UUP Cortland Chapter

John Shirley – 35 Years

Take another small action to help UUP secure a fair contract!

During our Day of Action on March 1st, our chapter began collecting “postcards” to send to Chancellor Johnson, demanding that SUNY respect UUP. In mid April, UUP statewide leaders will deliver to SUNY Administration many thousands of postcards collected from campuses across the state.

Hundreds of you signed these outsized postcards on March 1st, our day of action. Anyone who supports our union can still sign a card: your family members, friends, neighbors, students . . . SUNY needs to hear from taxpayers and other New York residents who believe that the members of our union deserve a fair contract. We contribute a lot to our community’s economy and well being. Now we’re asking our allies to acknowledge their support for our union’s reasonable contract proposals.

Postcards are available from your area activist or from the chapter office in Moffett B-05. The chapter office is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you can’t get over to the office in that timeframe, let us know and we’ll deliver cards to you.

Postcards should be returned to the chapter office by 4 p.m. on Friday, April 6th.  If no one is present in the office when you stop by, you may push the cards under the door.

UUP Cortland chapter leaders thank our wonderful members who answered the call to action Thursday, March 1. At every campus across the state, UUP members urged SUNY to agree to a fair contract, and Cortland members played their part in getting that message across. Check out the Twitter postings and the news story at

 https://twitter.com/search?q=%23respectuup&src=typd

 http://uupinfo.org/communications/uupdate/2018/180301.php.

At both entrances to the campus, morning, noon, and late afternoon demonstrations drew attention and positive responses from passerby on foot and in vehicles. Dozens of handmade signs created by our members on Tuesday during the Union Matters meeting gave voice to our grassroots demand that SUNY treat us with respect and give us a contract now.  Professional staff, faculty, and students took a moment out of their busy day to contribute their names to hundreds of individually signed postcards that have been taken to Albany for delivery to SUNY Administration.  Media coverage included local newspapers, television, and radio.

Our members ROCK! We want to hear your story about the Day of Action. Please reply to our message with a sentence that we can print in our next newsletter issue.

We demand RESPECT from SUNY. Respecting us
is a prerequisite for respecting our students, because
our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions.
http://uupinfo.org/communications/audio/ArethaFranklinRespect.mp3

Join our demonstration tomorrow.
7:45-8:45 a.m.
12:30-1:30 p.m.
3:45-4:45 pm.

Locations:
Corner of Graham Ave. & Gerhart Dr. next to Miller Building;
Corner of Broadway Ave. & Pashley Dr. next to Whitaker.

Stop by for any length of time.
Bring a friend. Take pictures to post.
Use the hashtag #RespectUUP.
Pick up a postcard to send to the chancellor.
Feel good about standing up for a fair contract.

Thanks to all who created handmade signs for us to carry.
Thanks to all who have promised to take part tomorrow.
You can still sign up if you want us to know you’ll be there:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7XPMLNR

Anne Wiegard at 607-351-1404 or anne.wiegard@newfacultymajority.info.
Bekkie Bryan at rbryan@uupmail.org.
Joe Westbrook at jrpwestbrook@yahoo.com.
Dan Harms at danharms@earthlink.net.
Jen Drake at jenduup@gmail.com.

Do not forward this message to a .edu email address or duplicate it using campus equipment.

Join UUP in New York City on Saturday, Feb. 24 to show our solidarity and stand up against Janus v. AFSCME, a case that threatens our ability to come together as a strong union. Book a roundtrip seat on a union bus from Syracuse.

The Working People’s Day of Action rally is an urgent call for change and occurs only two days before the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Janus. The corporate CEOs and wealthy special interest groups that filed this case are deliberately trying to tilt the power away from the working class. It’s up to us to fight back!

Please register using this link and spread the word on your campus to join us at the Working People’s Day of Action on Feb. 24 at Foley Square, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.:  https://goo.gl/forms/1IuxxpCmE48Cxur52

Travel expenses will not be reimbursed for this event, but seats for UUP members on CSEA buses from our area are still available. There are 20 seats left! CSEA will run roundtrip buses to NYC, with pickup details to be announced. There will be NO COST for union members to participate. The bus will leave from the CSEA Region 5 office: 6595 Kirkville Rd, East Syracuse. We plan to depart at 5 a.m. and return in the evening.

To reserve your spot on the CSEA bus, please RSVP with CSEA Region Political Coordinator Josh Schick at (315) 433-0050.

Attached please find a flier promoting a free screening of the documentary, “Backpack Full of Cash”.  This screening event is scheduled on Thursday, February 8, at the Cinemapolis, 120 East Green Street, Ithaca.  NYSUT members, family, friends, and community members are welcome to attend.  Please contact NYSUT Political Action Coordinators Dave Ritchie should you have any questions.  His contact information is listed on the flier.

Cortland UUP chapter Treasurer Kevin Pristash reports that our members have generously contributed $180 to the Operation Agua campaign, an effort led by a partnership composed of non-profit organizations that include AFT, AFSME, the Seafarers International Union, the Hispanic Federation, and TOTE Maritime.

“To date, Operation Agua has raised $1.5 million—halfway to its initial goal—to purchase and distribute 100,000 individual water filtration systems for households and classrooms, and to install large-capacity clean-water devices to a network of nonprofit organizations, union offices, schools and other community-based groups to provide stable and reliable sources of safe water.” (AFT Media Affairs Press Release, Dec. 21, 2017)

The money our chapter raised will purchase six of the $30 water purification devices that are being provided to classrooms or to families for home use. For more information about Operation Agua, please visit this link:

https://www.aft.org/operation-agua/about.