May 9th, 2012
Thank you to the following RTA members for their hard work and dedication in getting out the vote.
Bill Ballerine - organizing phone calls & making/ordering postcards
Dave McNally - posting signs around the area
The following people took time out of their day to label and prepare cards for mailing:
Mary Amodeo
Eileen Staker
Ed Provanzana
Liz Coletta
Kathy Farrow
Christina DeFeo
Debbie Frey
Phil Lima
Pam Greenberg
Ian Diamond
The budget passed with nearly 70% support from the voting public. Please thank those members who were able to help out. Thank you.
Andrew Gibson
The RTA election results are being posted as they come in…:
RTA Officers
President-John Canty
Vice President H.S.-Greg Casarella
Vice President M.S.-Patty Marina
Vice President Elementary-Andrew Gibson
Treasurer-Robert Marina
Secretary-Patty Macchia
Building Representatives
Viola-2 Seats
Jen Butler
Janine Cerabona
Sloatsburg-1 Seat
Jen Ramundo/Debbie Miller
Deanne Martin/Elvire Conklin
Montebello-2 Seats
Kevin McCaren
Eleni Pallogudis
R.P. Connor-2 Seats
Linda Jordan
Erin Difabio
Cherry Lane-2 Seats
Donna Cardillo
Paul Garfano
Suffern Middle School-4 Seats
Lisa Passudetti
Christine D’Antonio-Krebs
Karen Falasca
Ashley Connington
Suffern High School-5 Seats
Christine Van Dyke
Steve Marx
Bill Ballerine
Mike Tully
Ed O’Connor
May 4th, 2012
By Richard E. Casagrande, Esq, – NYSUT General Counsel – May 2, 2012
Too often media attacks on the Triborough Amendment continue the misperception that this decades old law unfairly advantages public employee unions, or guarantees annual raises even after a contract has expired. Neither is true.
Triborough merely provides that when a contract expires, the employer cannot unilaterally lower wages or diminish other contractual terms and conditions of employment, so long as the union refrains from striking. No raises, including salary step increases, are guaranteed by Triborough, because the law permits such benefits to end, or “sunset”, with the expiration of the contract–if the parties so agreed in their prior negotiations.
By creating this balance, the Triborough Amendment has been enormously successful in deterring strikes. And, during the recession, Triborough has not stopped hundreds of public sector unions, big and small, from agreeing with public employers on new contracts that make difficult compromises to avoid painful job cuts. Such agreements, until now, have been the result of give and take negotiations between parties with some semblance of negotiating balance.
If Triborough were eliminated, however, this balance would be destroyed. At the end of a contract the employer would have a free hand to change terms and conditions of employment, while the union would remain powerless to strike. Collective bargaining would become collective begging. Of course, that is exactly what many employers and right-wing think tanks want–the incremental or outright elimination of collective bargaining in both the public and private sectors.
Click here for full editorial
May 4th, 2012
The labor movement is finding new strength through community engagement, and this outreach will help unionists develop strong alliances with parents and other partners, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told RA delegates Friday.
“Community engagement is not an add-on, my friends – it is essential,” Weingarten said in a blunt speech that touched on the challenges facing unionists and issued a call for solidarity. “The labor movement is the only vehicle that can rebuild the middle class, because of our unique role at the bargaining table and the ballot box. That is the new fight-back strategy – a strategy where community is the new unity. So when we say what children need, there will be no one to dispute it.”
NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi praised Weingarten’s forthright advocacy as a national labor leader, noting as he introduced her that “she has not hesitated to get out front in the attacks on working people here and abroad. Words are her weapon.”
Weingarten, a former president of the United Federation of Teachers, opened her remarks by asking the audience to stand and take a figurative bow and a very real round of applause. She told the delegates that they have the gratitude of the AFT for being “front-line educators” who have faced devastating budget cuts and have stood firmly against an onslaught of verbal attacks against public employees.
March 15th, 2012
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the passage of a sweeping pension reform plan he says will save state and local governments and New York City more than $80 billion over the next 30 years.
“For years, local governments have struggled to cope with soaring retirement costs, driving up taxes on New York families and small businesses,” Cuomo said. “This bold and transformational pension reform plan is a historic win for New York taxpayers and municipalities that will save more than $80 billion over the next 30 years, while preserving retirement security for public workers. Without this critical reform, New Yorkers would have seen significant tax increases, as well as layoffs to teachers, firefighters and police.”
The state’s pension costs are one of the most expensive mandates for local governments. In 2002 pension payment from local governments were $1.4 billion and have grown to $12.2 billion in 2012, and increase of over 650 percent, according to the governor’s office.
Click here for details on Tier VI
March 13th, 2012
The business-backed Committee to Save New York is hitting the airwaves today with a television advertisement that will run statewide, the coalition of lobbying groups announced.
The ad is meant to gin up support for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan for a new pension tier that would reduce benefits and create a 410(k)-type option for new employees. It serves as a counterpoint, of sorts, to a number of ads from labor unions criticizing the proposal and others in Cuomo’s proposed budget.
But the pro-Cuomo group’s ad takes plenty of time to detail past accomplishments of the governor, including last year’s on-time budget and the deal earlier this year to revamp the state’s teacher-evaluation system.
