Broadside 9-29-17
September 29, 2017
FFECC Member Mobilization Initiative
FFECC is sponsoring educational sessions and discussions about the future of your union at NYSUT Regional Offices, 270 Essjay Rd., Williamsville NY 14221 on one of the dates below:
October 2 and October 24, all from 3 pm to 5 pm
The presentations will be in two parts:
Upcoming legal challenges to public sector unions - pending Supreme Court cases, such as Janus, that will probably change the way your union can operate; and
How to build a stronger, more participatory, "transformational" union. If the whole country becomes “right to work” (a likely outcome of the Janus case) the unions that survive will be those where large numbers of members have a small personal stake in running their union – a true sense that “the union is all of us.”
We hope many of you can attend one of these sessions. We are looking for a lot of members to do just a little bit - maybe an hour a month.
Discussion about how all this may affect your union, the FFECC, will follow. Snacks and beverages will be served at 4:30 pm.
Please let Sara in the FFECC office (email: ffeccoffice@ecc.edu, (716) 270-2938) know if you plan to attend one of these sessions, and if so, which one. We need a count for refreshments.
Where Your Union Dues Go
FFECC Union Dues are $714 per year for full time employees. Of that $714, $378 goes to New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), $236 is split between the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and $100 goes directly to the FFECC.
Part time dues are 3% of gross earnings up to 50% of full time dues, where it stops. Many part time members never reach the 50% level.
Your union dues are tax deductible.
NYSUT (https://www.nysut.org/) is our sponsoring union and provides us with many services, protections, and benefits. Among these are:
Creates higher salaries than non-unionized workers through the contract process
Protects our jobs with negotiated contracts
Employs Labor Relations Specialists who help with contract negotiations, grievances, employee disciplinary matters and union building
Provides union training to FFECC officers, Executive Counsel and members
Provides political action funding and advocacy through the VOTE COPE program (not funded by union dues) – aids the local in its political activities as required
NYSUT Legal provides representation in qualifying situations and legal advice and counsel to the Federation President
Advocates and protects our retirement pensions through having representation on the various pension boards
Arranges for financial and legal advisors for members through their member benefits programs
Offers group discounts through member benefits on a variety of personal services (travel, shopping, insurance, car purchases etc.) – we have a seat at the table
Offers both national and state higher education conferences
For more information, visit https://www.nysut.org/members Have your NYSUT membership number available.
FFECC improves our work environment and our standard of living by:
Negotiating a fair contract
Providing job stability and security to members who maintain their professionalism
Protecting members’ rights under the contract in disciplinary situations
Assuring regular step pay increases related to years of service and credentials
Guaranteeing contractual right to tenure
Standardizing promotion processes through evaluations
Securing regular vacation time for our technical and professional staff
Arbitrating grievances
Reducing health insurance costs by collaborative participation in the Labor Management Health Fund
Continuing health insurance coverage and sick-day conversion to HRA after retirement
Hosting social events and recreational activities as requested by member
Providing union-related education to members
Provide political action on the County and local level that affects our Board and our funding
Supporting professional development and training for our members
Providing contractual academic unit autonomy in hiring practices
Guaranteeing academic freedom
For more information visit http://www.ffecc.org/ .
