William E. Scheuerman

For 14 years, William E. Scheuerman has been the voice and face of UUP — representing union members at legislative hearings, on picket lines, behind microphones and megaphones. Even behind bars. That fearless spirit helps explain why Scheuerman decided to accept a new challenge: serving as president of the National Labor College (NLC) in Silver Spring, Md.

“The world has changed,” Scheuerman said. “Fifty years ago when you went to places like the Midwest, you saw industry; wealth was produced by muscle power. In today’s economy, brainpower has replaced muscle power,” he added. “Workers need intellectual skills to compete in a knowledge-based society to get a chunk of that economy. That’s why the National Labor College is so important for working people and for the labor movement.”

Scheuerman’s appointment was announced Nov. 26 by AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney, chair of the National Labor College Board of Trustees.

“The National Labor College has come a long way in the last 10 years and we sought a presidential candidate who could continue our progress and lead the college to new heights,” said Sweeney. “In Bill Scheuerman we have a man of scholarly achievement and union integrity and leadership. I look forward to working closely with Bill as he takes the reins of this great institution of higher learning for working people — the college of the labor movement.”

Cuffed for a cause

Scheuerman — who stepped down as president of UUP Nov. 30 to lead the National Labor College — says one of his most memorable experiences as a union leader came in August 2005 when he was arrested for defending the organizing rights of New York University graduate students. As a vice president for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Scheuerman was asked to represent the union at the graduate students’ rally. When it came time to put up or shut up, Scheuerman and a handful of other union leaders were cuffed and carted off to the police station.

“During the demonstration we sat down on the sidewalk in front of the Bobst Library, and ignored the policemen’s order’s to leave the area,” Scheuerman recalled. “So they picked us up, put our hands behind our backs and handcuffed us, and sent us away in a paddy wagon. There’s nothing pleasant about getting arrested, but we were there to make a point, and the point was that workers ought to have the right to organize and bargain collectively.”

Scheuerman has been involved in UUP leadership positions since 1978.

Prior to winning election as UUP president in 1993, he served for five years as the union’s statewide vice president for academics. Before holding that leadership post, Scheuerman served as chief negotiator for the union’s 1988-1991 contract agreement.

But Scheuerman’s involvement in unionism and higher education has extended beyond UUP. Gov. Eliot Spitzer appointed him to serve as member of his Commission on Higher Education, to help shape the future course of higher education in New York. He served as vice chair of the New York State Public Higher Education Conference Board. He also served on AFT’s Executive Committee and Executive Council, and chaired AFT’s Higher Education Program and Policy Council, the policymaking body for the AFT’s 150,000-plus higher education members. Scheuerman was also a member of the NYSUT Executive Board and chaired NYSUT’s Higher Ed Committee.

Scheuerman’s leadership skills and activism have earned him accolades from fellow unionists.

“Bill Scheuerman has been instrumental to the continued growth and success of our union, and AFT members across the nation have benefited tremendously from his leadership,” said AFT President Edward McElroy. “We look forward to his accomplishments at the National Labor College and are pleased that he will remain a part of our union family.”

“Bill Scheuerman brings to the Labor College the unique perspective of a scholar, author and union leader,” NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi added. “It is this same perspective that helped him build UUP into the largest and one of the most respected higher education unions in the nation. On behalf of the NYSUT leadership, I wish him all the best and look forward to working with him in this new capacity.”

Scheuerman spent his 14-year presidency building on the strong foundation laid by his predecessors. Under his leadership, UUP has grown in numbers, and in its political clout.

The respect Scheuerman merits was evident during a recent farewell gathering in Albany. Dozens of friends, family members, union and University colleagues, and a past UUP president all braved the first winter storm of the season to honor Scheuerman for his years of leadership and service to the union.

UUP Treasurer Rowena Blackman-Stroud of Brooklyn HSC presented Scheuerman with a framed letter of appreciation from her chapter. Calling Scheuerman an effective and steadfast leader, the letter systematically spelled out the many times Scheuerman and UUP went to bat for the members.

“Year after year, our jobs have been threatened by the state’s attempts to privatize the SUNY hospitals — most recently through the creation of the Berger Commission, which proved to be the most serious threat of all,” the letter states. “Due to your willingness to fight all of these battles, and to your political acumen, UUP has been able to win all of the privatization wars and protect our members’ job. For this alone we owe you many thanks.”

The Governing Board of Brooklyn HSC also praised Scheuerman for staving off the state’s plan to contract out University jobs; achieving pension equity through legislation; raising minimum salaries for hospital GFT physicians; and for preventing layoffs during lean budget years.

“We are grateful to you for being steadfast on our behalf, on so many issues that affected our working lives, during your time in office.”

A half dozen other union and government officials also made speeches during the event, including NYSUT President Iannuzzi; former UUP president Nuala Drescher of Buffalo State; retired GOER assistant director Christopher Eatz; SUNY Vice Chancellor for Employee Relations Raymond Haines; Scheuerman’s wife, Louise; and longtime friend and colleague Thomas Kriger.

Under Scheuerman’s stewardship, UUP has taken the lead in advocating for myriad concerns, including academic freedom, quality public higher education, better funding, access for students of all economic groups, more full-time faculty, and improved working conditions for part-time faculty.

An articulate and passionate speaker, he was equally at ease behind a podium as he was in a legislator’s office, and has proven to be a rare voice of reason in discussions on how to keep SUNY among the nation’s preeminent state university systems.

Scheuerman’s union, academic and personal achievements have made him an exemplary representative of the women and men who make up UUP. A professor of political science at SUNY Oswego from 1978 to 2007, Scheuerman is a renowned scholar on political science, sociology, labor studies and economics. He has written two books — The Steel Crisis, in 1986, and Private Interests, Public Spending with Sid Plotkin, in 1994, which studies the political origins of the fiscal crisis and organized labor’s response.

And, for one final time, The Voice gives Scheuerman the last word: “I leave my colleagues at UUP with mixed emotions because working together, UUP has become an extraordinarily successful higher education union. At the same time, I look forward with great enthusiasm to tackling the many challenges facing the national labor movement, and to working with John Sweeney to strengthen and grow organized labor by educating the next generation of unionists.”

— Denyce Duncan Lacy