Learning the ropes
More than 100 new local leaders,
including Lara Giallombardo of the
Gates-Chili Association of
School-Related Professionals,
devoted a week this summer
attending NYSUT's
New Local Presidents Conference.
The union's newest local leaders
learned about the many services and
programs available to them, and how
critical their role is to the organization.
Education unionists from around the world united in defense of quality public education this summer during the Education International's 6th World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.
Some 1,800 delegates, representing 154 nations and 400 unions worldwide, adopted a comprehensive education policy that rejects privatization efforts and calls on governments to invest in professional development and training to strengthen student performance. NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi, Vice Presidents Maria Neira and Kathleen Donahue, Secretary-Treasurer Lee Cutler and NYSUT Board members Shelvy Young Abrams, Michael Mulgrew, Stacey Caruso-Sharpe, and Adam Urbanski, all AFT vice presidents, were part of the AFT delegation. The NEA also sent a delegation.
NEA President Dennis Van Roekel was elected vice president for the North America-Caribbean region.
AFT President Randi Weingarten was appointed chair of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Advisory Committee and re-elected regional vice president for the North America-Caribbean region.
NYSUT representatives weighed in on several issues. Young Abrams praised EI on its progressive stance on gender equality, adding, "it is time for us to move beyond good intentions and undertake the hard work necessary to address persistent inequalities faced by women and girls around the globe." The resolution passed unanimously.
When the debate turned to a resolution in opposition to child labor, Caruso-Sharpe said, "In the U.S., we have taken our commitment to this issue into the classroom where our members teach their students about the plight of children around the world who are denied access to an education and are compelled to work."