s NYSUT United went to press, the Legislature and the governor had still not agreed to or passed a state budget. As negotiations continue, NYSUT continues to engage with decision-makers to advance our priorities, protect our members and support our students.

NYSUT has continued to advocate for a bell-to-bell restriction on personal electronic devices in schools, which would be designed at a local level with input from parents, educators, unions and other stakeholders, specifically addressing alternative communication methods and systems for parents and caregivers. Our regional Disconnected conferences around the state have generated many thoughtful and passionate discussions around this issue.

We also continue to advocate for the updating of the Foundation Aid formula to better serve all our students statewide and increase school aid so our schools have the resources they need to thrive. Additionally, we continue to push for universal school meals for every child to ensure that no student goes hungry at school.

NYSUT also continues to fight for other legislative priorities in the budget and beyond, including the educator tax credit, increased BOCES funding for Career and Technical Education programs, investing in SUNY Downstate, increased funding for SUNY and CUNY, fixing Tiers 5 and 6 and many, many more.

Once the budget is passed, NYSUT will have a full reaction and analysis on nysut.org. Be sure to keep an eye out there for the information you need to know as we head through the rest of the legislative session.

s the educational landscape continues to shift, understanding educators’ rights is more crucial now than ever.

NYSUT has developed three new videos for its popular “Know Your Rights” video series that are based on the latest challenges members are facing as they try to navigate complex social issues.

The three new videos cover essential topics: Online Harassment, LGBTQ+ Issues and Immigration Enforcement Actions.

NYSUT developed the “Know Your Rights” video series last year to help guide members to better understand their rights, both inside and outside the classroom. Other titles in the series include Academic Freedom, Free Speech, Book Bans and Challenges, Women’s Rights, and Controversial Topics in the Classroom. Additional videos are being developed to address emerging issues and concerns.

nnual school budget votes and school board elections will be held in most districts statewide on Tuesday, May 20. Members are encouraged to make sure to get out and vote YES. Get your friends, neighbors and family to vote yes as well.

We know the people who are against strong public schools will turn out to vote NO. We need to make sure we are turning up to vote YES.

Last year, working together helped 97 percent of school budgets pass and 84 percent of candidates endorsed by local teacher unions won spots on school boards, including 73 NYSUT members who were elected or re-elected to board positions. Together, we can make those results happen again!

What you and your fellow NYSUT members can do:

hile preparing for their first contract negotiation since 2019, members of the Ithaca Teachers Association decided it was time to take a risk.

“There was a push within our internal union structure for more transparency, a more democratic process, more involvement from rank-and-file members and just more action,” said Ithaca TA President Kathryn Cernera.

A lot had changed since their previous agreement was ratified: a global pandemic transformed the future of education; Cernera took over as president; and tension between the community and school district reached a boiling point as voters came out in droves to reject the 2024–25 budget, raising concerns over lack of communication, accountability and fiscal responsibility.

But long before last year’s budget was voted down, the wheels of change were in motion.

fter months of contract negotiations and 8,000 grievances, nurses at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn successfully ratified a new two-year contract, just one day before their contract was set to expire, averting a strike.

“We achieved a hard-fought contract focusing on appropriate staffing for nurses to function optimally and provide quality patient care as well as competitive salaries to recognize our exceptional staff,” said United Federation of Teachers Vice President Anne Goldman, head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT.

The new two-year contract raises nurse salaries 9.25 percent for the first year, and 6 percent the second year and requires the hiring of 100 new full-time nurses.

“I am making my rounds and running into members and everyone is saying, thank you. The majority of them are so happy,” said Moncef Righi, Federation of Nurses/UFT chapter leader at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn.

esearchers at the University at Buffalo discovered a potential link between blood-pressure levels during pregnancy and an increased risk of developing hypertension in the five years after giving birth. Chemists at the University at Albany are working on a drug delivery platform that aims to improve targeted cancer treatment while reducing harmful side effects.

