MVCC Professional Association

In addition to acknowledging the fine past and present PA leadership, we had the opportunity to recognize the contribution the PA makes to the local community. One way we do this is by collecting non-perishable food at the end-of-semester socials and donating it to the Utica Food Bank.

Community Outreach: New Ideas...New Participants...NEW RECORD!!! 11th Annual Ted Moore 5K Run/Walk
by Deanna Ferro

On Saturday, May 3rd , the 11th Annual Ted Moore Run/Walk was held on the MVCC Utica campus. With over 208 participants, this year’s Run/Walk was the most successful ever!

The Theodore “Ted” Moore Run/Walk Committee hosts this event each year to pay tribute to the significant contributions Associate Professor Ted Moore made to the college, union/management relations, and the community before he was tragically taken from his family, friends, students, and colleagues through the actions of a drunk driver in December 1996. Proceeds from the event benefit the Theodore “Ted” Moore Memorial Scholarship, along with a portion that is awarded to area agencies that work to educate our community about the dangers of drinking and driving and substance abuse.

This year, in an attempt to help grow the event, the Ted Moore Run/Walk Committee members looked for creative ways to promote and spark interest in the event, and their creativity was a success! Committee members and students painted windows and chalked sidewalks with the hope of increasing awareness and participation among the college community. In addition to the new event promotion, the committee developed another way of promoting and raising money for the event…“Sneaker Angels”!

As a way to remember Ted and his love of running, the committee developed the “Sneaker Angel.” Selling for $2.00 each, these sneakers began popping up around campus. This not only helped raise money for the Run/Walk, but in turn increased awareness of the upcoming event. These “Sneaker Angels” helped the college community remember the important contributions Ted Moore made to MVCC, Ted’s love of running, and the importance of preventing future DWI tragedies.

With the increased awareness of the event came increased participation from student clubs and organizations. Groups like Student Congress, Student Nurses Association, and PTK not only volunteered to sell Sneaker Angels and paint windows, but also volunteered the morning of the event. The help of these student groups contributed greatly to the success of the event as well as increased the participation by MVCC students.

The event overall was a huge success with 208 participants making the 11th Annual Ted Moore Run/Walk the largest ever! The Run/Walk was attended for the first time by Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr., who joined David Mathis to represent the MVCC Alumni Association Team. It was also the first time an MVCC President attended and participated in the event. Dr. Randall VanWagoner, with his daughter Lauren VanWagoner by his side, completed the 5K Run in under 30 minutes. Following the race and before the Run/Walk results and door prizes were announced, Dr. VanWagoner thanked all participants and volunteers for their support. Overall winners of the Run/Walk were Paul Humphrey of Deerfield, NY (18:02) and Michele Nizzi of Frankfort, NY (20:07). These winners each received a trophy along with a $50 Alee’s gift certificate, which was generously donated by former PA President Jerry Scotti in memory of Ted.

Thank you to all the PA Members who participated in and donated to this important event. The Ted Moore Run/Walk committee hopes to see everyone at the 12th Annual Ted Moore Run/Walk next year!

Members will next learn about available NYSUT resources. The workshop ended with enthusiasm for the research practice we will be acquiring in anticipation of our culminating exercise at Alex Bay in October.

PAnorama received SEVEN "first" awards in this year's NYSUT Journalism Competition. The categories for these awards were as follows:

These were the guiding words for the 2008 Labor-Religion Coalition “Full Circle for Economic Justice” conference held at NYSUT headquarters in Latham, NY on May 18-19.

Not surprisingly, the majority of the conference focused on education. After opening remarks from Brian O’Shaughnessay, Executive Director of the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition, conference participants broke into workshop groups. The topics of these afternoon workshops were Healthcare Now for All, Fair Trade, Sweatshop-Free Purchasing and Policies, and Immigration.

In the first workshop, Marilyn Clement, National Coordinator of Healthcare-NOW, presented information on the deficits of our current healthcare system and what “Healthcare-NOW” is doing to achieve a national health care system for everyone in the U.S.

