There was a lot to be learned at this year’s RA held in Rochester, NY from May 3rd-6th. It was a jam packed schedule for four days and contained a wealth of information too numerous to cover in this article so please read the latest issue of NY Teacher for all the details. Some highlights that I carried back with me:

• Witnessing history with the unification of NYSUT and NEA/NY and having the membership (and strength) of NYSUT grow to 560,000 members
• Having the MTA recognized as an award winning local for Vote/Cope contributions (the Abel Blatman Award)
• Listening to Brenda Mitchell, President of the New Orleans Teachers, detail the devastation of her teachers’ union through the firing of thousands of teachers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Only four schools in Ms. Mitchell’s union remain open yet charter schools have been allowed to develop.
• Hearing the thunderous applause for Jason McElwain, the young man from upstate New York who, as an autistic student, showed incredible devotion to the varsity boys’ basketball team as the team manager. Jason, featured on nationwide television, was told to “suit up” for the final game of his senior year. Entering the game in the last four minutes, Jason scored six three-point shots and made a total of 20 points. It was heartwarming and a tribute to the human spirit that Jason, along with his teammates, and his coach (a proud NYSUT member) was honored at the convention. There weren’t too many dry eyes!
• A quote from Josephine Sano, one of the winners of the “Not for Ourselves Alone” award given in memory of Sandy Feldman (UFT president, AFT president, NYSUT board member)–“Things like maternity leave and tenure are not birthrights, but hard-fought gains.” Many members have no idea that certain things we now enjoy were not always givens and were won after long and hard bargaining.
• NYSUT is now partnered in the Fair Trade Program with the state Labor-Religion Coalition. Fair trade ensures products are not made using child labor and that workers are paid a fair wage. Dean’s Beans, a Massachusetts coffee company, will donate a percentage of each sale to the coalition. Internet buyers simply enter the code word “NYSUT” at checkout. On May 6th, Esperanza Castillo, general manager of a coffee co-op in Peru spoke to the delegates. Her moving words described how Dean Cycon, president of Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Company, helped bring fair trade coffee to the U.S. market. Ms. Castillo told how people in her village see a future for their children. Now, because of fair trade practices, the villagers can afford to send children to school instead of having them pick coffee beans. For more information go to: www.deansbeans.org or www.labor-religion.org.