HAVE YOU CALLED THE GOVERNOR?
If you care about future beneifts, call the Governor and urge him to
VETO THE BUDGET!!!
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As a reminder, the budget:
- Increases pension contributions for all employees to 7% of salary in 2027
- Lowers the Tier2, 2A, 3 pension calculation in 2027
- Ends retiree pension COLAs in 2027 for ALL retirees
- Ends OT in pension calculations starting in 2027.
- State Labor contract agreements or arbitrated agreements would be rejected if not voted on in the legislature within 30 days. Any rejected agreement would then have to be arbitrated (or re-arbitrated) and sent back to the legislature for automatic passage.
- Limits what an arbitrator may consider for the State's "ability to pay" during negotiations.
- Allows the State to break contracts under certain circumstances. This is not just labor contracts this is any and all contracts...it is unclear if they actually tried to deem themselves this much power and authority, but it certainly seems to violate federal contract laws.
- Limits SEBAC and union agreements to 4 years
- Requires the Comptroller to annually review the SEBAC2017 agreement to ensure that the projected savings are achieved and allows the Governor to recover any lapse if insufficient savings.
Budget Vetoed By Gov. Malloy
Yesterday, Governor Malloy vetoed the budget which was passed by the legislature. That budget made unilateral, statutory changes to State Employee pensions and introduced other anti-collective bargaining rules. The budget was a mess, it was unbalanced and vindictive, the dollar figures were in fantasyland; it was a budget in name only. So the Governor rejected the mess and released a message with the veto.
Disaster Service Volunteers - State Law Supports You
Recent events in Puerto Rico, Houston, Florida, and other areas remind us of the high value placed on those who volunteer in response to natural disasters. Those who volunteer at such times are driven by an urge to help others in need. They are willing to sacrifice the comforts of home and family to head into disaster areas and hazardous circumstances to render assistance.
NYSUT Retiree Membership Handbook
The NYSUT Retiree Membership Handbook is designed to answer questions Retirees might have about continuing NYSUT membership & Retiree Services.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY
A&R is hosting a Professional Development seminar, Friday November 3rd. This is an all day event to be held at the Water's Edge, in Westbrook. Seminar topics are listed below. Coffee and lunch will be provided.
Article 31, Section 5 of the A&R contract entitles each member up to 10 days of leave per contract term for professional development. Join your fellow A&R members in a relaxing, fun atmosphere as we learn techniques to deal with stress in the workplace.
If you are on AWS, you will need to modify your schedule accordingly.
Blueprint for a Successful Retirement
NYSUT has provided Retirees with this guide that gives us as NYSUT Members, a central document to look for help & answers to questions whether you are planning your retirement, are a recent retiree or have been retired for awhile. Chapter III "Maintaining Your Union Connection in Retirement", gives guidance on maintaining your NYSUT connections no matter where you live. Chapters XI & XII offer advice about information we should include with our important documents.
The Power of Respect
NMHU is in turbulent times. The distrust between NMHU employees (faculty and staff) and the NMHU administration is at an all-time high. The number of legal issues we are experiencing with our administration is at an all-time high. The administration, under our President and Board of Regents, is attacking the rights of tenure and academic freedom, governance, and due process of its faculty and staff. And, if that isn’t bad enough, they are now using the” Trumpian” ploy of attacking our basic rights of free speech. With respect to ancient Greek mythology and Hercules, it feels like we are now batting the Hydra of Lerna. If you remember, while battling the monster, every time that Hercules cut off one of its heads, two more grew back in its place. What a perfect metaphor for NMHU and our current administration. Every time we work hard to solve serious issues and violations of our due process and CBA, new anti-union issues, sentiment, and attacks by the administration and Regents occur. We all were present when President Minner attacked us for being unionized during his State of the University address in August. It did not go unnoticed. The administration is now telling faculty that they will be reprimanded if we talk about union issues during our office hours or help colleagues in distress. Solving issues, apparently, is union work, not professionalism, decency, and caring. We are working on this free speech issue with our NEA and AFT unions and attorneys. We will not let it stand.
The faculty and staff at NMHU are not asking for much, but we are asking for the rights that are basic to citizens in the US, faculty across the country, and negotiated in our CBA. We are asking for respect to do our jobs with dignity. We are asking to be valued. We are asking for the Power of Respect.
Solidarity in the Storm
What a way to start school! Do it twice in one fall! However, that is what we did!
Hurricane Harvey has left a lasting impression upon all of us. This was one of the worst storms in history! And, just after this storm, the Houston area AFT’s got together at Houston Federation of Teachers so we could best help our members! As for Spring Branch AFT, we helped 21 different people! We did everything from cleaning to providing supplies! We were happy to be there for you! This video is a great summation of all of our efforts during the 2 week time frame post Harvey.
Well wishes to you and yours!
Craig
Solidarity in the Storm
What a way to start school! Do it twice in one fall! However, that is what we did!
Hurricane Harvey has left a lasting impression upon all of us. This was one of the worst storms in history! And, just after this storm, the Houston area AFT’s got together at Houston Federation of Teachers so we could best help our members! As for Spring Branch AFT, we helped 21 different people! We did everything from cleaning to providing supplies! We were happy to be there for you!
This video is a great summation of all of our efforts during the 2-week time frame post Harvey. Well wishes to you and yours!
Craig