Communications Specialist Mike Lisi told UUP’s story—and won a prestigious international labor award in doing so.

The International Labor Communications Association (ILCA) Max Steinbock Award honors the best labor story written in the previous year. It is named after a longtime ILCA president.

Lisi’s winning entry, “Speaking up for SUNY” (January 2010), right, describes the impact that state budget cuts have had on students, parents, faculty and staff on SUNY campuses.

In all, UUP’s membership magazine The Voice and advertising campaign brought home four ILCA awards, including two first-place honors and one third-place finish. And in late July, the AFT Communicators Network (AFTCN) announced its list of communications award winners, and UUP won three first-place awards and one second-place award in the national competition.

“We are very proud of Mike for helping UUP spread the word that SUNY cannot withstand further cuts and still maintain its mission of offering a quality, affordable education for all New Yorkers,” said UUP?President Phil Smith. “Mike and the rest our award-winning Communications team have proven themselves time and again as outstanding writers, editors, producers and graphic artists.”

The union’s 30-second TV ad, “What do you say?” earned top honors for electronic media. The ad featured students, parents and business owners warning that state budget cuts to SUNY threaten quality and access, and put an undue burden on students and working families. The ad aired on broadcast and cable TV stations in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Long Island, New York City and Syracuse prior to the April 1 deadline for enactment of a new state budget. UUP?Director of Communications Denyce Duncan Lacy oversaw production of the ad campaign.

Also awarded in the annual competition were Media Relations Specialist Donald Feldstein and Publications Specialist Karen L. Mattison.

Feldstein earned a first-place award for Best News Story. “The work never stops: Professionals provide continuity at SUNY?campuses” (March 2010) told the of a dozen UUP members who work around the clock to keep the University running smoothly all year long. In the same category, Mattison picked up a third-place award for a November 2010 article on the “One Nation March” in Washington, D.C.

UUP earned top honors for Best News Article for the same piece that won Lisi the Steinbock award, and another first place for Best Profile for Lisi’s article “UUPer brings Grammy gold to Purchase” (February 2010).

The union also won first place for Best PR Activity for the 2010 TV and print ad campaign “What do you say?” and second place in that category for its “Don’t be Fooled by the Act” news-paper and billboard campaign opposing the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act. Both ads were edited and directed by Lacy.

— Karen L. Mattison

UUP members mark Labor Day

Labor Day, the annual national holiday to honor the contributions of the American worker, is being observed with activities by several UUP chapters.

The Oneonta Chapter is having its annual Labor Day luncheon and meeting. It features an open forum where members can ask about upcoming contract talks and the budget outlook for SUNY.

“The Labor Day program is a vehicle for recruiting new UUPers, energizing current members, sharing information, and increasing UUP’s visibility on campus and in the community,” Oneonta Chapter President Bill Simons said.

Also on Labor Day, UUPers from the Upstate Medical, Cortland and ESF chapters are set to march in the annual Labor Day parade at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. Downstate Medical Chapter members will also be on the march, taking part in the annual New York City Central Labor Council parade. The parade takes place Sept. 10—the Saturday following Labor Day—in midtown Manhattan.

— Donald Feldstein

AFT Secretary-Treasurer Cortese to retire

After more than four decades as a labor and education leader, AFT Secretary- Treasurer Antonia Cortese has retired.

“Toni’s fierce dedication on behalf of our members, her expertise on education issues, and her commitment to advancing children’s issues both here and abroad have laid a strong foundation for our union,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Her invaluable contributions will be greatly missed, but we wish her and her family the best in her well-earned retirement.”

Cortese—who was a NYSUT vice president from 1973 to 2004—first became involved in the union shortly after starting her career in Rome, N.Y., as a fourth- grade teacher and school social worker. She served as an AFT vice president from 1974 to 2004 and as executive vice president from 2004 to 2008, and has been in her current position since 2008.

NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi hailed Cortese as a trailblazer.

“Who we are as NYSUT is the direct result of the tireless work of NYSUT’s founding officers,” he said. “Toni blazed the trail and created the path we are all able to walk down as we chart a course forward. Her work for NYSUT and the AFT has set a high standard we can only hope to achieve.”

Take the AFL-CIO’s ‘Real or Not’ quiz

AFL-CIO leaders have come up with a unique way of letting people know the extent of anti-family, anti-worker legislation proposed by lawmakers around the country. They’ll quiz you.

Dubbed “Real or Not,” the eight-question quiz challenges visitors to www.realornotquiz.org to see if they can guess which bills have been proposed. The intro reads: “You’ve heard about the bald-faced attempts by state legislatures to eliminate collective bargaining, turn down job-creating funds from the federal government—while 25 million people are unemployed or underemployed—and empty public schools of teachers. We’re talking, as one governor eloquently put it, ‘bat-crap crazy.’ See if you can guess which loony legis-lation is real and which one we made up.”

Stick around until the end of the quiz to find out how to hold lawmakers accountable.

— Karen L. Mattison