UUP Cortland Chapter

Hi folks!

At our monthly Labor Committee meeting several weeks ago, I mentioned that the Tompkins Workers’ Center is the recipient of some grant $’s from the NYS Dept of Labor to conduct Occupational Safety and Health Trainings: ‘Your Right to Know’ BY THE END of March, as conducted by the TCWCs Carlos Gutierrez and Rob Brown. People on the Labor Committee seemed receptive, so am sending a link to a Doodle Poll so we can determine WHEN would be the best time to do this.

Here’s the link to the Doodle poll: https://doodle.com/poll/p5gph4g2vp2hfhbk

The training would be from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on one of the days you’ll see on the poll; food and beverages would be provided AS WELL as a $20 debit card for each person who participates!! Please note that this training would ALSO be available to anyone in your bargaining unit or other labor organization, and think of it as an opportunity to expose some of your peeps to what we’re building locally. (The more the merrier!)

In solidarity
Pete Meyers for the Tompkins County Workers’ Center

Hello United University Professional:

First, I’d like to wish you a happy new year and to thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and continued support!

As you know, March 2nd UUP, SUNY SA NYSUT, PSC and NYPIRG are rallying together to take on Albany, NY in the fight for affordable higher education!

I’m reaching out to you today to ask to visit your class sections  with an informative presentation on the state of higher education access and affordability in New York and to extend an invitation for students to join NYPIRG’s Higher Education Action  Day in Albany, NY on March 2nd

This is an opportunity for your students to visit New York’s Capitol, meet directly with legislators, discuss the importance of higher education affordability and to gain valuable experience in citizen lobbying and government.

My presentation runs about 5 minutes.
Please let me know when and where your classes meet and when it will work for me to visit.

Also, feel free to pass this message on to any colleagues that may be interested in inviting a NYPIRG representative to their classes to speak or please let me know if you have any colleagues in mind that I might reach out to directly.

Thanks and best,

Skylin Baestlein

New York Public Interest Research Group

Campus Project Coordinator: SUNY Cortland

sbaestlein@nypirg.org

518-929-8899

DETAILS: Free Day Trip, THURSDAY MARCH 2ND

Transportation & Lunch Provided.

The trip is on a Thursday if anyone needs to miss class I have a letter for professors and I can also meet with professors directly if necessary.

In Albany: we will meet with legislators and tell them exactly why Higher Education needs to be fully funded. ALL ARE WELCOME (Faculty, Staff, Grads & Undergrads!) The Bus will leave Early March 2nd in the morning from Corey Union!

—

Today the ACLU took its first legal action against the Trump Administration.

Why? Donald J. Trump is poised to become the 45th President of the United States without fully answering questions about his looming conflicts of interest. His ethical and financial conflicts threaten to undermine the public’s confidence in fair government – and even our national security.

The ACLU is demanding access to key documents concerning Trump’s conflicts of interest. The public has a right to know – and we need your help to make sure we get the full story.

On behalf of the American public, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Office of Government Ethics and three other government offices. FOIA is a crucial tool for ordinary Americans to provide checks and balances on elected officials – this won’t be our last one.

Don’t forget: the American president is accountable to us – and it’s our job to hold him accountable. Obtaining information on Trump’s actual or potential conflicts of interest is critical for a functioning democracy – and insisting on this kind of oversight is how we keep presidential power in check.

This demand is just a first step to keep President Trump’s administration transparent and accountable. Let’s make it clear that we need answers now.

Add your name and insist on the public’s right to see these documents.

Thanks for doing your civic duty,
Anthony for the ACLU Action team DONATE NOW >>

American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004, USA

Time is running out to apply for the 2017 AFL-CIO Union Plus Scholarship, which offers awards of $500 to $4,000 to help union members and their children pay for college. Current and retired members, their spouses and dependent children are eligible to apply. The scholarships are open to both undergraduate and graduate students.

The Union Plus Scholarship Program has awarded more than $4 million to students of union families since 1992.

Click here (https://www.unionplus.org/college-education-financing/union-plus-scholarship?autologin=true&s_src=scholarship&s_subsrc=redcpcg_scholarship&cr=UPSchol-2014UPSchol&gclid=CPeMq6yEuNECFRCHswodso8F6g) for more information and an application.

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