Glossary of Commonly Used Terms and Acronyms

ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, programs and services provided by state and local governments; in goods and services provided by private companies; and in commercial facilities.

AIS

Academic Intervention Services are outlined in sections of Commissioner's Regulations that require that certain students who fail a state assessment, or who are determined to be in danger of failing a state assessment, be provided additional assistance and services to help them succeed on forthcoming state assessments.

AFT

As a member of your local union and NYSUT, you are a member of the American Federation of Teachers. The AFT was founded in 1916 to represent the economic, social and professional interests of classroom teachers. With more than 1 million members, AFT represents the following groups: K-12 teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related professionals, state and municipal employees, higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other health professionals. AFT sponsors conferences for its state and local affiliate leaders and members and produces a variety of publications on education, labor, health care and public service issues. A president, executive vice president, secretary-treasurer, and a 38-member executive council govern the AFT. A national convention is held every two years to elect officers and to adopt resolutions setting policy. The AFT is an affiliated international union of the AFL-CIO. It advocates sound, commonsense public education and health care policies.

APPR

The Annual Professional Performance Review, outlined in a section of Commissioner's Regulations (CR 100.2(o)), requires teachers be evaluated annually. It specifies criteria upon which teachers are evaluated, and it requires that teachers rated as deficient be provided with a teacher improvement plan to improve performance.

Arbitration

Arbitration is a process of dispute resolution (e.g., contract grievances) in which a neutral third party (arbitrator) or panel renders a decision after a hearing at which both parties have an opportunity to be heard. This is usually the final step in a grievance procedure. Depending on the agreement of the parties, arbitration may be advisory or binding.

Bargaining in Good Faith

Bargaining in good faith is a characteristic of collective bargaining that is required of labor and management by the National Labor Relations Act. This has been interpreted to occur when the employer and the representative of the employees meet at reasonable times and exhibit both give and take.

BOCES — Board of Cooperative Educational Services

A Board of Cooperative Educational Services is a voluntary cooperative association of school districts in a geographic area that share planning, services and programs to provide educational and support activities more economically, efficiently and equitably than they could locally.

Building Representative, Steward, Union Rep

This is a local union official who represents members at the work site level. Responsibilities include keeping members informed of union activities and assisting members with professional issues. Many work site reps also assist members with grievances and situations related to the collective bargaining agreement.

Central Labor Council

A central labor council is an organization of area labor leaders from different unions formed to deal with labor issues affecting the community or affecting their members collectively or individually. Many labor councils are also a source for labor's point of view on issues affecting the area's workforce.

Charter Schools

A charter school is "an independent and autonomous public school," except in those situations where it is deemed otherwise. The law provides for two basic types of charter schools: newly created schools that come into existence with the issuance of a charter and converted public schools that previously operated as traditional public schools. Regardless of type, a charter school is almost entirely independent of local school boards. (Education Law, 2853(1)(c))

Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining, also known as collective negotiations, is the process of joint give and take by employers and employees' organizations. As contemplated by the National Labor Relations Act and guaranteed by the Taylor Law in New York state, collective bargaining is a process of agreements between the employer and the accredited representative of union employees concerning wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. It requires that parties deal with each other with open and fair minds, sincerely trying to overcome obstacles between them in order to stabilize employment relations and prevent obstructions to the free flow of commerce.

Collective Bargaining Agreement

A collective bargaining agreement is a contract properly executed by a school superintendent acting as the chief executive officer of a school district and an employee organization that represents a group of employees included within a bargaining unit (the union). Civil Service Law §201.9

Commissioner's Regulations

The Legislature is responsible for enacting the general laws in New York state. In doing so, the Legislature often delegates "rule-making powers" to the state's departments and agencies. These agencies are then empowered to develop and enforce rules and regulations they find necessary to implement legislative policies. The State Education Department sets forth its rules and regulations to implement education policies established through education law in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. These regulations are adopted by the Board of Regents.

Committee of 100

The Committee of 100 is NYSUT's grass-roots lobbying arm. Every local leader is asked to designate an individual to come to Albany to lobby senators and assemblypersons. When it began more than 20 years ago, this grass-roots, statewide lobby group numbered 100 NYSUT members. Today, some 500 activists come to Albany twice each spring to meet with legislators regarding state aid to education and other issues important to NYSUT and its members.