In light of threats to federal grant funding that are impeding critical, lifesaving research, United University Professions hosted a series of press events across the state to highlight the detrimental impact of proposed cuts on SUNY research projects.

“That this is actually happening is incredible and unconscionable,” said UUP President Frederick E. Kowal. “This freeze has already reverberated across SUNY campuses, impacting our researchers, who do lifesaving and life-changing work to address afflictions such as cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, among so many others. If not reversed immediately, these federal grant freezes will have long-lasting and catastrophic consequences in the U.S. and worldwide.”

achem Central Teachers Association President Phil Barbera wheeled a pushcart dolly carrying cardboard boxes filled with over 1,100 letters through the state Capitol and Legislative Office Building.

Barbera, a high school science teacher, hand-delivered the letters to Long Island representatives in the state Assembly and Senate in March with SCTA Executive Vice President Jon Weston. The notes shared heartfelt messages from educators, parents and students in the Sachem Central School District community highlighting their growing concerns about financial shortfalls affecting the district.

“I love Sachem North,” reads a letter written by a freshman student. “This is like a home to me. These teachers make me [feel] welcome every day I walk through the door. I was looking forward to playing on the football team and after I found out we were short [funding], I got worried.”

Sachem says the union’s goal for the letter writing campaign was to bring the voices of their school community from Suffolk County straight to Albany.

hen three students and their mother were taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a March 27 raid on a farm in Sackets Harbor, near Watertown, Jonna St. Croix and the rest of the Sackets Harbor Teachers Association knew immediately.

As word spread throughout the one-building district, educators got to work. “Teachers are highly educated, motivated people who want to protect their students,” said St. Croix. While working to maintain normalcy for the nearly 400 other students, during down times the members worked the phones, calling those they knew in law enforcement and local government, to find out where their students were and how to get them back.

s NYSUT United went to press, nearly 2,000 delegates from across the state were preparing to head to Rochester for the union’s annual convention.

“The Representative Assembly is our largest and most important governance meeting, but it’s also a time to come together to celebrate our successes and have some fun with our extended union family,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person, noting the theme for the 2025 convention — Equality, Progress, Play — is fitting for a city that was home to Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony and houses The Strong National Museum of Play.

Leaders will kick off the work of the convention Thursday, May 1 at the pre-RA Local and Retiree Council Presidents Conference. Workshop topics include negotiating Paid Family Leave; Workplace Violence Prevention Program; APPR Plans; SRP mentoring; and understanding current threats to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

During the RA, NYSUT officers will report out on their progress in implementing goals from last year and highlight the many successes the union was able to achieve in 2024.

Sandra Carner-Shafran is a powerhouse unionist who has dedicated nearly 40 years to education and activism. Whether it’s knocking on doors, working phone banks, attending rallies, lobbying in Albany, volunteering at food banks, or advocating for women’s rights, Carner-Shafran has proven time and again her profound and unwavering commitment to her union and her community.

Since 1982, Carner-Shafran proudly served New York’s most vulnerable children as a teacher aide and then a certified teaching assistant in the special education program for Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES.

A self-described “Harlem girl, born and bred,” Zina Burton-Myrick has transformed from reluctant union participant to powerful advocate during her 37-year education career. As UFT Manhattan Borough Representative for District 5, she represents educators across 27 Central Harlem schools while continuing to serve as a literacy coach at PS 154.

Burton-Myrick commands attention with her vibrant energy and unwavering commitment to collective power. “I love to say that there is strength in numbers,” she explains. “It’s a puzzle, and everybody has a piece … if we all get together, we have a wonderfully complete puzzle.”

openhagen Teachers Association president John Cain keeps Narcan in his desk and his truck. Cain wants to be clear: he isn’t courting disaster, but in this day and age, it makes sense to be prepared.

In February of 2023, the Copenhagen TA, in partnership with a community health nonprofit, organized an opioid overdose prevention training where they taught 40 members to administer the opioid antagonist.

