Summer Bytes

NYSUT, AAUP agree to joint organizing effort

UUP's state affiliate, NYSUT, and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) have agreed to jointly organize college faculty in New York state.

Under the new agreement, the two organizations will combine forces to try to organize faculty after assessing specific colleges that would benefit from the joint effort. NYSUT and AAUP would provide resources -- including funding, staff and leadership expertise, to all aspects of the campaign.

AAUP, with more than 45,000 members at colleges and universities throughout the U.S., is a professional association representing the interests of higher education faculty. It also assists chapters that choose to serve as the collective bargaining agents for their academic and professional faculty.

The new joint organizing agreement expands on the organizations' existing cooperative efforts in New York. UUP and AAUP established a partnership last year, working together on issues pertaining to academic freedom and shared governance. AAUP's New York State Conference is made up of 50 chapters on public and private campuses. It has 5,400 members, including 1,000 UUPers. The Professional Staff Congress at the City University of New York has had a relationship with AAUP for several years.

NYSUT and AAUP have piloted their working alliance by engaging in two ongoing joint organizing ventures at Manhattanville College and Manhattan College.

"With the AAUP as our partner, we're excited at the prospect of making collective bargaining a realistic option for increasing numbers of faculty in our state," said NYSUT President Thomas Hobart.

Weisman honored as 'nurse of excellence'

UUP activist Doris Weisman has been named the "2001 Nurse of Excellence" by her employer, Stony Brook HSC. Weisman is currently a nurse practitioner in gynecology and cytology and an assistant director of nursing at the health science center.

"I am deeply honored," said Weisman. "My commitment to women's health advocacy could only have been realized in an institution dedicated to excellent and total care for all patients."

In announcing the award, the administration said: "Ms. Weisman has earned the respect and admiration of all who come in contact with her -- patients, staff and administration. She has been a leader in initiating many programs, particularly in the areas of women's health, and is a positive role model for all Stony Brook nurses."

Throughout her career, Weisman has been an outspoken champion for women's health issues, especially in the areas of cancer, prevention and community outreach. She regularly presents health programs to UUP members at Delegate Assemblies through her membership on the Women's Rights and Concerns Committee.

AFT-NEA agree to partnership

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), UUP's national affiliate, and the National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the U.S., have agreed to a historic partnership that will advance the common interests of their members.

The agreement -- called the NEAFT Partnership -- provides a structure for regular and focused cooperation between the two unions by creating a joint council with 15 representatives from each organization. UUP President William Scheuerman, an AFT vice president, will be one of the AFT's representatives.

The joint council will determine the activities on which the two organizations should work together. It is expected to consider conferences on topics of common interest and coordinate legal and legislative actions.

The NEA, which approved the partnership agreement at its July convention, has 2.6 million members. The AFT Executive Committee, of which Scheuerman is also a member, approved the agreement in July. The AFT has more than 1 million members.

Labor leaders ratify New Alliance initiative

New York state labor leaders have ratified the New Alliance initiative, designed to strengthen and define the priorities of the organized labor movement in the state.

Nationally, the AFL-CIO has set an ambitious goal of organizing 1 million workers each year. Under the New Alliance, New York's annual share of that goal is 130,000 new members.

The initiative means the historic reorganization of the state's 25 central labor councils into five area labor federations that stretch from the lower Hudson Valley west to Buffalo. Central labor councils in other parts of the state will remain as is: New York City, Long Island, Westchester-Putnam, Northeast, Jefferson/Lewis, and Central New York.

Area labor federation (AFL) governing boards will stress inclusion of affiliates and sectors and the advancement of diversity. Each AFL board will be charged with hiring staff and developing program priorities. They will each coordinate, oversee and fund the work of the labor movement in their jurisdiction.

NYSUT President Thomas Hobart was a member of the committee that drafted the New Alliance. New York was the first state in the nation to ratify the initiative.