NY-Sen: NYSUT, ACORN PAC Endorse Gillibrand

by: robert.harding

Tue Jun 16, 2009 at 10:34:02 AM EDT

The New York State United Teachers announced that they have endorsed Gillibrand for Senate.

"Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand understands that rebuilding the economy begins with investments in education," said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. "She is working tirelessly and effectively with President Obama and Sen. Schumer to save jobs for working families, keep teachers in the classroom and grow the state's economy. She has a sterling track record of commitment to strengthening education and health care, and will be the leader we need to ensure New York students have access to quality public education from pre-school through college. She's an effective voice who will help New York get through these challenging times and be well-positioned going into the future."

"Sen. Gillibrand shares our vision and is proving herself to be a strong leader in Washington," added NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan B. Lubin. "New York students deserve every educational opportunity to succeed. And, Kirsten is fighting to make sure they get it. We're proud to have her as a partner in this effort."

Randi Weingarten, President of the national American Federation of Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, noted that, "NYSUT's endorsement is recognition that in just five months on the job, Kirsten Gillibrand has already shown us what kind of senator she is. She is fighting hard each and every day to build a brighter future for every New York student. Kirsten is the advocate we need to deliver for New York schools."

Gillibrand's campaign announced today that she has been endorsed by ACORN's Political Action Committee (PAC).

"With Kirsten, we know we have a leader who will always fight for those who have been pushed to the brink in this economic crisis," said Bertha Lewis, CEO and Chief Organizer of ACORN. "Kirsten is fighting to stem the tide of foreclosures to keep New York families in their homes, fighting for pay check fairness and better wages for every New York worker." Said Pat Boone, President of New York ACORN. "She's a strong voice for New York children -- making sure they've got the health care they need and every educational opportunity for a bright future," said Valerie Holder, Chair of APAC.

Ms. Lewis oversees the operations of ACORNs 400,000 strong membership, which is active in over 110 cities nationwide. A 16 year veteran of the organization, Ms. Lewis was most recently the Executive Director of ACORNs New York affiliate and is a founding Co-Chair of the New York Working Families Party.

"I am honored to have the endorsement of ACORN and proud to partner with them on an agenda aimed at helping those New Yorkers that are struggling in this difficult economy," said Senator Gillibrand. "Under ACORN's leadership, thousands of community organizers across New York and across the country are organizing block by block to help build an economy that works for all our workers. I am proud to partner with them to create good-paying jobs and provide affordable health care to all Americans."

The NYSUT endorsement is key in terms of education. Having the NYSUT endorsement shows that Gillibrand is committed to improving the education of New York's youth. That should be a top priority and Gillibrand has made it a priority.

Being backed by ACORN also shows that Gillibrand has key social justice backing. With the economy in rough shape, having someone still fighting for the poor and middle-class citizens of New York is important. Gillibrand has been doing that and will continue to do that.

ON THE WEB:

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's Campaign Website

Conversations With Kirsten

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's U.S. Senate Website

NYSUT Says That 97.2 Percent Of School Districts Passed Budgets

by: robert.harding

Wed May 20, 2009 at 10:33:02 AM EDT

According to the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), 97.2 percent of New York's 547 public school districts passed their budgets. That figure is based on NYSUT's own estimates and reviews of budgets from across the state.

As of 9 a.m., NYSUT's unofficial count showed voters in 547 school districts passed their budgets. In 16 districts, voters rejected their school boards' plans for how resources will be allocated for students and schools in the 2009-10 school year. The NYSUT count includes about percent of the state's school districts. If the percentages hold as the final counting is completed, the 97.2 percent 'pass rate' would top the record 95.3 percent of budgets passing in 2007.          

"Even in these tough economic times, we see that voters recognize the importance of supporting their local schools," said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. "By voting 'yes,' New Yorkers are saying they understand that as our economy turns around, students must be ready."

Iannuzzi said that by adopting local budgets, voters are showing confidence in the ability of schools to turn out skilled graduates who "can and should be the mainstays of a strong work force" to fill high-tech jobs created, for example, in GE's new battery research plant in Niskayuna; Advanced Micro Devices' multi-billion-dollar chip plant in Saratoga County; and the new solar project recently announced for Long Island.

Iannuzzi did credit the federal stimulus package and the education funds included in the package as a reason why so many budgets passed.

Iannuzzi said this year's high passage rate is due, in large measure, to the federal stimulus package, which invested some $1.25 billion this year in public schools.  The stimulus package enabled the governor and state Legislature to erase proposed state budget cuts and provide a small increase in funding. In addition, Iannuzzi said, many school boards put forward conservative budgets, resulting in the lowest spending and property tax increases in recent memory. Property Tax Report Cards revealed that statewide spending increases averaged 2.35 percent, while property tax levies edged up 1.89 percent.

