Pledge TODAY to stick with the union! Go to www.tinyurl.com/nysut-membership and recommit to the FA. Simply enter our local number, 39-045, in the field for "local name."

I want to thank all the members who recently signed membership pledge cards and the many ambassadors for their help with the drive.

The U.S. Supreme Court will rule on Janus v. AFSCME sometime within the next two months. This case is a result of special interests trying to destroy unions, specifically the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the Liberty Justice Center. They want to take away our hard-fought victories: our right to collectively bargain for fair pay and other benefits provided by our collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The FA officers have attended many workshops on the Janus case, and NYSUT, our state organization, has made it clear that we need to get our message out: Our Voice, Our Values, Our Union. We need to stick together, for united we have the power to protect our rights and our CBA.

We all need to commit to keep our union strong. That’s why “I’m Sticking with the Union” so we can preserve our voice and protect our benefits. Let me repeat what NYSUT asserts in its “What’s at stake?” campaign:

	Kevin Peterman explains why he is sticking with the union during the FA's annual leadership appreciation luncheon on Friday, May 4, at the Snapper Inn. (photo by Victoria Pendzick)

They’re at it again.

Anti-labor forces funded by the wealthy elite and their well-heeled friends are launching yet another attack on working Americans, this time with a legal challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court known as Janus v. AFSCME.
Should the billionaires succeed in their latest assault on the nation’s workers, they would strike a blow to the very future of public-sector unions.

There is much at stake:

• The right to bargain collectively for a living wage
• Health coverage for you and your loved ones
• Your right to a secure and dignified retirement
• A voice on the job to ensure safe conditions and to prevent the abuse and exploitation of workers
• A respectable standard of living for all working families

Don’t be fooled. The Janus case is about the rich getting richer at the expense of the working class.

America’s labor movement has shown time and again throughout history that, in banding together and fighting for what’s right, we can defeat injustice. And that holds true today.

While the Janus case could be a blow to public sector unions, I’m convinced that if there is a negative Janus decision, we will take the negative and make it a positive.

How? By getting everyone we represent to join the union. The FA’s goal is to have all full and part-time faculty sign a union membership form, so we will truly speak with a united UNION VOICE as we begin negotiations next year.

We can fight this. We will fight this. And we will win.