Activists gathered in Albany for the NYSUT Justice Conference in November, a first-ever joint meeting of the union’s Civil and Human Rights, LGBTQ+ and Women’s committees. The member activists gathered for a weekend filled with inspiration, and a shared commitment to uplift voices, celebrate diversity and advance social justice in communities statewide.
NYSUT Executive Vice President Jaime Ciffone opened the event. “Post-election we should be as one as we commence this work,” she said, explaining that uniting efforts would help committee members better achieve the union’s social justice goals.
Kim McAvoy, treasurer for the Rondout Valley Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel and a member of the NYSUT Board, agreed. “The next four years will be difficult, but I know that we can do it together,” she said. “Knowing the positive pieces that come from being a part of this union … I know that we will continue to fight.”
“We have three big pieces that we’re digging into to move this conversation of social justice forward,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person of the union’s One-in-Five anti-childhood-poverty initiative, its campaign to combat hate within our communities through implicit bias trainings and other awareness programs and NYSUT’s reverse runaway inequality initiative that calls for an additional tax on those earning over $5 million to fund public-benefit programs. “This is the work of our union … I’ve always said that teaching is the most powerful profession because we can open minds.”
Committee members met as one for a Friday opening session, broke off into individual committee meetings for day two and rejoined as a group for day three to discuss how the committees could work together to advance the union’s three-pronged social justice agenda.
A “perseverance” group art activity was an event highlight. It asked participants to answer the question “how do you persevere?” by writing responses on fabric squares and pinning them to a large, canvas justice conference banner forming a colorful collage.
NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer J. Philippe Abraham coordinates the union’s social justice mission. Learn more about the union’s social justice work at nysut.org/socialjustice.
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