Recently, one night just before shutting down my computer and closing the door to my office, I found myself reflecting on all the pieces that go into achieving NYSUT's mission and how they are so interconnected and interdependent.

It reminded me of a classroom activity I used with my fourth-graders. We'd strap on our backpacks like spacesuits and, surrounded by globes and maps and model solar systems, we'd imagine blasting off into space: first leaving our block, then our community, town, county, state, country, all the way to the end of the universe and back. Each time, we'd learn more about what each place represented and how it was connected to the others through geography, government, resources, etc.

I don't know how much of that stayed with my students, but it still proves useful to me – although maybe not the intergalactic part.

The longer I've had the privilege of serving as NYSUT president, the more apparent it has become to me that relationships and connections are a critical part of the work we do. For instance, policies approved by delegates to NYSUT's Representative Assembly — this year scheduled to begin in Buffalo as this New York Teacher hits your mailboxes — can, and often do, directly impact individual members from Manhattan to Watertown. Similarly, more and more of what happens in Washington, D.C., matters to us in New York.

There was a time that all NYSUT eyes were squarely focused on Albany at this time of year. And, while we must remain focused on Albany, we must not lose sight of Washington's unusual role in these difficult economic times.

The federal government, following the leadership of President Obama and shepherded masterfully by our congressional leaders under the guidance of "the best of the best" Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Ways and Means Chair Charlie Rangel, has passed a critically important stimulus package.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act does exactly what its title suggests: recovery of jobs and reinvestment through higher standards and advanced instruction to create the 21st- century economy our nation and our state deserve.

Leaders in Albany understand the investment the federal government has made. They must not be swayed by those who would rather see stimulus dollars supplant instead of supplement the state's responsibilities. Yes, the economic conditions are serious and the state will not be able to meet its full responsibility — but it must not ignore it either.

Clearly, the federal stimulus package is one such Washington initiative that will have a dramatic effect on our professions and the communities in which we live and work.

President Obama's bold plan for education reform — about which I wrote in this space last issue — is another. They both are part of a larger, more comprehensive strategy designed to get us out from underneath the current financial crisis and to train the next generation of workers to meet the demands of a new economy.

Organizing rights

The Obama administration and Congress are dealing with other pieces of this complex puzzle; pieces that, on the surface, may not seem like they belong in the completed economic picture but pieces that — upon closer examination — are a good fit.

NYSUT, along with its affiliates in Washington — the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association — are working hard to ensure congressional passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. While the legislation is designed to level the playing field for workers, it will also provide another way to stimulate our moribund economy.

As I hope you know by now, EFCA — which President Obama has pledged to sign if it makes it to his desk — would simplify the union certification process, strengthen penalties against employers who engage in anti-union activities and harassment, and require mediation and arbitration to help workers and management reach a first contract in a reasonable period of time.

Some may ask: "How does giving more workers the chance to form unions help the economy?" The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics provides that answer.

In 2008, for example, white male union workers earned 23 percent more than non-union white men. The union wage benefit was even greater for women and workers of color: Union women earned 32 percent more than non-union women, while the union advantage for African-Americans was 28 percent; for Latinos, 43 percent; and for Asians, 6 percent.

Those are higher salaries that can be put back into the nation's economy as union families purchase homes, cars and other goods and services.

As AFL-CIO President John Sweeney put it, "In today's economic squeeze, workers need the freedom to bargain their way into the middle class more than ever."

Health care reform

Another important piece of the economic puzzle is the very real effort being made by the Obama administration to reform health care. The statistics are frightening. Nearly 47 million Americans have no health insurance coverage, including 8.7 million children.

With the average annual premium for family health insurance at more than $12,000, higher than the gross earnings of a minimum-wage earner, nearly 30 percent of us tell pollsters someone in our family has delayed medical care in the past year, while every 30 seconds, someone files for "medical bankruptcy."

Health care in this nation is a huge expense — $2.4 trillion or 17 percent of our gross domestic product in 2008. Its reform is essential to the nation's economic recovery. President Obama is to be commended for taking the first step toward such reform when, last month, he brought together leaders of labor, business and consumer groups to work with the health care community in controlling costs and expanding access.

The lessons of fourth grade — interconnectedness and interdependence — are lessons wise to retain. How what happens in our nation's capital influences our state capital is more evident than ever before. And, just as evident, is how this impacts workers and their work sites — whether college campuses, schools, health centers or agencies.

AFT President Randi Weingarten had it right when she said, "America's economic well-being is directly tied to that of its workforce. Strong unions, like investments in crucial programs and increased access to health care, are central to the future of the country."