Saying Judith Wishnia is any less active in retirement is like saying Moby Dick was a guppy.

Sure, Wishnia is no longer “active” as an associate professor of social sciences at SUNY Stony Brook, but her tireless devotion to unionism as statewide chair of the Committee on Active Retired Membership (COARM) has certainly kept her busy. So have her roles as the sole retiree delegate to UUP Delegate Assemblies and as a nonvoting member of the statewide Executive Board. There’s also her work with UUP’s state and national affiliates: She is a delegate to NYSUT Representative Assemblies and AFT conventions, and serves on several affiliate committees dealing with retiree, women and social justice issues.

It is Wishnia’s unwavering commitment to her peers and to the SUNY system in which she taught for nearly 30 years that prompted COARM to name her Outstanding UUP Active Retiree for 2007. The annual award recognizes UUP retiree members who render outstanding volunteer service to the community and who provide exemplary service to UUP and SUNY after retirement.

“How wonderful it is that a longtime activist like Judy is getting the recognition she deserves,” said UUP President William Scheuerman. “She’s doing a terrific job with our retirees and it’s a pleasure to work with her.”

Wishnia, who retired in December 2000, has earned other UUP honors for her service. In 1994, she earned the union’s Nina Mitchell Award for Distinguished Service, standing alongside former President John M. Reilly and Anne Marie Behling of Cobleskill in accepting the union’s most coveted honor. She also received a New York State/UUP Excellence Award.

Wishnia has been able to merge her passion for social justice and the labor movement by being an outspoken advocate for retiree and women’s issues. She helped to organize the Women’s Rights Committee of AFT, initiate the women’s studies program on her campus, and develop the statewide Women’s Studies Council. She also co-chaired the Chancellor’s Committee on Women’s Studies under former SUNY Chancellor Clifton Wharton and helped to organize UUP’s statewide Women’s Rights Committee, on which she served.

In addition to her ongoing service to UUP, NYSUT and AFT, Wishnia is also a member of the Association for Retired Americans, where she has been an outspoken opponent of privatizing Social Security and a proponent of a single-payer national health insurance plan.

“Our chapter at Stony Brook has indeed been fortunate to have had the many years of experience that Judy has brought to our Executive Board and various committees,” said Chapter President John Schmidt. “Her commitment to UUP and all of our members is a model of solidarity and the forward progress of the labor movement.”

— Karen L. Mattison