s the New York state budget season continues, NYSUT remains laser focused on restoring fully funded Foundation Aid to our schools, students and communities across the state. NYSUT officers have been crisscrossing the state visiting districts facing cuts.

In the executive budget proposal, every school district in the state is being underfunded by a new Foundation Aid formula, which would result in smaller aid increases or outright cuts.

To add insult to injury, the executive budget proposal would do away with “hold harmless,” which has guaranteed a district cannot receive less in state aid than the year before.

What would these changes mean? Shuttered programs, fewer offerings for students and less services for our communities. They would result in devastating cuts. And that’s not just NYSUT saying that. That is being echoed by teachers, lawmakers, superintendents and education groups across the entire state.

early one in five New York children live in poverty, a rate that exceeds the national average and overall poverty rates in both the state and country.

That’s why in January, NYSUT and a coalition of child, family and community stakeholders announced a combined push to confront the root causes and harsh effects of poverty on hundreds of thousands of students across the state.

Child poverty is an education issue, NYSUT President Melinda Person said, and educators see its effects every day.

More than 700,000 children enter classrooms each morning with the burdens of homelessness, unaddressed health concerns, lack of basic hygiene products, and the stigma and stress surrounding a life of poverty. If children are worried about survival, they will be unable to learn.

“If we really want to address deeply rooted issues that are affecting our students’ ability to learn and demonstrate their learning, and if we really want every student to live up to their natural potential, we need to stop ignoring New York’s child poverty problem and actually address it,” Person said at a press conference to launch the campaign. “No, we cannot solve childhood poverty here today, but we can use the enormous amount of resources in New York to disrupt the cycle of poverty for one in five children and their families.”

YSUT’s Office of General Counsel employs more than two dozen attorneys who vigorously defend the rights of union members and also advance the causes of labor and public education through state and federal litigation.

NYSUT United sits down with Clayton E. Eichelberger, associate counsel at the OGC at the union’s Latham headquarters, and Jonah H. Feitelson, associate counsel at the New York City OGC.

Clayton Eichelberger: My entire career has been in the field of education. After law school, I worked as a registered lobbyist advocating, in part, for education funding for students in parochial schools. I next worked in the NYS Senate and served as Higher Education Counsel to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Additionally, I also am proud to say I am a UUP member and teach at SUNY Albany as an adjunct professor. I try to draw upon both my prior policy experience and my experience as an educator to be able to better serve NYSUT members.

ometimes good things really do come to those who wait. After a year of stalled contract negotiations, the West Babylon Teachers Association in Suffolk County on Long Island bargained a new contract this summer that provides members with raises, a boost in future retirement earnings and several other long-sought benefits.

The tide turned for the local with the help of NYSUT labor relations specialist William Oquendo. Knowing the local had stalemated with the district over longevity pay raises, he suggested a different approach. Instead of increasing the value of each longevity step, how about adding additional steps to the overall salary schedule?

The move was a major win for the local, boosting members’ future lifetime pension earnings by allowing them to retire at a higher Final Average Salary.

“For teachers, we negotiated a move from a 22- to a 30-step salary schedule with a 1.5 percent raise in years two, three and four of the four-year contract,” said Oquendo, explaining that the change increases the top salary step by nearly $30,000. “This would raise someone’s pension by over $18,000 annually, for life.”

aid time off, fair pay and respect at work can’t be taken for granted without a union. That’s why a group of security guards at the Patchogue Medford Union Free School District in Suffolk County on Long Island worked with NYSUT’s experienced team of organizers and labor relations staff to unionize in December.

NYSUT is chalking up big organizing wins across the state thanks to the hard work of its network of union organizers. Over the past year, the statewide union has brought hundreds of public and private workers across New York into the union fold.

Security guard Denise Page-Hastings noted that despite providing years of dedicated service and having a roster of experienced law enforcement professionals, Patchogue Medford guards lack paid days off and fair compensation.

