[July 7 Update: Article published in On Campus magazine at http://aft.org/pubs-reports/on_campus/julyaug09/OC_julyaug09.pdf#page=9]

Union Health and Safety Experts Hoping for Better Cooperation

NEW BRUNSWICK… When Joyce Sagi and Amy Bahruth collaborated on a grant through the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to cultivate peer-to-peer emergency planning at Rutgers, the duo had no idea university management would fiercely resist sharing vital information. Now the state has confirmed that the refusal to cooperate in emergency action planning constitutes a serious risk to student, faculty, staff and community safety.

Visit www.aft.org/aftplus for details.

A credit crunch, a crisis in the housing market and huge employment losses -is it any wonder why millions of Americans feel more than a little dazed and confused what is shaping up to be the worst recession in the past 70 years?

Fortunately, the AFT has worked hard to assemble one of the best union benefits packages around.

The Price is Right for CAC steward Cody Burke as an episode he taped in November recently aired. Want to know what he wins? You have to watch at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmwii6gqimM

Englebert Santana

Last week's Focus featured an article about URA-AFT member Englebert Santana, student assessment counselor with the Educational Opportunities Fund in Newark.

URA-AFT member Lt. David McCall and his family lost all their possessions in a house fire last week. Fortunately, the family got out without injury.

Nydjria Smith and Lawrence Pressley are currently taking a collection for the McCall family during this time of need. Call 973-353-5284 for more information.
University Police Headquarters- Newark Campus
200 University Ave
Newark, NJ 07102

Heather McKay

Last week's Focus article "Rutgers helping shape policy for new administration" featured URA-AFT member Heather McKay along with four faculty members. Here is what Focus wrote about McKay:

On Jan. 9, Dr. Philip Furmanski sent out a reminder about Rutgers ethics program disclosure forms to the administrative email list. The new forms are in accord with our agreement with Dr. Furmanski. Members concerned with any potential conflicts should contact their stewards to discuss.

URA-AFT has 12 standing committees based on our constitution and two ad hoc committees (Grant-Funded and Outreach):

• Civil Rights
• Communications

“Unions Helping Women: Women Helping Unions”
2009 Conference Information:
Friday, March 20 - Saturday, March 21, 2009
East Brunswick Hilton, East Brunswick, NJ

We are pleased to announce the Sixth Annual (WILD) Women In Leadership Development Conference to be held at the East Brunswick Hilton on Friday, March 20 through Saturday, March 21, 2009.

This year, the WILD Conference will not only draw women from New Jersey and across the nation, but we are proudly hosting an international visit of 10 union women from the United Kingdom.

Together, AFT has more than 40,000 members in New Jersey, including all levels of faculty, teachers, nurses, and every type of higher education worker in the state.

The URA-AFT Constitution was voted on and passed Monday, March 24, 2008 at the membership meeting with teleconference feeds between the New Brunswick, Newark and Camden campuses. Each section of the constitution was reviewed prior to the vote and approved.

The Union Leadership Academy (ULA) registration fees are paid for URA-AFT members. Email union@ura-aft.org to be included. ULA was created over 40 years ago to respond to these needs and to provide a long term continuing educational opportunity for unionists and workers. ULA helps union leaders and activists better understand the social, political and economic forces that impact unions and workers and to develop strategies and programs to benefit unions, workers and their communities.