Thursday, March 25, 2004.

NYSUT's Antonia Cortese and Tom Hobart meet with Stuart Rothenberg, who spoke to local presidents.

With national polls putting the November presidential election at a statistical tie, voters better know where they stand - and act on it - long before they go to the polls. That was a message political analyst Stuart Rothenberg delivered to a record crowd of union leaders at the annual Local Presidents' Conference.

"Most people already have an idea of how they are going to vote - and you better - because this is going to go down to the wire," said Rothenberg, a CNN analyst and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report.

Rothenberg's keynote address set the tone for the annual two-day pre-RA Local Presidents' Conference. More than 400 local leaders - the most ever, said NYSUT's Antonia Cortese - attended the conference, including 30 higher ed leaders and 37 School-Related Professionals leaders. New this year, 30 retiree council presidents attended a separate strand of workshops.

Political action - at the local, state and national levels - was a hot topic. "What can we as local leaders do to energize the electorate that we represent?" asked Patty Bentley, UUP Plattsburgh, in a question-and-answer session with NYSUT officers. Increasing get-out-the-vote efforts in New York, said NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin.

Information on reaching out to members and encouraging political activity was especially helpful for Marge Brumfield, president of the Rochester Association of Paraprofessionals. "It equips us so we're more able to answer the questions coming to us," Brumfield said.

RAP Treasurer Natalie Vazzano agreed: "The union can only do so much. This is something they can do for themselves that is going to help other people."

Other topics at the conference included No Child Left Behind; Medicare; the role of unions in educational programs like mentoring and professional development; and an update on school funding.

NYSUT President Tom Hobart also updated local presidents on the statewide union's workshop offerings on fiscal accountability.

Peggy Barmore, assistant to the NYSUT president, organized the conference.