What is NYSUT?
What is the AFT?
What is VOTE-COPE?
What does it mean for teachers to have tenure?
What is NYSUT?
New York State United Teachers is 500,000 people who work in or are retired from, New York's schools, colleges, and healthcare facilities. Classroom teachers, college and university faculty and professional staff, school bus drivers, custodians, secretaries, cafeteria workers, teacher assistants and aides, nurses and healthcare technicians are the groups that NYSUT represents.
NYSUT is a federation of more than 900 local unions, each representing its own members. It is part of the American Federation of Teachers, the fastest growing union in the United States. It is also part of organized labor - the AFL-CIO - and of Education International, with more than 20 million members worldwide.
What is the AFT?
The AFT pioneered the organization of professionals, and as a result of its drive for collective bargaining for teachers in the 1960s, it paved the way for the unionization of other public sector and professional employees. These groups have joined the AFT because of its democratic spirit and structure, its competence in serving their interests through collective bargaining, and its participation in the labor movement. Each AFT constituency shares common goals of professional development, empowerment at work, and building more effective institutions for the people it serves
In addition to its teacher members, the AFT represents paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, higher education faculty and staff, public employees, and nurses and other healthcare professionals.
What is VOTE-COPE?
VOTE-COPE is New York State United Teachers' voluntary political action fund, which pools contributions from members across the state to support local school budgets and pro-education candidates. It also supports political action on behalf of education, healthcare and labor issues
What does it mean for teachers to have tenure?
Basically, tenure means "due process." It means that once teachers successfully complete a probationary period, school boards and their administrators must follow a formal, legal process to discipline or dismiss them. The probationary period for new teachers is three years. However, previously tenured teachers looking to work in other New York state districts or transfer their tenure areas in the same district must complete an additional two-year probation. The procedure, spelled out in Section 3020-A of state education law, provides tenured teachers with a system of due process, giving them the right to answer charges that have been brought against them. Conduct or conditions that may constitute just cause for discipline or discharge of a tenured teacher include misconduct, incompetence, insubordination, physical or mental disability, neglect of duty or lack of a teaching certificate. A tenured teacher can be dismissed if found guilty of any of these charges.