As a union member, you are part of a community dedicated to each other and to making the world a better place. The union's collective strength supports you - and you strengthen the union through your activism and community service. NYSUT's democratic structure gives members a way to change the world for the better. As a grassroots activist, you can take part in local and statewide campaigns; advocate for and help elect quality candidates; shape legislation and policy; and advance the welfare of our communities.
The union is a powerful force for good. Whether you help with your union's community food drive... disaster relief and rebuilding... or a local mitten drive for children who have none, you're part of a union family dedicated to social justice.
NYSUT is a proud statewide leader in community and philanthropic causes, including walks to combat breast cancer and heart disease. In its inaugural year alone, NYSUT's First Book initiative provided more than 400,000 books - worth almost $5 million-dollars - to children in need.
"The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old age pensions, government relief for the destitute and, above all, new wage levels that meant not mere survival, but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome. When in the thirties the wave of union organization crested over our nation, it carried to secure shores not only itself but the whole society." - Martin Luther King Jr.