BSCTA Shines at NYSUT Representative Assembly
Darlene Darch - President
NYSUT’s annual Representative Assembly (RA) was held in New York City this year
April 8th – 12th. This convention is held each year to
attend to NYSUT business, discuss and vote on resolutions and amendments, and to
hear what is happening around the state. During the local president’s assembly,
we had an opportunity to meet with the NYSUT leaders to discuss concerns.
School funding and No Child Left Behind were top concerns around the state.
Attendees also had an opportunity to hear a variety of speakers, including
Governor Paterson, Senator Chuck Schumer, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, State
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, and State Education Commissioner Richard Mills
share their ideas and concerns on public education in New York State and across
the nation.
This
convention is also an opportunity for NYSUT to recognize the hard work and
accomplishments of members and locals throughout the state. I am always very
proud to represent the BSCTA, but this year we really did shine. Among our
accomplishments were:
Life Line Honor Award
Thomas Cruickshank (MGC) was
awarded NYSUT's Lifeline Award for taking action to save a life.
He was one of only 3 NYSUT members state wide to receive this honor. Along with
the award, Tom’s name will be added to a plaque in NYSUT’s Suffolk Office
listing all Suffolk members who have received the award over the years.
Community Service Awards
Local
Community Service Award
NYSUT created a Local Community
Service Award to recognize a local's collective and sustained contribution to
community service. I was extremely proud to accept this award for the fourth
year in a row on behalf of all of our members who tirelessly help out and give
back to our community.
Journalism
Awards
The
BSCTA was a big winner at the Journalism Awards, earning awards in the following
journalism competition categories:
"The Answer"
Our
monthly newsletter was once again was a winner! It earned two awards:
-
"Award of Merit for New Member Issues," for an
article written by Shelley Borman on our mentor program.
-
"First Award" in the category of "Best Front Page
or Cover" for our June 2007 cover highlighting our retiring colleagues.
VOTE-COPE
Albert Shanker Award
Your statewide union has
a fundraising arm called VOTE-COPE. VOTE-COPE is NYSUT's non-partisan political
action fund that coordinates the voluntary contributions of members and supports
NYSUT-endorsed candidates and campaign committees that are pro-public education
and pro-labor. The single largest category of VOTE-COPE expenditures is in the
form of rebates to local unions to be used in local activities such as school
board races and for passage of school budgets.
Locals who ran successful
Vote-Cope campaigns were also recognized, and Bay Shore took the top honor with
the Albert Shanker Award, the highest award presented. The BSCTA is among the
highest contributors to Vote-Cope in the state. We are the second highest
contributor in Suffolk County, with only East Islip contributing more.
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