Delegate

Each NYSUT local elects individuals to serve as delegates or representatives to the annual NYSUT Representative Assembly (RA). Delegates are empowered with the authority to elect the officers and board members of NYSUT and to vote on policy resolutions and constitutional amendments.

Distance Learning

Distance learning involves a network of classrooms connected electronically by video, audio and computer. A teacher can use the system to instruct several classrooms in different locations at the same time. Colleges also use this technology to offer classes over the Internet.

Duty of Fair Representation

This involves the obligation of the union, imposed by federal labor laws, to fairly and impartially represent all bargaining unit members in collective bargaining and in the enforcement of the agreement.

Duty to Bargain

This obligation under the Taft-Hartley Act and state laws requires employers and unions to bargain in good faith with respect to the terms and conditions of employment and to embody the agreements reached in collective bargaining.

ED Directors

Election District directors are the membership's elected representatives on the NYSUT Board of Directors. Each ED director presides over periodic Election District meetings to bring information from the NYSUT Board meetings, to address member questions and to take member concerns back to the full board. NYSUT currently has 44 ED directors and 24 at-large directors.

ELT

As part of its emphasis on professional development, NYSUT offers the Education & Learning Trust. Graduate education courses, seminars, workshops and in-service programs are offered throughout the year on a variety of topics of concern to teachers and SRPs. The courses are taught by NYSUT members who are master teachers with extensive training.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of a student's educational records. The law applies to all schools. Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review all of the student's education records maintained by the schools and to request that a school correct records believed to be inaccurate or misleading. Teachers and other school personnel who are involved in the education of students have the right under FERPA to access a student's educational record, according to school district policy.

FMLA

The Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law that requires employers with more than 50 employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to qualified employees for medical or child care purposes. An employee is eligible under the law to take family and medical leave if she or he has been employed for at least 12 months and has worked at least 1,250 hours in the last year. When the need for family or medical leave is foreseeable and practical, the employee must give 30 days notice of his or her intention to take the leave. Please consult your labor relations specialist for more information regarding this issue.

Grievance

In labor law, a grievance is a claim that a policy or practice of the employer or specific provision or provisions of a collective bargaining agreement have been violated regarding wages, hours or working conditions. It is resolved through a procedural mechanism provided in the union contract. A grievance is filed by an employee, or by his or her union representative. (Black's Law Dictionary)

Health Care Professionals Council

The Health Care Professionals Council represents the arm of NYSUT/AFT with the mission of continuing commitment to quality care, high standards of practice, career opportunities and protection of the rights of its members.

HMO

A Health Maintenance Organization contracts with purchasers or members to provide all covered health services in return for the payment of a monthly premium. HMOs can be both insurers and providers of health care. They can be organized and managed by hospitals, physician groups, insurers, labor groups, employer groups or any combination of the above. Typically they provide a set of services through three models of organization: staff, individual practice associations (IPAs) and networks.

HRA

Health reimbursement accounts consist of funds set aside by employers to reimburse employees for qualified medical expenses. HRAs provide "first-dollar" medical coverage until funds are exhausted. For example, if an employee has a $500 qualifying medical expense, then the full amount will be covered by the HRA if the funds are available in the account. Under an HRA, the employer provides the funds, not the employee.

HSA

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a special account owned by an individual where contributions to the account are used to pay for current and future medical expenses. HSAs are used in conjunction with a "High Deductible Health Plan" (HDHP) which is normally insurance that does not cover first dollar medical expenses (except for preventive care). HSAs were created in Medicare legislation in 2003.

IEP

An Individualized Education Program is a written statement for each student with a disability that is developed and reviewed, at least annually, by the school district's Committee on Special Education. Teachers involved in the implementation of a student's IEP must be provided a copy of the IEP detailing their specific responsibilities in implementing the IEP.

