UUP Cortland Chapter

Local Presidents,

On Saturday, January 21, 2017, hundreds of thousands of people will descend upon Washington, D.C. to attend the Women’s March on Washington. The Women’s March on Washington began as an organically growing groundswell the day after the 2017 election when a grandmother in Hawaii proposed to forty of her friends to go march in Washington, D.C.

2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the 1997 Million Women March, a mobilization which brought thousands of African American women together in Philadelphia for the social, political, and economic development to the black community.

It was out of respect for the 1997 Million Women March and in tribute to the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963 that the name was changed to the Women’s March on Washington. The original March on Washington – at which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech – set a precedent for hundreds of thousands of people of diverse backgrounds to gather in Washington, D.C. for the advancement of civil and human rights.

NYSUT will participate in the Women’s March on Washington, a position we embraced immediately upon learning that the coalition of the event’s organizers had secured the necessary permits for the event. As the organizers state: We will stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families — recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.

NYSUT members are strongly encouraged to be there for this important event. NYSUT has made arrangements to provide bus transportation to Washington, D.C. from several locations in New York State.

Agenda for the day will be as follows:

• 3:30 AM – Pickup NYSUT Syracuse Regional Office
• 4:15 AM – Pickup Route 81, Exit 11, McDonalds, Cortland
• 5:00 AM – Pickup Lowes, 1318 Front Street, Binghamton
• 10:00 AM – Arrive in Washington

Please note that times could change if information provided changes. The departure time from Washington is yet to be determined. Further information will be shared as we get it.

To reserve your seat on the bus, please e-mail Patty Flansburg at pflansbu@nysutmail.org with the following information:

• Name
• Pickup Location: Syracuse, Cortland or Binghamton
• Association Name
• Cell Phone Number for Bus Captain

The deadline to reserve a seat is Tuesday, January 17, 2017. A $75 refundable deposit for each seat is required. No-shows will not receive a refund. Please send your check to NYSUT, Central New York Regional Office, P.O. Box 247, East Syracuse, NY 13057. Seats are limited and are first come, first served.

Please share this with your members. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

In solidarity,

Catherine Farrell,

Regional Staff Director

NYSUT Southern Tier Regional Offices

Privatization. Vouchers. Charter schools. Intolerance. Bullying.

On January 19, join educators, parents and other public school supporters across the nation for a day of strong, solidarity events that will declare our intention to fight back against the Trump-DeVos agenda and to protect our public schools!

In solidarity,

Andrew Pallotta
NYSUT Executive Vice President

P.S.: Save the date — January 19 — to stand up, stand strong and stand together for our public schools!

From Fred Kowal and others you may have heard about the Professor Watchlist, a website that seeks to “expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”

This website poses a clear threat to academic freedom. Over the past century, such lists have been used to harass and intimidate faculty, and have a chilling effect on academic freedom and free speech.

WHAT ADDING YOUR NAME TO THIS OPEN LETTER DOES: Please join me in signing an open letter to Turning Point USA, the creators of the Watchlist, which asks them to add our names to their Watchlist because we decry their attempt to stifle academic freedom.  Let’s stand in solidarity with colleagues who have been singled out by this website: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/add-my-name-to-the-professor-watchlist?source=email&

Remember the old adage about the environment, “the solution to pollution is dilution”?  Well, that’s the strategy that AAUP has adopted to minimize the effects of this Professor Watchlist.  I’m game.

Dear Colleagues,

In the days since the election, UUP has recommitted to work that upholds the values we hold dear: access to affordable public higher education, affordable health care for all, and the protection of civil rights, women’s rights, social justice, tolerance and respect. We are committed to the fight against racism, hatred and hypocrisy. As part of our mobilization, and because it reflects our dedication to our principles, UUP has become an official Partner of the Women’s March on Washington scheduled for January 21, 2017!

While UUP is not organizing transportation for the March, we are facilitating your ability to find and purchase bus tickets. We are offering a $60 bus subsidy to the first 300 UUP members who register – go to www.uupinfo.org and click on Women’s March on Washington. As you register you will be directed to information about bus transportation from your region to Washington. Instructions about where and how to purchase transportation are included in that information.

We share the Mission and Vision of the March’s organizers as well as their Guiding Principles, both of which are attached to this email.

Please join me at the Women’s March on Washington on January 21!

In Solidarity,

Fred

The Tompkins County Workers’ Center and the Midstate Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, will hold the 33rd Annual Labor Day Picnic from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, September 5th, in Ithaca’s Stewart Park. This year’s picnic theme is “Labor Rights Are Civil Rights”. (Sign in on Facebook)
This year’s program will include the music of Black Lives Matter – Ithaca Organizer, Sammus, an Ithaca-based rap artist and producer; along with Featured Guest Speaker, and Black Lives Matter – Ithaca Organizer, Professor Russell Rickford, speaking on the links between economic justice and the Movement for Black Lives, as well as local activist folk singer, Colleen Kattau (Gringa Grooves from the Heart).

The picnic is free and everyone is invited. Everyone is asked to bring a dish to share and to enjoy the free burgers (meat and veggie), hot dogs, ice cream and beverages.

The annual awards have become a highlight of the Labor Day Picnic over the years, and this year will be no different. The Mother Jones and Joe Hill awards are presented to people for their activism, organizing, and sacrifice at work. The Friend of Labor award is presented to a member of the community who has spoken out publicly or taken action in support of working people. The notorious Goat of Labor goes to an especially egregious offender of workers’ rights and/or the value of labor to our common good.

Local human service agencies, Living Wage Employers, and other organizations are welcome to have organizing tables at the event (however, please contact in advance). For more information, contact the Workers’ Center at TCWRH@tcworkerscenter.org, 607-269-0409, or via the website, www.TCWorkersCenter.org

August 10, 2016

Dear UUP Member:

We are committed to communicating with the membership about contract negotiations–to the greatest extent possible–as negotiations proceed. This is your contract, and we want members to be informed, involved, and active throughout the process.

To facilitate this communication, we have created a new Members-Only web portal. Here is the link to the portal:

https://uuphost.org/myuup/MembersOnly/check.php. A link to the portal is also accessible via the UUP website; click on the “UUP Negotiations Information” box in the top right corner of the page.

Conceptual proposals from UUP and the state, exchanged July 15 during our first bargaining session with the State, are now posted in the new Members-Only section.

The Members-Only section is password-protected; use the last five digits of your employee ID as your unique password to enter the site. Your employee ID can be found in the center of your pay stub, listed as “NYS EMPLID”.

Please do not publically share or post information found in the Members-Only section; this information is confidential and intended for UUP members only.

In Solidarity,

Fred