FA President Dante Morelli addresses the pilot participants of the new JEDI Institute during one of the three summer sessions. (photo by Cynthia Eaton)

Welcome back! I hope you were able to get away like so many others were able to do this summer. I spent most of the summer visiting and enjoying many of our beautiful beaches on Long Island.

I want to thank our members for your vote in re-electing all of the officers to another two-year term. Your confidence in our leadership team is an honor and a privilege. Having served as president for the last two years, I have learned so much and have been constantly reflecting on our union, especially during these times.

Over our 51-year history, our union has experienced contract fights, anti-union decisions from the Supreme Court and now a pandemic. The resilience of our union through these major events is a testament to our membership.

In reflecting upon on our union during these times, it is impossible to ignore the controversial issues surrounding us in our communities. In addition to a pandemic, our society has faced major issues surrounding inequities in race and class. Many organizations, including our sisters and brothers from various K-12 school districts on Long Island, have faced these issues.

In these times, we are a union that believes that Black Lives Matter and we support local law enforcement. We are well aware that our racially minoritized faculty and students have faced and continue to face discrimination. We are also aware that some of our members and students come from families who proudly serve in law enforcement.

The debate over critical race theory has been one point of focus for those to find it controversial. When it comes to teaching “controversial content,” related to a faculty member’s subject area, including but not limited to critical race theory, the FA will support our members, as academic freedom is a proud cornerstone of our contract that will be vigorously defended.

I am well aware that the previous paragraphs themselves might be deemed controversial. Our union, in addition to other teacher unions, have much work to do when it comes to issues around race and class. In the FA, we are beginning this discussion through our JEDI program for which we received a $35,000 grant to advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion associated with our work as educators (see Cynthia's articles “Five ways to be JEDI” and “A $35,000 launch for the JEDI Institute”).

Additionally, the FA has secured a $15,000 grant to implement NYSUT’s Take a Look at Teaching initiative (TALAT). This program aims to address the looming teacher shortage in New York State, and NYSUT’s goal is to increase diversity in the teaching profession. According to a study by Hofstra University, 61% of school districts on Long Island do not have a single teacher of color. The FA’s involvement will be a mentoring program connecting our current students from the Grant Campus to students at Brentwood High School who are interested in pursuing a career in teaching.

In addition to these initiatives, the FA is gearing up for contract negotiations, as our current contract expires on August 31, 2022. We will continue to advocate for full-time faculty lines—as noted in Courtney's article—and will continue to be critical of the bloated administrative structure that does not serve students and the college’s mission.

In fact, we met with candidates running for Suffolk County Legislature and delivered a presentation to the candidates about these issues. We will be making a similar presentation to the Board of Trustees. Please read our endorsements article to see who our PAC and EC have endorsed. The FA is not a politically partisan organization but we are proudly a politically active organization.

The world and our communities seem to be in chaos in light of racial justice issues and the pandemic. Many of us have been isolated for the last year and a half and this often further puts us in a corner, which in turn can solidify our opinions. We all have opinions on these matters and so do our students. While some may see this as a scary time, I think there is no better time to be an educator than now. We have an opportunity to better engage students with our presence and our assistance on issues that truly matter.

While these times feel turbulent, the FA is still a union of solidarity. This is the thread that binds us together to take on big issues that matter to our members and students.

As we transition back to a larger on-campus presence this year, please join us in conversations on these issues as it is now our time as educators and unionists.