Impasse

An impasse may be deemed to exist if the parties fail to achieve a collective bargaining agreement at least 120 days prior to the end of the school district's fiscal year. (Civil Service Law §209.1)

Intern

An intern is a full-time teacher with no greater than a four-fifths classroom assignment who is employed by the governing body of a school district or Board of Cooperative Educational Services, who has an approved internship plan and who is in his or her initial year of service in a particular license area or area of certificate title. (State Education Law)

IP

The Taylor Law, which governs employment relations between public employers and public employees in New York state, identifies a series of improper practices on the part of the employer or the employee organization. One example of an improper practice is an employer refusing to bargain in good faith with the recognized employee union. IP charges are filed with the state Public Employment Relations Board. IPs also can be filed by individual bargaining unit members against the bargaining unit and/or the employer.

Lobbying activities/NYSUT

Lobbying activities involve local union leaders or NYSUT officers and staff — acting on behalf of NYSUT members — who influence the introduction of legislation and how elected officials vote on legislation and make their decisions regarding issues impacting members.

LRS

Labor Relations Specialists employed by NYSUT are responsible for a broad range of activities including collective bargaining and contract administration. The LRS provides services to local affiliates of NYSUT and advocates on behalf of affiliates, members and public education. The LRS works with local affiliates in the capacity of consultant, communicator, trainer and facilitator to resolve local issues.

MSDS

A Material Safety Data Sheet is a chemical or product fact sheet prepared by the manufacturer of a product or chemical. It summarizes important information, such as fire and explosion hazards, health hazards, protective measures and handling and disposal methods.

Mentor

A mentor is a teacher who is permanently certified in the same area of certificate title as the intern, or permanently licensed in the same license area as the intern, and who has demonstrated his or her mastery of pedagogical and subject matter skills, given evidence of superior teaching abilities and interpersonal relationships qualities, and has indicated a willingness to participate by being a mentor in an approved mentor-teacher internship program.

NBPTS

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan and non-governmental organization "devoted to the belief that the single most important way to improve education in the United States is to recognize and reward accomplished teachers throughout the country." NBPTS establishes rigorous standards that define accomplished teaching. Teachers who demonstrate that they are teaching at or above these standards achieve National Board Certification.

NCLB — 'No Child Left Behind'

On Jan. 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the most significant federal education policy initiatives in a generation. The purpose of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the "No Child Left Behind" Act (NCLB) of 2002, is to enable schools to provide opportunities for all children to attain a high quality education and to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

This new law, a potent blend of new requirements, incentives and resources, poses enormous challenges for states. It sets deadlines for them to expand the scope and frequency of student testing, revamp their accountability systems and guarantee that every classroom is staffed by a teacher qualified to teach in his or her subject area. It requires states to make demonstrable progress from year to year in raising the percentage of students proficient in reading and math, and in narrowing the test-scores gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. And it pushes them to rely more heavily on research-based approaches to improving school quality and student performance.

NEA

As a member of your local union and NYSUT, you are a member of the National Education Association, one of NYSUT's national affiliates. NEA is committed to advancing the cause of public education. As the nation's largest professional employee organization, NEA and its 3.2 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States. NEA was initially founded in 1857, making it one of the pioneers of the labor movement. NEA is governed by a president, vice president and secretary-treasurer. Policy is set by NEA members each July at the NEA Representative Assembly, which brings together more than 9,000 delegates from across the nation. NEA has established itself as a force at the state and national levels, where it zealously advocates for policies that improve public education.

NLRA

The National Labor Relations Act is federal legislation passed in 1935 that became the basic law governing private-sector collective bargaining and unions in the United States. The purpose of the act is to promote the orderly and peaceful recognition of unions and the use of collective bargaining as a means for establishing terms and conditions of employment.

NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board is composed of five members appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It oversees representation and election questions, investigates unfair labor practice charges and issues complaints over such charges.

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the federal agency responsible for regulating safety and health for private-sector employees in the United States. OSHA sets minimum standards addressing many, but not all, workplace safety and health problems.

PAC

Political Action Committees are committees, clubs, associations or other groups formed to receive voluntary contributions for use in election campaigns. The organization, registration, reporting and other activities of such organizations are regulated by federal and state laws. (Black's Law Dictionary) Within NYSUT, there are two types of PACs — one is the group of leaders appointed by the president to help organize political activities in a geographic area; the other is the legally constituted vehicle by which NYSUT raises and disburses voluntary political contributions, VOTE-COPE. The PAC is responsible for making recommendations to the NYSUT Board regarding endorsements in the New York Senate, Assembly and congressional races, as well as in statewide contests. Each PAC member is responsible for a particular senatorial district, and he or she coordinates political activities in the field.