“I’m going into my 19th year. I started at $18 an hour and now I’m at $21.50. … I feel like they’re treating us like cheap labor.”

he NYSUT Representative Assembly heads back to New York City for the first time since 2017.

This year’s Local and Retiree Council Presidents Conference, held just before the convention, and RA schedules have both been expanded to allow more time to discuss the issues most important to our membership.

“The RA is our largest and most important governance meeting of the year, but it’s also a time to come together to celebrate our successes and have some fun with our extended union family,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person. “This year, we’re excited to provide a program that blends important union business with an array of entertaining activities for delegates.”

Delegates and alternates, representing their union colleagues from across the state, will gather in the Big Apple May 3–4 at the union’s annual policymaking convention.

Many Threads: Challenges of teaching Black history

he “Power of Education” is the theme of a February Black History Month Thought Leaders Forum moderated by J. Philippe Abraham, NYSUT secretary-treasurer. “We are challenging historical erasure by reclaiming Black history,” said Abraham in welcoming remarks. “History is not just a call to reflection, but a call to action.

Noting our nation’s tarnished history surrounding race, Abraham termed education “One of the most effective tools to create awareness and fight back against injustice.”

NYSUT President Melinda Person agreed. “Our nation is at a crucial moment, we’re confronted with a troubling trend that seeks to diminish, distort or outright erase Black history from our public school curriculum,” she said. “It not only undermines the significance of Black contributions to our nation but deprives our students of a comprehensive and truthful understanding of American history.”

The forum, part of NYSUT’s Many Threads, One Fabric social justice series, featured a slate of speakers who discussed the challenges educators of color face teaching Black history.

I am a 12-month, full-time bus driver, recently receiving my 25-year pin. This is the perfect job for me. In the beginning it allowed me flexibility, with having young children in school, and good pay and benefits. A little later on I was able to attend college in my off time between bus runs. I eventually decided this would be my lifelong career and moved up to full-time driving.

I am a driver at heart. I enjoy all the challenges I encounter while navigating my big bus up and around these mountains in every kind of weather in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Sometimes it really takes talent! I don’t even mind the traffic that I end up in multiple times a day. It is quite a confidence boost when parents feel at ease because they know that I am the bus driver who is transporting their children. It’s hard to find that type of pride in a job well done in most other industries. The kids are amazing.

How did you get involved in the union?

My mother was a school bus driver in the Wappingers Federation of Workers long before I was, so even before I was a union member, I carried a picket sign and handed out informational packets when they went without a contract. I learned early on the importance of being part of a union. Once I became a union member I would try to help as much as possible, mailing out postcards to every person I knew or my family, making sure they knew to vote no on the Constitutional Convention! I asked people to sign again in order to maintain our union when that awful Janus decision ruling was passed. Back in 2020, I was elected union secretary; in 2022, I was elected vice president of grievance and then appointed senior VP. This past March I was appointed union president when our president stepped down due to illness. I was elected president in November 2023. Being able to attend SRP conferences and workshops that NYSUT offers allows me to use what I learn to better help my members and to continue to keep our union strong. I thrive on union activity and try to make the most out of any cause that I can assist with — now it’s FIX TIER 6!

hen David Rich became president of the Corning Teachers Association in March 2022, he was immediately interested in bringing NYSUT’s Take a Look at Teaching program to his district.

The statewide, union-led initiative aims to develop a robust and diverse educator pipeline in New York, as state officials estimate districts may need up to 180,000 teachers in the next decade.

“It’s something within our grasp as educators that we can do to address staffing shortages,” Rich said.

This school year, Rich was able to get funding for the district’s inaugural TALAT course through NYSUT, which received a grant from the National Education Association to help local unions start Grow Your Own programs. And next fall, they will be adding a second TALAT course to the catalogue.

