FA President Dante Morelli poses with NYSUT President Melinda Person at the Community College Conference in early November. (photo by Andrew Watson, NYSUT)

Just as some faculty ask their students to submit a self-evaluation to help them develop a holistic overview of their own progress, I am pleased to write that I believe we have earned straight A’s this semester for our work in the FA.

First, we were thrilled to see that 93% of the members who voted for the contract voted “yes” to endorse the MOA. We also had unanimous support from the college Board of Trustees, from the Legislature’s Education and Labor Committee and a 17-0 vote from the full Suffolk County Legislature.

Additionally, we almost had a perfect score in our 2023 endorsements for the Suffolk County Legislature and County Executive positions. 15 out of the 16 candidates we endorsed won their respective races. And our endorsement of Ed Romaine, a former FA member and a former high school history teacher in Hauppauge, handily won his race for County Executive. The FA had more than 67,000 mailers sent to NYSUT members across Suffolk County detailing our endorsement for County Executive-elect Romaine. Our PAC screening committee carefully interviewed each candidate over the summer, and our Executive Council accepted and voted in favor of our endorsed slate of candidates—which, as always, are predicated on their demonstrated support of educators and unionists and more specifically of the college and the FA.

Screenings of and engagement with our elected officials is an integral part of our union. The reason we get to a 17-0 unanimous vote is our work in building relationships with our elected officials, especially in the Suffolk County Legislature. We did not have unanimous support for our last contract proposal that went in front of the legislature in May 2020. That vote was 15-3. Since then, we have worked hard to tell the story about the great work our members perform on behalf of students and the college.

While the current contract is in place until August 31, 2026, this does not mean we do not stop thinking about, and looking toward, the next contract. We would like to engage our members by going on a listening tour. We are happy to meet with members in person as a department, in smaller groups or within Executive Council constituencies—either in person or on Zoom—to listen to concerns facing your department and any other issues our members wish to communicate.

Happy holiday season to all!