PDP

The professional development plan is required in every district. Each PDP team has a majority of teachers appointed by the union president. The PDP must include a plan for comprehensive professional development for all teachers; a plan for mentoring of new teachers with initial or transitional certificates; a plan for staff who work with students with disabilities; and a plan for 175 hours of district professional development for holders of professional certificates and 75 hours for teaching assistants.

PERB

The Public Employment Relations Board was established under Section 205 of the Civil Service Law. PERB consists of three members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the New York State Senate, one of whom serves as the chairperson of the board. In addition, PERB has a staff consisting of administrators, attorneys, administrative law judges (ALJs), mediators and fact-finders who work with employers and employees to settle disputes.

PESH

The Public Employees Safety and Health bureau is in the New York State Department of Labor. It enforces OSHA standards for New York's public employees.

PESH Act

The Public Employees Safety and Health Act is a New York state law that provides safety and health coverage to all public employees at the state and local level. Under the act, the same safety and health laws that apply to workers in the private sector, OSHA standards, are applied to employees in the public sector.

Phone Banking

Phone banking involves a group or team of volunteers who make message-specific phone calls to targeted members of the voting public during an election period on behalf of a political cause or politician. Phone banking includes support activities for state contests as well as local elections, i.e., school board and school budget votes.

Picketing/ Informational

Picketing involves patrolling the entrance or vicinity of a work site by members of a labor union in order to inform the public and other employees of a labor dispute. It connotes peaceable methods of presenting a cause to the public in the vicinity of the employer's premises.

Political Action Coordinators

NYSUT has at least one person in each state senatorial district responsible for coordinating volunteers to work phone banks, write letters, visit elected officials and otherwise be involved in political action efforts of the union at the local level.

PPO

A Preferred Provider Organization is a group of health care providers, usually hospitals and/or physicians, that contracts with an employer to provide health services to covered individuals and families at a discount. The sponsorship and configuration can vary significantly. The usual level of discount is 10 to 15 percent.

Privatization

Also known as outsourcing or contracting out, privatization is the hiring of private companies to do the work of public employees. Many governments turn to private companies that claim they can provide the same service at less cost. That cost reduction is accomplished through reduced employee pay, benefits and hours, and changing most full-time jobs into part-time jobs filled with less-experienced workers.

Professional Partner

A professional partner is an experienced union member who helps new members acclimate to their employer's particular operating system, answering the basic questions about who, what, where, when and how "things are done around here."

PSC/CUNY

Professional Staff Congress is the NYSUT affiliate that represents the faculty and professionals of the City University of New York.

Right to Know

The name of a New York state law that requires employers to provide public employees with information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work areas.

Seniority Rights

Seniority rights are those rights to job security and priority in excess or layoff situations within a school district and are based on length of service in a specific tenure area. (NYC RR §30.1(f))

Al Shanker

A former president of the American Federation of Teachers, Albert Shanker taught math in New York City public schools before helping to organize and become a leader of New York City's United Federation of Teachers. Shanker served as UFT president from 1964 to 1986 and was a key force in creating the now 585,000-plus-member NYSUT. Shanker argued that public schools could be improved by encouraging rigorous academic and conduct standards. Shanker died in 1997.

Shared Decision-Making

Shared decision-making is a process by which all members of the educational community at district and school levels cooperate to identify educational issues, define goals, formulate policy, and implement and assess activities to help students reach standards of excellence. (State Education Department) Commissioner's Regulations 100.11 govern the shared decision-making process. Teachers are placed on shared decision-making committees by their union.

Sick Bank

A sick bank is a collection of sick days donated by members of a bargaining unit into a "bank" for use by other members of the unit who may have exhausted their sick days. Use of the bank is determined by contract language.

Site-Based Management

Site-based management is an organizational strategy for the participation of parents, community representatives, teachers and other members of a school's staff and administration, and often students, which decentralizes authority and decision making. (State Education Department)

SRP/School-Related Professionals/Paraprofessionals

These are the non-teacher members in a district, i.e., bus drivers, cafeteria workers, secretaries, teacher aides, teaching assistants, buildings and grounds personnel, health care professionals, custodians, security personnel, etc. NYSUT has several hundred affiliated SRP locals. Some teaching assistants are members of the teacher unit or separate units, while many are included in SRP units.