“I think it’s been a fantastic program and a way to connect with students,” Rich said. “We have so much talent here that we want to tap into and this allows us to plant the seeds early that a career in education is great — not just as a teacher, but as a school counselor, speech therapist, social worker, librarian. If NYSUT hadn’t put the resources out there, I probably wouldn’t have done the program so that’s been invaluable to me.”

hen English teacher Kelsey Francis read Demon Copperhead last winter, she was blown away. “It resonated so much for me. It reminded me of some of my former students.”

Francis, a member of the Saranac Lake Teachers Association, knew she wanted to share the book with colleagues, and she pitched the idea of forming a Demon Copperhead book club to a district administrator.

“I thought I would get a few English teachers and a librarian,” said Francis. Instead, 75 educators heeded the call. “I was astonished.”

Due to the idea’s immense popularity, the district used grant funds to purchase copies for all the book club participants. The educators read the novel over the summer and met to discuss it in the fall.

They had lots to talk about.

pecial education teacher Caitlin Gould is tired of people feeling sorry for her and her students. “When someone tells me, ‘Your job is so hard,’ I’m like ‘You have no idea,’” Gould said. “The truth is I feel so lucky. I can’t believe this is my job and that I get to come to this school every day and work with these kids. It is just so rewarding.”

Gould teaches at Shoreham-Wading River Senior High School. She and Matthew Millheiser lead RISE, a fully adaptive program designed to help students with severe disabilities reach independence through structured experiences.

“Our students face struggles every day of their life, more than we as teachers could ever understand,” said Millheiser. RISE students deal with physical limitations, communication issues, chronic health problems and cognitive deficits. “The world, especially high school, can be a difficult place for them.”

Together, Gould and Millheiser, both members of the Shoreham-Wading River Teachers Association, help their students master the practical skills they need to succeed in the real world and find joy there.

fter 23 years of teaching, Kenneth Buehner is feeling reenergized in his classroom and career with a new achievement added to his resume: National Board Certification.

“There’s been a lot of changes, particularly in the over 20 years since I started teaching in public education, and so it was a great opportunity to do some reassessing and research,” Buehner said. “It elevated the concept of being a teacher all over again.”

The years-long, painstaking process is no easy feat. Teachers must demonstrate a “deep understanding of their students, content knowledge, use of data and assessments and teaching practice” through video recordings, written commentary and student work samples submitted to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

“At times it was grueling,” Buehner said candidly. “But it’s worthwhile.”

hen Bethlehem Central Teachers Association member Carla Young found out she’d been named the 2023 New York State School Counselor of the year, she was skeptical. “I didn’t know I’d been nominated,” said Young, a Bethlehem Middle School counselor, whose name had been placed in the running by a group of co-workers. “When I got the email, I thought it was a scam.”

“Carla educates herself on challenges faced by students, school counselors, guardians and all other stakeholders,” wrote Douglas on the nomination form he submitted on behalf of Bethlehem’s K-12 counseling team. “[She] ensures the work remains student-centered at all times.”

Given by the New York State School Counselor Association, the School Counselor of the Year Award recognizes school counselors who lead within their profession and advocate for students by helping them address academic, social-emotional and career development needs. School counselors focus on prevention rather than reaction when it comes to student behaviors, and work with students more as educators than traditional counselors.

nionists stepped up in a big way when Retiree Council 10 decided to honor longtime activist Tony McCann with a NYSUT Legacy Fund award. Donations flowed in across the labor community, from individual RC 10 members to the Shenendehowa Teachers Association to the Troy Area Labor Council. Everyone who’d worked with McCann, learned from McCann or taught with McCann chipped in to honor the respected unionist and former longtime STA president and NYSUT Board member.

More than $2,500 — the largest NYSUT Legacy Fund donation ever — was collected in honor of the union stalwart. “Tony recognized everyone’s individual strengths and tried to promote them,” said Barbara McCarthy, RC 10 president. “His guidance and mentorship for nearly 50 years meant so much to so many.”