The Copenhagen district, which straddles Jefferson and Lewis counties, is located along a prominent drug corridor that stretches from New York City to Watertown, Cain said. In recent years, the North Country has seen a surge in drug activity and overdoses, and more than half of the counties in the region made the National Office of Drug Control Policy’s list of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.

It’s What We Do

ith the high cost of almost everything these days, it’s great to be able to get something of real value for free. NYSUT Member Benefits has negotiated with its endorsed program providers to provide several quality benefits at no cost to the NYSUT membership. If you haven’t already done so, visit (and bookmark) memberbenefits.nysut.org to learn more about the following:

1. Calm App (Premium Subscription) — All NYSUT in-service and retiree members enjoy unlimited access to the popular Calm app’s full library of sleep, meditation and relaxation content. Calm offers a variety of tools to assist with your physical and mental wellness. Members can add up to five dependents (age 16 or older) to receive their own premium Calm subscription.
2. Peer Support Line— Whether you’re dealing with a specific stressor in your life or just want to speak with a supportive and empathetic voice, this helpful resource is available to all members and their loved ones. This confidential helpline is staffed by trained in-service and retired individuals who truly care. Call toll-free 844-444-0152 to connect with a peer today.

s a member of the New York State and Local Retirement System, you are enrolled in something increasingly rare these days: a defined benefit pension plan (bit.ly/NYSLRS-defined-benefit). It’s a good reason to be optimistic about your finances in retirement, but retirement security still takes planning.

Understand your NYSLRS pension

When you retire from NYSLRS, you’ll receive a guaranteed, lifetime benefit based on your earnings and years of service. A preset formula determines your benefit, not accumulated contributions and investment returns, like with a 401(k)-style plan.

Find your plan publication (bit.ly/find-plan-publication) for details about your NYSLRS benefits — how long you’ll need to work to receive a pension, how your benefit is determined, what death and disability retirement benefits may be available and more. You should consult it regularly, but especially as you prepare for retirement.

Maybe. Members of all tiers may receive credit for work prior to their date of membership that would have been creditable in a New York state public retirement system. This includes partial-year(s), part-time and substitute teaching. It may also include such work as a summer camp counselor for a town recreational program, a clerk for a public library or an office assistant in a county government department.

Prior service is New York state public service completed before your current date of membership in the Teachers’ Retirement System. While receiving credit for prior service does not change your date of membership or your tier — unless it is the result of a membership reinstatement or transfer — additional service credit can affect your eligibility for, and the calculation of, your benefits.

f you are a Florida resident, snowbird or are relocating to Florida, Retiree Council 43, the only NYSUT-sanctioned, out-of-state retiree council, is waiting to welcome you to the Sunshine State. They are an active, dedicated group of NYSUT retirees who would love for you to join one of seven local TRIF (Teachers Retired in Florida) Units: Clearwater, Naples, Nature Coast, Sarasota/Manatee, Southeast (including Palm Beach County, Broward, Miami-Dade), The Villages/Ocala and Treasure Coast.

“It should come as no surprise that more than 17,000 NYSUT members call Florida their home and that is why we are heavily invested in keeping in touch with our retirees,” said NYSUT Second Vice President Ron Gross. “The work of our RC 43 units is critical due to the many unique challenges we confront with the Florida government. As they say, you can take the NYSUT retiree out of New York, but you can’t take the union activism out of the retiree. If you are calling Florida your home, please reach out to us so we can keep you informed and remain connected to our great union.”

Felicia Bruce, a retiree from the Brentwood Teachers Association, is RC 43 president. The Southern wing of the union’s daytime army hosts events to keep members connected with each other — and active in the community. In May, the council will present its successful spring symposium, which brings together union leaders and members from across the state to hear important updates from NYSUT, the United Federation of Teachers, Florida Education Association and others.

If you are interested in becoming involved with retired colleagues, even on a seasonal basis, contact Miriam Hanan, NYSUT Retirees Services Consultant, at 516-236- 0276 or Miriam.Hanan@nysut.org.