I find it comforting that so many school budgets passed even with such disdain for government and anti-tax types railing against the state and public institutions. Having 97.2 percent of budgets being passed by voters signals that voters still do have confidence in the education system and believe that making investments in education through their tax dollars is still a worthy investment, no matter how low or high that investment is.

Interview With NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi

by: robert.harding

Mon Apr 06, 2009 at 09:24:00 AM EDT

The annual New York State United Teachers convention has concluded in Buffalo and no one could be happier about the convention than NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi.

Iannuzzi was named president of NYSUT in April 2005 and also serves as vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and holds the same title with the New York State AFL-CIO.

(Pictured, at left, is Richard Iannuzzi speaking before the NYSUT Convention in Buffalo.)

Being a teacher is something Iannuzzi knows plenty about. It is why he is the best man to serve as president of such a diverse union that includes 600,000 members statewide. For 34 years, Iannuzzi was an elementary school teacher in Central Islip, where he spent 20 of those years teaching fourth grade. It was during his teaching career that he was very involved in teachers' unions, including his service as vice president of the Central Islip Teachers Association starting in 1976 to 1996 before becoming president of that organization from 1996 to 2004.

While at the convention, I caught up with Iannuzzi and had a chance to ask him a few questions about how he thought the convention went, why NYSUT decided on a social justice theme for the convention and his thoughts on the budget impact on teachers.

QUESTION: How was your experience in Buffalo and how do you think the convention went?

IANNUZZI: I'll start with the city of Buffalo and the wonderful mayor (Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown) and the convention bureau (the Buffalo-Niagara Convention Center and Visitors Bureau) they have done more to make us feel at home than any convention site I have ever been at. It's been a great city and a great convention bureau and our hope is that we will be able to be back. That's our goal.

As far as the Representative Assembly goes, I'm excited about it. I feel good now that we are done with it. That we achieved our goals and that the delegates went home inspired and satisfied that they had a good convention. That Woody Guthrie quote does it for me, which is our goal is to make sure that these officers get their job done. If we can help them get their job done, then we've gotten our job done.

Q: There is a debate brewing in school districts across the state about how the state budget and federal stimulus package will impact teachers. Some school districts are proposing cuts, layoffs and so forth to address budget problems. What is your take on that?

IANNUZZI: At the end of the day, when a school district puts its budget forward, it needs to, as always, think about its federal support, state support and its local property tax support. We always understand that and appreciate that.

What's different this year is that the federal stimulus money was clearly designed and directed to save and preserve jobs. Where any school district is not applying those dollars directly for that purpose, our commitment is to aggressively pursue those responsible for that misappropriation and to be sure things get done correctly. We know the Governor's office understands that. We know that the state Education Department understands that.

My last comment on that is to the people that live in those communities and the message is that if your school board is foolishly misappropriating those funds, the result is going to be the potential of losing the funds and property taxes going up even higher.

On behalf of both the community and my members and the kids, our goal will be to be sure those dollars the way they were designed to be spent. And if they are spent that way, what will happen is that teachers will be in classrooms, good things will continue to happen and our hope is that the standards that are raised, the achievement gap is addressed and potentially, we will be able to create the trained and well educated workforce that will grow the economy in the state, especially upstate, in ways that will make it self-sufficient and able to carry it on with their own dollars instead of dollars generated by new business and new industry.

Q: I was impressed by the social justice themes today and that is really impressive that NYSUT has been engaged in that. Talk a little bit about that and what the motives are behind making the union social justice minded.

IANNUZZI: I think if you go back to the birth of the union movement, it really was about providing an opportunity for collective action in ways that the voice of those who were voiceless could be heard. And that's really how unions started and how unions have grown.

Perhaps there is a period of time, it could be argued, where unions, in general, have concentrated on so many other issues that they haven't been able to concentrate on social justice. But our view of social justice is that now that we have begun to move forward in respect to our ability to move workers further and further into the middle class, we still have an obligation to be sure that our lowest wage earning workers get a living wage, that we protect their health insurance and their nutrition.

We believe that our responsibility as a union expands beyond our members. It expands to other workers and that we ought to be sure that it expands to those we serve, whether we are talking about children, patients or the public.

In his biography posted on the NYSUT website, there is this quote from Iannuzzi, which certainly could best sum up Iannuzzi's view of what he hopes to do as a union and as president of that union.

"Whether we work in health care, on a campus or in a school - whether we are in-service or retired - we all bring different contributions and concerns to our shared union endeavors," said Iannuzzi, who has spoken frequently concerning the potential for diversity to increase the power of unity. "After all, each of us understands that our strength is not in focusing on our diverse professions, geography or the size of our locals, but in our common union culture. In essence, our strength is our solidarity."

Iannuzzi's leadership has brought many successes to NYSUT. And with his leadership, the union will still look for ways to best represent their members as well as improving the world around them.