NYSUT Second Vice President Ron Gross presented McCann with the Legacy Fund Award at RC 10’s October meeting at headquarters where many admirers shared stories about his impact. “Tony McCann epitomizes the kind of member we had in mind when we created the NYSUT Legacy Fund,” said Gross. “His many years of dedicated service are an inspiration to us all.”

To honor an in-service or retiree activist from your area, visit nysut.org/legacyfund.

5 Questions for John and Jean Roccanova

In 2010, you founded Grow Against Poverty, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports schools and educators in Kenya. What inspired you to start this work?
Back in 2004, Jean and I read an article about schools in African nations that had over 100 students per class. We started sending donations through a Dutch non-profit to help those schools so they could, hopefully, reduce class sizes. Then we visited Kenya and saw the great need — for transportation, food for the school lunch program, computers and the level of unemployment in the local community. From there, our involvement just grew.

What programs does GAP provide for the Kenyan schools?
Grow Against Poverty currently provides for four programs: Prevent Period Poverty, which is offered at four all-girl high schools, builds bathrooms and provides students health education classes and feminine hygiene products; Green Fields has established organic gardens at 11 schools, growing food for school lunches and teaching kids about agriculture; Computers in Classrooms, through which we contract with an organization that collects and refurbishes old computers and ships them to Africa; and Pedal Power for Kenyan Education, a program that has provided over 380 bikes, helmets and safety vests to nine high schools to help students, many of whom live some distance away, get to school.

It’s What We Do

YSUT Member Benefits realizes the importance of making every dollar count and has employed the strength of a membership of nearly 700,000 to negotiate additional savings opportunities with many of our endorsed providers. As a result, NYSUT members can save up to 20 percent when purchasing our endorsed programs through payroll or pension deduction.

With payroll or pension deduction, you can enjoy the following:

• No more worrying about forgetting premium due dates or dealing with the inconvenience of writing and mailing out checks.
• Easier on your budget as annual premiums are divided into smaller payments and deducted from your paycheck or monthly pension benefit.
• Reduced fees and elimination of service fees for many programs.
• Benefit the environment by eliminating the printing and mailing of paper invoices.

Payroll or pension deduction is currently available for the following Member Benefits programs: Auto Insurance; Catastrophe Major Medical Insurance; Dental & Vision Plans (pension deduction only for vision plan); Disability Insurance (payroll deduction only); Financial Counseling Program; Home, Renter’s & Boat Insurance; Legal Service Plan; MetLife Long-Term Care Insurance; Personal Excess Liability Insurance; Purchasing Power (payroll deduction only); Term Life & Level Term Life Insurance; Universal Life with Convalescent Care; and WrapPlan® II Universal Life Insurance.

s a member of the New York State and Local Retirement System, which administers the Employees’ Retirement System, you have a retirement plan based on your tier (determined by your membership date) and job title. The publication associated with your retirement plan provides comprehensive information about your benefits.

• Sign in to Retirement Online: bit.ly/RO-sign-in
• Find your tier and benefit plan code, located in the ‘My Account Summary’ section of your Account Homepage.
• Go to our Find Your Retirement Plan Publication page: bit.ly/plan-publication
• Type in your benefit plan code (for most members, the code will be “A15”).
• Click the publication link for your ERS retirement plan and tier.

How service credit factors into your pension. Service credit is one of the main factors in determining your pension benefit amount. Find out how you earn service credit whether you work full-time or part-time, and how to purchase credit for previous public employment or military service.

How strong is the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System pension fund these days? Will it be there for me when I need it?

While life offers few guarantees, the strength of NYSTRS is one of the few things you don’t really need to worry about. NYSTRS’ 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report reaffirms that it’s one of the largest and best-funded public pension funds in the country with net assets totaling $137.2 billion and a total portfolio return of 9 percent net of fees for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. The benefits paid to system retirees and beneficiaries totaled $8.2 billion for the fiscal year — up from $8 billion for the previous fiscal year.