As we begin the fall semester we have three more years left on our contract. We have a boom in building construction and a good working relationship with our elected officials both statewide and here in Suffolk County. We are working together to move SCCC to a higher level.

We are on the radar and gaining more and more recognition for what we have accomplished. Locally we have worked together to make SCCC the best in the state and a rising star on the national scene.

We have created the framework. We are ready for the next phase.

We will make history this November. We have the opportunity to elect a president who will shape the Supreme Court for our generation. Who will restore the middle class? Who will unify our communities and invest in higher education?

This month the FA will be conducting a voter registration drive and a campaign to get students and faculty to Pledge to Vote this November.

As you know there is much to be done not only nationally but locally we also need to re-elect state assemblypersons and senators who continue to support higher education and our labor issues.

This summer FA delegates Dante Morelli, Joyce Gabriele, Marie Hanna, Matt Pappas and I attended the bi-annual AFT Convention in Minneapolis where we worked on education, labor and social justice issues. We were present when presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the convention. It truly was an historic event!

In addition FA leaders were on other political scenes as well. Dante was at the Democratic National Convention; I was in Albany as part of NYSUT’s Endorsement Conference; and Sean, Dante and I attended the 33rd Constitutional Convention of the New York State AFL-CIO in late August which also dealt with November endorsements. As a member of the LI Federation of Labor’s Executive Committee I also attended a labor breakfast with NYS Lieutenant Governor Hochul to discuss LI labor issues and education.

We will also be conducting a member VOTE/COPE drive asking members to begin or to increase their contributions to our political action efforts.

The pieces are before us. The groundwork has been laid. We need to work together to shape history this November. We need to help elect supporters of education, labor and social justice issues, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or third-party candidates. 

Activism works! Let’s work together to piece together a complete, positive puzzle.