Cheektowaga-Sloan in Western New York, and the first-year Albany Public School Teachers Association in the Capital Region. Workshop topics will include political action, campaign planning, internal organizing and member engagement and mobilization. An informative scavenger hunt is also planned to help members learn more about the many services and benefits available to them through their NYSUT membership.
“Simply by making the commitment to be here for this training, LAP participants show that they understand the importance of keeping lines of communication open and increasing member involvement within their locals,” said Gross. “The dedicated work of locals like these are what keeps our union strong.”
Local leaders interested in learning more about NYSUT’s LAP program should visit localactionproject.org.
PHOTO GALLERY: LAP 2022
Scenes from last summer's LAP session.
