In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the state AFL-CIO television ad pointing out how Gov. Cuomo wants to cut benefits to government workers by 40% while his 401(k) option gives another windfall to Wall Street. Mario Cilento, president of the state AFL-CIO, is also at a press conference today calling for reforms to state laws [...]

NYSUT members have been doing a great job educating their lawmakers about the problems with so-called pension reform. We currently have an online advertising campaign featuring NYSUT retiree Jim Frenette, putting pressure on Albany to say “no” to Tier 6.  We can’t really provide a link to that ad because it shows up on political [...]

Dr. John Sipple of the state Center for Rural Schools and a Cornell University professor was the keynote speaker at today’s Small City and Rural Schools Advocacy Day in Albany. He laid out, with charts and figures, the dire straits of the high-need districts across the state. You can find a lot of those charts and [...]

The pro-public education ad created by the Schoharie Teachers Association, and funded by locals across the state, has hit the airwaves. Here’s a link to an Albany Times Union article about the ad. One thing wrong in the article is it makes it sound like it’s the first time local unions have produced commercials on [...]

I’d like you to meet Jim Frenette. He’s more than my dad. He’s also a retired teacher. In Tupper Lake, where I grew up, teachers were — and still are — a respected profession. It wasn’t just me and my family who looked up to him, whether he was wearing his school shoes or his [...]

Almost 30 lawmakers joined with NYSUT and citizen groups to oppose the proposed state budget’s competitive grant proposal. Many provided quotes in advance that you can find here. Parents were compelling and NYSUT’s Andy Pallotta drew strong support when he declared education is not a game show. The assembled citizens and  lawmakers added their voices [...]

This is a television commercial created by the Schoharie Teachers Association as part of a grassroots campaign to spread the good word about New York’s public schools. It will air in the Capital Region shortly after winter break. Why did they produce it? Because they were sick of hearing that New York schools are 38th [...]

It’s not baseball season, but Michael Mulgrew threw his pitch to lawmakers today. Here’s some video so you can hear it for yourself, and pictures of the variety of UFT members and NYSUT officers who met with lawmakers to talk about what schools in New York City need. (Sorry about the lighting in a lot [...]

Before we get to a rehash, first let’s talk about you. By 5:52 p.m. NYSUT members had sent over 5,000 emails to the state Board of Regents. The message was to stop blocking millions in federal funds and let school districts keep the educational support that their students need and deserve. Here’s a link to [...]

Here’s video of NYSUT’s Andy Pallotta remarks at today’s People’s State of the State, followed by a short video of an Occupy Albany protester and then photos from the event. Here’s the link to the Times-Union coverage of the event with video of PEF’s Ken Brynien’s comments. Even though the sun shone brightly, it was [...]