The 43rd annual NYSUT Representative Assembly, May 1-2 in Buffalo, is a little more than one month away. Remember that the 2015 RA, unlike in past years, takes place over two days.
To fight back against Gov. Cuomo's anti-labor/anti-education agenda, a noon rally is scheduled for Friday, May 1, at Niagara Square in Buffalo, a short walk from the RA site at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. NYSUT members, activists from the Western New York Area Labor Federation and other local supporters will send a clear message to Gov. Cuomo that we're standing up to his threat to hold school funds hostage, the obsession with standardized testing and the continual bashing of public schools and teachers.
RA elections
The first RA session begins at 2 p.m. on Friday, followed by committee meetings and a second session that evening. RA delegates will also elect one director and one alternate director to the National Education Association Board of Directors and state in-service delegates to the NEA RA on Friday. Voting takes place at 10 p.m.; delegates must be registered by 5 p.m. to be eligible to vote.
Elections for NEA retired delegates will take place via mail ballot election. Please refer to the Notice of Nomination and Election and Campaign Procedures (login required) published on page 16 of the December/January issue of NYSUT United. The pages can also be viewed on NYSUT United's e-reader available at www.nysut.org. Visit www. nysut.org/ra for more information as the RA nears. Additionally, mark your calendar with these important dates:
March 3: Councils of Locals must vote on their full delegate and alternate RA slate.
March 9: Nomination deadline for NEA state director and alternate state director; NEA RA state delegates; and NEA retired delegates to the NEA RA.
March 17: Delegate election certification reports and Landrum-Griffin checklists are due; last day to make hotel reservations; deadline for local presidents to register for the pre-RA Local and Retiree Council Presidents Conference.