The end of the 2009 regular New York legislative session — with its senatorial coup, stalemate and defections — has made New York state look like the most dysfunctional government in our history. And it's a reputation that appears well earned.

NYSUT members should understand that what happens in Albany — or what doesn't — directly affects what happens in our classrooms, colleges and in the terms and conditions of employment and retirement.

A Siena poll last month revealed a majority of New Yorkers would vote to "throw all the bums out." Fifty-four percent said politicians of today have less integrity and are lazier than those of 40 or 50 years ago. It's also hard to dispute the countless occurrences of disgraced elected officials lately.

The month-long Senate stalemate in June led to gridlock. The Senate is divided by a margin of 32-30, with Democrats "in charge." That means every single senator has the ability to make or break a deal on any piece of legislation. A defection of just one senator leads to a tie.

What happens when one house, like the Senate, shuts down? Nothing, actually. No Farm Workers Bill of Rights is passed. The Dignity For All Students Act, an anti-bullying measure championed by our union, languishes. NYSUT's Legislative Program, with all of its pedagogical, health and safety and pension and retirement equity goals, goes nowhere.

The governor is already claiming the current year's budget is $2.1 billion in the red. Will the governor be able to negotiate with leaders of the Senate (three on the Democratic side and one on the Republican side) and Assembly? If not, will he resort to fiscal controls by the Division of the Budget? Impound funds? Cut agency budgets across the board?

SUNY, CUNY and the community colleges are at risk.

As the economy struggles, the pensions of public employees are also a target. Tier 5, a proposal that diminishes pension benefits for future hires, is a train moving down the track. Future NYSUT members may be looking at more modest pensions, longer periods until retirement, or increased contributions toward their own pensions — far more than our brothers and sisters have now.

At least one legislator is introducing a bill to change the pensions of future public employees from a defined-benefit plan to a defined-contribution plan.

The dysfunction also breeds contempt for the current system and fuels cries to change it. One of the most dangerous "solutions" is the call for a Constitutional Convention. Under New York law, the question "Shall there be a constitutional convention?" must be put before voters every 20 years. The next time the question arises is 2017, but the Legislature can advance that timetable whenever it chooses.

What do NYSUT members — and all public employees for that matter — have to risk at a convention? Our pensions, for one thing.

In 1938, the state constitution was amended to provide that the pensions of public employees "shall not be diminished or impaired." Those six words are just about all that stand in the way of doing to our members what private corporations and other public employers have been doing in tough fiscal times: reducing or eliminating the pensions of their employees. The courts and the federal government have allowed it to happen.

What is needed in Albany is a sea change in the attitudes of elected officials away from a spoils system of motivation to an issues-based system of governance. It's fine to campaign party vs. party, Democrat vs. Republican, but when an elected official takes his or her seat in January, the motivation should be based on issues. Sadly, this is all too infrequently the case.

The Senate stalemate was more about pork, perks and personal gain than about the appropriate role of government, economic development, social justice or improving public education. In the Assembly, under the steady leadership of Sheldon Silver, members toil away earnestly, passing legislation, only to have measures that are debated and passed then stalled in the Senate.

Not all elected officials lack integrity and initiative. Decent, hard-working members are just as frustrated with the current system as we are.

NYSUT members should tell their elected officials to put partisan politics aside and get back to the business of governing. We want good schools, affordable quality higher education. We want solutions to the exploding cost of health care. We want tax relief, not tax caps. We want them to work together to find compromises on these critical issues.

Legislating is no different from collective bargaining. If they can't negotiate with one another, the voters — including NYSUT members — will find others who will.