by Kristine Hanington

As a senior building rep. I often get asked: Who is NYSUT? What do they do? What do my dues pay for? Now I’ve got an answer. NYSUT is a resource that provides information to educate its members. I attended NYSUT’s Health and Safety conference in Albany this past weekend. The conference theme was “The Danger Educated NYSUT Member,” and educate they did. NYSUT has a health and safety task force that is comprised of various people including educators from throughout New York. This task force organizes the conference to educate union members in locals that include teachers, TA’s, support staff, bus drivers, custodians, and university professors.

At this conference I was able to increase my knowledge of health and safety issues that affect us everyday. In the course, “Health and Safety 101,” I received information and resources regarding Commissioner’s Regulation 155, NYSUT bulletins on specific health and safety issues, and resources to answer questions on a laundry list of health and safety issues. By the time it ended I felt like my head might explode. Thankfully, I was given a 3-inch binder with all the resources that were referenced.

On Saturday, I took two informational courses and one that promoted stress release. I learned about various cancers and workplace risk factors. We also zeroed in on breast cancer and its risk factors. Another part of the course included environmental factors that we are exposed to in our everyday lives. It is amazing the things you don’t think about that are known to be potential carcinogens. Another course was taught by a PESH consultant. He showed us how to identify work place hazards. We had a round table discussion about how to alleviate hazards and deal with different situations. The last course was yoga as a way to help relieve workplace stress.

All in all it was an extremely informative weekend. NYSUT is an amazing educating body, and a wonderful resource. If you have an opportunity to go to a NYSUT conference, it is certainly worth considering. I have never left a NYSUT conference empty handed or hungry, for that matter. By the way, the food is always top notch, and it’s a great opportunity to meet people from other locals throughout the state.