Strike

The Taylor Law prohibits public employees and employees' organizations from engaging in, causing, instigating, encouraging or condoning a strike or strike activities. Any strike activity is prohibited. Specifically, the Taylor Law defines a prohibited activity as "any strike or other concerted stoppage of work or slowdown by public employees." (Civil Service Law §201(9)) Strikes are permitted in the private sector; rules and procedures are outlined in the NLRA.

Taft-Hartley Act

The Taft-Hartley Act comprises amendments to the National Labor Relations Act, passed in 1947, that were designed to strengthen management's power by eliminating unions' rights to conduct secondary boycotts and by outlining unfair labor practices by unions and rules governing a union's obligation to bargain in good faith.

Taylor Law

The Taylor Law, formally called the Public Employees' Fair Employment Act, is contained in Article 14 of the Civil Service Law. Enacted in 1967, it governs employment relations between public employers and public employees in New York state. Under the law, public employees are guaranteed the right of self-organization and representation for collective negotiations. Self-organization rights enable public employees to join or refrain from joining employees' organizations (unions) of their choice. Representation rights enable employees to designate an employees' organization as their representative in collective negotiations with their public employer over wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment, and in the administration of grievances.

TEACH

TEACH is the New York State Education Department's Office of Teaching Initiatives' online, password-protected application and database system. TEACH enables current certificate holders and applicants to apply online for certification and fingerprint clearance; check the status of applications, documents and test results; and update their personal, educational and work experience, as well as their professional development activities.

Teacher Centers

A network of 132 Teacher Resource and Computer Training Centers across the state, teacher centers are operated by policy boards composed of a majority of classroom teachers. They are organizations that provide professional activities to teachers to hone their pedagogical skills and exchange professional ideas to improve the quality of teaching.

Tenure

"Status afforded to teacher, professor or teaching assistant upon completion of trial period, thus protecting him or her from summary dismissal without sufficient cause or economic reasons. A faculty appointment for an indefinite period." (Black's Law Dictionary) Tenure is an employment status a teacher, teaching assistant or other certificated public school employees may earn by successfully completing a period of probationary employment and then, upon a superintendent's recommendation, being granted this status by a school board. An employee who has received tenure has earned the right to keep his or her job, in other words, to be free from discipline or dismissal, except for just cause to be proven by school officials in a due process hearing under Section 3020-a of the Education Law. (School Law 25th Edition) Tenure does not guarantee a job for life. Recently it has been the focal point of anti-tax groups' ire; however, it can only be modified by an act of the state Legislature. The law was successfully reviewed in 1994, resulting in a streamlining of the discipline process. For more in-depth information, request a copy of the publication "Discipline with Dignity" from your NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist.

Title I

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is the largest federal program of support for education. This has evolved from a remedial program to a high-performance program designed to help disadvantaged youth meet high academic standards established for all students.

Triborough

The Triborough Amendment to Civil Service Law 209-a(1)(e) requires employers to continue all the terms of an expired agreement until a new agreement is negotiated. Before the enactment of the law, public employers were free to unilaterally diminish benefits as contracts expired. Employees' organizations can violate Section 210(1) of the Taylor Law by striking or instigating, encouraging or condoning a strike.

ULP

An unfair labor practice charge can be filed by a bargaining unit or employer when either side is not fulfilling its obligations to the other under the National Labor Relations Act. ULPs also can be filed by individual bargaining unit members against the bargaining unit and/or the employer. ULPs are filed with the National Labor Relations Board, which is charged with resolving these complaints.

UUP

United University Professions is NYSUT's local affiliate representing the academic and professional faculty at the State University of New York.

VOTE-COPE

Voice Of Teachers for Education — Committee On Political Education is the name given to the merged Political Action Committees when the New York State Teacher Association and United Teachers of New York (UTNY) joined forces and became the New York State United Teachers in 1972. NYSUT's 25 VOTE-COPE coordinators oversee the annual campaign for voluntary contributions from members to be used in support of our legislative and political action activities. VOTE-COPE is one of the largest and most successful PACs in New York state.