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Faculty union helps new members feel at home
Sept. 22, 2005 Members of the Faculty Association of Suffolk Community College gather before a new-member orientation session. For the Faculty Association of Suffolk Community College, welcoming new members involves more than a handshake and a pat on the back — it's a full-year affair. FASCC kicked off its new-member program with a two-day orientation in August that included seminars, raffles, take-aways and instructions on how to use support systems. On the first day of orientation, new members were treated to a condensed course on critical thinking, provided by Kevin McIntyre, an instructor from NYSUT's Education and Learning Trust. FASCC President Ellen Schuler Mauk said the evaluations were "enthusiastic." "The higher ed people wanted one- or two-day workshops, and Kevin picked and chose the best features from the course," said Schuler Mauk. Day Two of orientation featured discussion of personnel issues and union support for members. Those who signed up to contribute at least $5 a week to VOTE-COPE, NYSUT's voluntary political action fund, received a free T-shirt; those who committed to contributing at least $6 weekly also were entered into a drawing to win a laptop computer. CD-ROMs A highlight, Schuler Mauk said, was distribution of information-packed CD-ROMs to new and veteran members. The union produced 2,500 of the CD-ROMs — the size of a business card — at a cost of several dollars apiece, and loaded them with resources such as the union's contract, benefits information and links to the Web sites for New York State United Teachers and its national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers. "The orientation ... provided me with the essential tools to help me function within an educational environment that is completely new to me," said M. Nieves Alonso-Almagro, a new member and foreign languages instructor. "It was a great initiative." Support does not end once the orientation is over. New members will be assigned a trained mentor by the union. Mentors also receive a stipend from the union to take their new colleagues to lunch. The union has established a listserv, an e-mail group that lets new members send questions to union leaders and each other. FASCC is part of NYSUT's Local Action Project, which provides training on member and community outreach. —Kevin Hart |
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