Oct. 21, 1998
Union celebrates SRPs
Conference explains efforts, trains leaders

The statewide union has boosted involvement of School-Related Personnel members significantly in the past year.

The union worked to:

• include SRP members on all New York State United Teachers committees and functions;

• create a subtitle in the New York Teacher to reflect SRP membership;

• encourage teacher centers to offer professional development and to use SRP members as facilitators;

• expand the Effective Teaching Program to include offerings to SRP members; and

• provide more information about VOTE-COPE, the union's voluntary political action campaign, to SRP members.

"We've got a lot farther to go," Hobart said, adding that The Year of the SRP - the theme of the leadership conference - will continue. In December, the statewide union's Board of Directors will elect four additional members representing SRPs with full voting rights.

More than 60,000 of NYSUT's 400,000 members work in SRP categories, representing a range of job titles in clerical, custodial, transportation, nursing and classroom jobs.

And the work is not over. NYSUT is revamping its stationery to acknowledge its wide-ranging membership. The union continues to improve mailings and distribution for SRP local presidents and chapter leaders. The union is establishing SRP consultant positions for several regional offices.

Participation is a two-way street. Hobart urged union leaders to share responsibilities and set an adequate local dues level. "The most effective unions have everybody doing something, instead of somebody doing everything," he said. "And you get what you pay for."

He also urged members to attend union meetings in their election districts to share concerns with other constituencies of the union. (Election districts are geographic groupings of local unions.)

Barbara Bishop has a scrapbook for recognition her grandchildren receive. But after being named School-Related Personnel Employee of the Year by her union, she had to start one for herself.

"We're all doing jobs that deserve recognition like I've received this year," Bishop said at the annual SRP conference sponsored by the statewide union, United Teachers.

She urged more locals to consider nominating workers for the award, which recognizes workers with a positive attitude about their jobs who advocate for a safe, healthy atmosphere for students and a cooperative work environment for staff.

Every local union is invited to submit one nomination for this award. Besides the above criteria, current SRP workers must show a commitment toward the goals of New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers.

The selected candidate will be honored by NYSUT at the 1999 Representative Assembly April 22-24 in Niagara Falls.

Nominations must be returned by Dec. 18 to: Subcommittee on SRP Honorees, NYSUT, 800 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, New York, 12110-2455 .