With this edition of New York Teacher, I begin a regular column featuring social justice, one of the five frameworks of NYSUT's overall agenda. 

The existence of this column is yet another example of our firm commitment to social justice work as an essential part of union work.

While NYSUT members and staff have always been extremely generous when others are in need, our attention to an agenda goes beyond the important act of charity.

It is our belief that a social justice agenda is based around initiatives that empower people who are oppressed and give voice to those who have been denied the power to speak up and speak out. 

With such a broad approach to social justice then, the possibilities are endless. 

The challenge here is how to prioritize NYSUT's social justice efforts when these efforts span local, state, national and international boundaries.

While the work ahead of us is difficult, especially in the current economic climate, the commitment of NYSUT to social justice is unwavering.

So here are the provisions already in place at NYSUT to help us be more effective in our social justice work:

• All social justice work will now go through the office of the secretary-treasurer. This will provide better coordination, focus, and the ability to act fast when necessary.

• The commitment and support of all NYSUT officers, as evidenced by the fact that every officer attended our Aug. 11 social justice agenda summit at headquarters.

• A strong and committed Civil and Human Rights Committee under the leadership of Ken Kurzweil.

• A dedicated NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Committee under the leadership of Nancy Close. This team will soon be trained in fair trade so they, too, can join Maureen Casey and Brian O'Shaughnessy in spreading the news about fair trade around the state.

• Regional staff directors, labor relations specialists and NYSUT staff whose work outside of NYSUT often revolves around social justice causes.

• A membership that continues to be and always has been interested and committed to participating in various social justice causes.

At our Social Agenda Summit, we gathered leaders from the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and NYSUT to discuss our current efforts and initiatives and how my office and position could help coordinate a more focused and effective social justice agenda.

One of the many outcomes of this summit was an agreed-upon definition of a social justice agenda as we see it in the labor movement. What follows is that definition:

An agenda that promotes equal access to society's opportunities, thereby empowering people to have choices and control over their own destiny.

This agenda stems from the belief that injustice and oppression in other communities and nations does directly impact members of the labor movement.

The premise behind this agenda is that a socially just world is one which affords individuals and groups fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits of society. 

This agenda keeps in mind that a fundamental responsibility of labor leaders is to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and fight to ensure that every individual enjoys basic human rights.

A social justice agenda is more than Band-Aid charity; instead, it is a strategy that, properly implemented, transforms society.

In my next column, I'll address specific work that is going on in our organization and ways that members can join our efforts.

For now, though, I am pleased to announce that a small delegation of NYSUT members will join Vice President Kathleen Donahue and me on a visit to Leslie, Ga., spending three days at the end of January on an African-American Farm Collaborative as part of our ongoing efforts to extend our work in fair trade from international to domestic.