NYSUT is taking steps to enlarge its membership in private-sector higher education locals.

President Dick Iannuzzi delivered that message loud and clear in New York City last month at a private higher ed group's first gathering since its recognition as a statewide NYSUT Election District.

"Our goal is to grow private higher ed," Iannuzzi said.

Iannuzzi and Steve Rechner, president of the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Technical Staff at New York University, answered questions from the group about the services of the statewide union. Rechner is an at-large member of the NYSUT Board of Directors, representing private-sector higher ed.

At the meeting, David Leach, deputy regional attorney of the National Labor Relations Board, described the history of the NLRB and discussed recent board decisions affecting private higher education.

Though public and private colleges and universities may have different governing structures, Iannuzzi said, the NYSUT members at both types of campuses have a shared mission: the best possible work conditions in the best possible environment for teaching and learning.

Working together

"We're confident that the private and public sectors can work together, and that they do work together, and that they can be supportive of NYSUT's overall mission," Iannuzzi said.

The most important part of that mission, Iannuzzi said, is closing the achievement gap, an issue for union members in institutions from preschool all the way through college.

NYSUT is working to recognize issues that private higher ed locals face, Rechner said. For instance, he said, most contract issues with the public sector have to be negotiated with a government entity, "whereas with the private sector, it's pretty much dealing with the administration directly."

With more than 6,000 members, NYSUT's private-sector higher education locals represent the largest such group in the American Federation of Teachers or the National Education Association.

— Darryl McGrath