Seventeen FA members attended the NYSUT Community College Conference this year. Above from left are Joan Wozniak, Joan Cook, Michelle Fowler, Dante Morelli, Rich Lauria, Carl Coulanges, Cynthia Eaton, Kerry Spooner, Jane-Marie Wright, Danielle DiMauro, Kevin McCoy, Courtney Brewer, Priscilla Pratt and Mary Schafer. Not shown are Lisa Aymong, Jill Malik and Bruce Seger.

"Hearing first hand how other locals are dealing with things like contract negotiations, increased workloads, budget problems and social justice concerns both sparked ideas and helped put things in perspective for me."

That's the takeaway from the 41st Annual NYSUT Community College Conference for Mary Schafer (ESL, Eastern). The conference was historic for Schafer as well as Carl Coulanges (Communication, Ammerman) and Rich Lauria (Foreign Language, Ammerman) because it was the very first time each had attended this conference.

But it was historic in other ways too. Held on the weekend of November 8-10, this year's Community College Conference saw a record number of locals in attendance (30) and a record number of attendees (180).

Both records are all the more remarkable given our post-Janus union environment.

A strong union is certainly valued by adjunct EC rep Priscilla Pratt (Library), who agrees with Schafer that perspective taking is an important aspect of this annual gathering of community college union activists from across the state:

I attended several sessions for adjuncts. One was an eye opener in the sense that I never realized how much better off we adjuncts at SCCC are compared with many of our peers at other colleges. Specifically, in my own field, library service, a part-time librarian at a CUNY school is paid 60% of what a full-time librarian is paid for an overload, even though both have equal education and perform the same duties. Our union insists on equality of pay. We have a strong union, and they're on our side.

	FA members listening carefully during a workshop are, at front table, Rich Lauria and Jill Malik and, at back left table, Joan Wozniak, Danielle Mauro, Lisa Aymong, Mary Schafer and Joan Cook. (photo by El-Wise Noisette)

Workshops included several sessions about ideas and strategies for negotiations and member mobilization, several about organizing and engaging adjunct and contingent faculty, building union leadership, social justice issues, finances, Census 2020 and more.

The Sunday morning session was a "speed round" with several attendees hosting tables focused on issues of concern, including distance education, member engagement, social justice, benefits, know your contract and new member mentoring programs.

"I’m already looking forward to next year's conference," declared adjunct English instructor and EC rep Kerry Spooner. Spooner found the conference valuable for a variety of reasons:

As an adjunct, meeting other adjunct union activists and attending adjunct mobilization and social justice workshops are inspiring, to say the least—discussing community college industry trends, economic and social justice campaigns and sharing strategies have proven invaluable as an EC representative, as an academic and as someone seeking a full-time position.

New communication professor Carl Coulanges echoes Spooner's desire to return for next year's NYSUT Community College Conference. "As a first time attendee, I had a great experience. I learned a significant amount from the different seminars during that weekend about social justice, building union leadership teams and understanding college budgets and financing."

"The best part of the weekend," Coulanges continued, "was meeting fellow union members and learning about who they are and what they do."

Connecting with and learning from colleagues in other locals and in our own is perennially cited as a top reason to attend. Join us! Contact any of the FA officers or your EC rep if you'd like to attend next fall.