Committee to Save New York spokesman Michael McKeon declined to say how much the group spent on the ad buy, but said it is “significant” and it will run “statewide.” (A source told the Times Union the buy is about $2.5 million.)
“The Committee to Save New York will continue to fight for an on-time budget that is balanced with no new taxes or gimmicks, and includes important measures like pension reform to protect taxpayers at every level of government,” McKeon said in a statement.
The group of business interests spent more than $9 million last year on advertising efforts last year.
Here’s the ad
March 10th, 2012
Statement from NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi on SED’s response to Buffalo’s evaluation plan:
“Attendance does matter. No one can deny that student attendance is a critical factor in measuring student performance. As NYSUT has made clear throughout this entire process, all of us in the educational community should support the inclusion of student attendance as an integral part of every plan to develop a fair teacher evaluation system.
“NYSUT fully supports the Buffalo Teachers Federation and BTF President Phil Rumore in their insistence that there must be an appropriate place for factoring in student attendance when using student growth in evaluating teachers. The New York State Education Department needs to work with the Buffalo City School District and the BTF so that this issue can be resolved immediately. SED’s unjustifiable failure to recognize the importance of student attendance unnecessarily and unfairly holds up badly needed federal funds that provide services to Buffalo school children.
“I urge SED to address this issue immediately.”
March 10th, 2012
WOW. That was almost 300 people from our community showing our legislators how important these issues are to us, and gathering information.
WHAT NEXT? Now that we’re all appropriately concerned about what the next 5 years means for our school budgets and our property taxes, you can take a few EASY actions:
1. Sign the petition, if you’re from any school district in the Lower Hudson Valley.
2. Forward it to your friends.
3. Join us on Facebook.
4. Learn more about the issues and contribute to the discussion on our Wiki page.
5. Keep reading our emails and stay posted for our upcoming events.
WE NEED YOUR IDEAS. Ever heard of a “World Café”?
• Six people to a table.
• Each table with a specific issue to tackle in 15 minutes of discussion.
• Each group presents their conclusions and questions that need answers.
• Then we switch tables.
One or two quick expert speakers (15–30 minutes) will launch each Café with some important information on that meeting’s topic.
TOPICS: Pick one that’s especially important to you, or come to all three
- State Cuts to Education: What losses will we face? How can we find more money?
- Standardized Testing: How many is too many? Are there more accurate ways to evaluate students and teachers? What are the costs?
- Property Taxes: What will it take to reduce property taxes while increasing education funding?
March 1st, 2012
Cuomo said at a news conference today that he was unwilling to bend on removing the new pension tier, known as Tier Six, from his budget.
“It’s not enough money. The problem with pensions is the cost of public pensions is increasing exponentially. In the year 2002, the cost of pensions was about a billion dollars. This year it’s about $12 billion. In three years it’s going up to $16 billion. It’s an arrow that goes just like this,” Cuomo said while moving his finger in an upwardly diagonal direction. “It’s driving up the cost of taxes all across the state. So your property taxes are going up, your local taxes are going up, your state taxes are going up and the tax burden is just crushing New Yorkers. So we can’t afford the increased cost of public pensions. My proposition is to change the benefit package going forward. So what is pension reform? Pension reform is a proposal that saves you money, that changes the trajectory going forward.”
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, has indicated he would be open to smaller cost-savings for retirement plans such as clamping down on waste and abuse within the system, but remained uneasy at the idea of a new tier so soon after the passage of Tier Five during the Paterson administration.
Click for full article and video
March 1st, 2012
ALBANY — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and municipal leaders from across the state traveled to the Capitol on Wednesday to back Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s call for pension reform.
The mayors and county leaders said local governments were being hurt by soaring pension costs, which have led to layoffs and service cuts.
“Mounting pension costs are crushing the budgets of every public employer in New York State,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference, adding, “We’re spending more money on pensions than on police, fire and sanitation together.”
Maggie Brooks, the Monroe County executive, said “the threat of bankruptcy hangs over every single municipal government in the state because of escalating pension costs.”
New York City, for example, is required to put $8 billion this year into its pension system, up from $1.5 billion in 2002. Both the city and state pension systems, like other public pension systems across the country, are straining to make up for steep investment losses incurred in the 2008 financial crisis.
Mr. Cuomo has proposed, as part of the state’s next budget, to reduce pension benefits for future hires and to create a 401(k)-like retirement option for workers. The plan is strongly supported by Mr. Bloomberg and business groups, but is opposed by labor unions and one of their strongest allies in Albany, Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
From The New York Times. Click for full article
By DANNY HAKIM
February 24th, 2012
March 1st 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the Nyack Center, 58 Depew Avenue
Learn the facts and make your voice heard.
Local Legislators: NYS Senator David Carlucci and NYS Assemblypersons Kenneth Zebrowski and Ellen Jaffee, will answer questions and concerns about the NYS budget, education funding and property taxes.
Speakers: Nyack Superintendent Dr. James Montesano; Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell, Bryan Burrell of the Rockland County School Board Association; and Judith Johnson, former Asst. Secretary of Education under the Clinton administration will address:
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The drastic reductions in state aid over the past few years
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Government-imposed “Race to the Top” Grant requirements that cost more to implement than they bring in
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Tax structures that put a heavier burden on the middle class and prevent the state from fulfilling its responsibilities to schools