The Fair Trade workshop participants were treated to a history of the Fair Trade movement, tools and techniques that can be used to promote Fair Trade, and samples of Fair Trade goodies. Presenters Anne Kelly and Maureen Casey are among the members of the Labor-Religion Coalition staff, and Brian Crouth coordinates a nation-wide program at Equal Exchange that focuses on educating the public about Fair Trade and how consumer choices impact the lives of small-scale farmers around the world. Maureen Casey has been organizing and leading groups of New Yorkers on Border Witness delegations since 1997.

Jordan Wells, SweatFree Coordinator at the Labor-Religion Coaliton, and Liana Foxvog, the National Organizer of SweatFree Communities, presented information on how participants can act locally to challenge corporate power and to end public financing of sweatshop exploitation.

The last choice of Sunday workshops was on immigration. David Dyssegaard Kallick, a senior fellow of the Fiscal Policy Institute, discussed some of the data from the Fiscal Policy Institute’s book, Working for a Better Life: A Profile of Immigrants in the New York State Economy. Kallick touched upon several specific issues: the top ten countries from which immigrants come; immigrant data for the State as a whole, as well as information particular to upstate, downstate, and “downstate suburbs”; the types of jobs held by immigrants (in upstate NY, the largest number of immigrants are employed as college and university professors); and effects of English and education on income.

Also in this workshop, Alethia Jones led spirited exercises and a role-play that resulted in constructive discussions on immigration, particularly within the framework of organized labor. At the end of this workshop, Rabbi Michael Feinberg informed us about the New Sanctuary Movement and took questions from the workshop participants.

After the workshops, we were served a delicious meal and then we gathered again for a little entertainment and to recognize youth organizations from around the state that have been active in promoting social and economic justice. One group represented a school club that has raised enough funding to have one of their members participate in the Border Witness program and that has been slowly convincing their school to use more and more Fair Trade and Equal Exchange products. Another group surprised us with a skit and poetry illustrating the challenges facing immigrant workers. Many of these youths were present and participated throughout the conference. The energy, creativity, hard work, and sincerity of these young people truly inspired the more mature members in attendance.

Sunday’s education was followed by more education. On Monday, we heard from two guest speakers. One was Marilyn Clement (who also led one of the Sunday workshops). Clement has an impressive resume. Among her past jobs, is her work with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She showed us a video demonstrating the need for a guaranteed national healthcare system and explained HR 676, a bill supporting a single-payer healthcare system.

After another selection of workshops—Involving Clergy/Religious Leadership in Worker Struggles; Acting “Globally and Locally” to Come Full Circle; Engaging Voters in a Critical Election Year; Bringing Farm Worker and Domestic Worker Rights into the 21st Century; and Uphill Battle: Workers Organizing in an Anti-union Setting and the Need for the Employee Free Choice Act—we heard from the second guest speaker, M. Patricia Smith, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor. Smith spoke about the steps she and the Department of Labor have taken to ensure safety and equity for immigrant workers.

All of the guest speakers and presenters were eager to educate by sharing their knowledge. After receiving all of this information, we were encouraged to take responsibility for the second guiding word of the conference—activate. The conference leaders asked us to make posters for an upcoming rally for farm and domestic worker rights, and to write a “90-second letter” to a state senator asking for support of the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act.

Time Warner Cable has been trying to negotiate a contract without a pension benefit for its upstate employees. CWA 1126 is having none of it, and has voted to reject the offer to settle without the benefit.

CWA not only rejected the offer, but has also been vocal about their struggle. CWA held a rally at Utica City Hall on April 11, and Congressman Michael Arcuri and Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito spoke in support of the union.

CWA 1126's ability to stand strong has led to more serious discussions at the table, with Time Warner now offering "...a year of retroactive 2 percent raises to the proposal. The negotiating team is now supporting the offer, which also includes 2 percent raises annually for the next four years and a 401(k) plan with compnay contributions" (http://district1.cwa-union.org/news/time-warner-members-hang-tought-and-win.html ).