News

Union wins APPR reprieve

Gov. Kathy Hochul Friday signed a bill suspending, for an additional year, the Annual Professional Performance Review process. Advanced through grassroots advocacy from NYSUT members and lobbying by union legislative staff, the bill recently passed both the state Senate and the Assembly.

“As we come to the end of another school year that has been anything but normal, we welcome the governor’s decision to suspend the APPR process for another year,” said NYSUT President Andy Pallotta. “We will continue working with the legislature and the governor to address the APPR

RA 2022 celebrates 50 years, and plans for future

“We stand on the shoulders of giants!” said President Andy Pallotta in his address to more than 1,300 delegates as he kicked off the 50th annual NYSUT Representative Assembly at the Albany Capital Center. It was a weekend for delegates to celebrate the history and look to the future. Attendees acted on dozens of resolutions to set a course for action, including a move to support Ukraine in its struggle against the Russian invasion. Gov. Hochul, Comptroller DiNapoli, AG Tish James and more special guests inspired the gathering. Go to nysut.org/ra

Livestream program commemorates Black History Month

NYSUT’s Many Threads, One Fabric social justice initiative presented an online event this week to mark Black History Month. Hosted by Secretary-Treasurer Philippe Abraham, it focused on the unique struggles underrepresented groups face with regard to mental health and wellness in the United States. Other highlights included award presentations to BHM honorees, testimonials from NYSUT members and artistic expressions from students and community partners.

• You can still get a free BHM poster for your classroom from NYSUT.

Take action! Urge

The Westbury Teachers' Association held an appreciation breakfast for the unioon workers in the Westbury School District.  The WTA invited the sectretarial staff, nurses, security guards, custodial staff, teacher assistant and aids, and the food service workers to attend a breakfast at the local Applebees.  It was a great morning and well-attended by those invited, as well as some family members.  The members of the WTA served the Applebee's pancake breakfast with smiles and a true appreciation for all of the wonderful things these support staff members do for the teachers and the children of

Click Here for the Westbury Public School's Reentry Plan for the 2020-21 school year.

The Westbury Teachers Association in conjunction with NYSUT and First Book are haning out free books this Saturday, September19th, from 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. in the Westbury High School Cafeteria.

We knew this moment was coming.

Wealthy special interests have been fighting for years to undercut unions and roll back the benefits earned by working families. Today’s Supreme Court decision in Janus vs. AFSCME shows how far they are willing to go to attack working families. Anti-union forces think they can seize this opportunity to convince our members to abandon our union in an effort to diminish their voice in the workplace and weaken their strength at the bargaining table.

We are going to prove them wrong.

NYSUT fights to protect the collective bargaining rights that help secure higher

American public education desperately needs to be improved, especially for the most disadvantaged children. But eliminating teachers’ job security and due-process rights is not going to attract better educators — or do much to improve school quality.

Conventional wisdom holds that young people aren’t political or even civic-minded. The following post takes issue with this notion. It was written by Joseph Kahne, a professor of education at Mills College and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He chairs the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics. His work concerns the ways educational initiatives and participation with digital media can influence the quality, quantity, and equality of youth civic and political participation.