ED 51-53 RESOLUTIONS
ADVOCACY FOR A SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR THE U.S. Submitted by RC 17
Whereas, it is the right of all Americans to have quality healthcare; and Whereas, the United States is the only developed nation without a single payer healthcare system; and Whereas, a single-payer healthcare system would save money over time, likely even during the first year of operation, according to nearly two dozen analyses of national and statewide single payer proposals made over the past 30 years and; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that NYSUT, in conjunction with its two national unions, strive to use its political force to encourage elected officials to develop and implement a single payer healthcare system in the United States.
ADOPTED AS AMENDED BANNED BOOKS Resolution Submitted by RC 43
Whereas, censorship is on the rise in all forms; and Whereas, more than a dozen states and municipal governments have chosen to ban books in schools, classrooms and libraries; and
Whereas, Texas, Florida and Tennessee have banned, cumulatively, nearly 2000 books in just the past year (2023); and Whereas, this trend is anti-free speech, anti-freedom to read and learn, and ultimately anti-democracy; and
Whereas, such book suppression is the denial of the pursuit of knowledge, academic freedom, the development of critical thinking skills and the promotion of intellectual excellence; and
Whereas, the labeling of books with themes of tolerance, diversity, acceptance, race, equality, history, sexual orientation, and gender has fostered intolerance and ignorance which are detrimental to US as a nation; and Whereas, broad efforts to label some books as “harmful” and “explicit” have created an atmosphere of fear among the educational community; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that NYSUT will use its lobbying efforts at the state level to support legislation that prohibits book banning and encourage AFT and NEA to do the same at the national level; and be it further
RESOLVED, that NYSUT will collect, share, and promote best practices around book selections with the goal of improving selection policies at the local, state and national levels.
ADOPTED AS AMENDED IMPROVED R.C. COMMUNICATION & SUPPORT Resolution Submitted by RC 43 Whereas, RC 43 is the only Retiree Council sanctioned to operate outside New York State; and
Whereas, RC 43 is the largest RC geographically and is a statewide council with a great potential for membership growth; and
Whereas, RC 43 has no 'home school' or campus from which to recruit new retirees; and
Whereas, RC 43 faces unique challenges in fulfilling its mission and growth potential because of the aforementioned descriptions; and Whereas, RC 43 requires unique, creative collaboration and cooperation between and among the other Retiree Councils as well as the NYSUT governing board to identify its Florida retirees; and
RESOLVED, that NYSUT will increase its efforts to efficiently identify its retired members residing in Florida; and be it further
RESOLVED, that other RCs will support RC 43 in its efforts to promote membership in the Florida council, including those NYS retirees visiting, relocating, or becoming Snowbirds; and be it further
RESOLVED, that NYSUT will encourage the New York councils to educate retirees on the advantages of being part of RC 43 including but not limited to putting regular blurbs in RC newsletters and having a sidebar graphic on their website.
ADOPTED AS AMENDED MONITORING MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS Resolution Submitted by RC 21
Whereas, one of the goals of NYSUT is to protect health insurance for each of its members; and
Whereas, every year thousands of people enrolled in private Medicare Advantage Plans are denied necessary care that should be covered under those Advantage Plans; and
Whereas, Medicare Advantage Plans provide benefits to 28 million older Americans and enrollment is increasing, including several NYSUT members and their families; and
Whereas, Medicare Advantage Plans may use their own economics and/or clinical criteria to judge whether a test or service should be delayed and/or reimbursed; and
Whereas, Congress has been considering legislation aimed at addressing some of these concerns; therefore be it RESOLVED, that NYSUT urge its national affiliates (AFT and NEA) to encourage Congress to strengthen oversight and monitoring of these private insurance plans known as Medicare Advantage Plans; and strengthen enforcement against plans having a pattern of inappropriate denials and delays.
ADOPTED AS AMENDED QUALITY HEALTH INSURANCE IS A SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE Submitted by RC 18 Whereas, quality health care is a human right; and
Whereas, NYSUT, through its social justice agenda, has long championed all human rights for all people; and
Whereas, health insurance, for Americans, is vital to allow the vast majority to pay for quality health care; therefore be it RESOLVED, that NYSUT will include the providing of quality health care and insurance in its social justice agenda and consider it a social justice issue and encourage its national affiliates to do the same.
ADOPTED Recommendations for Appointing NYSUT Members to the New York State AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils and its Local Labor Federations Resolution Submitted by RC 39
Whereas, The New York State AFL-CIO is a federation of 3,000 affiliated public sector, private sector, and building trades unions throughout the state, representing 2.5 million members, retirees, and their families; and
Whereas, NYSUT is the largest affiliate in the New York State AFLCIO and has representation on its 29 Central Labor Councils and Local Labor Federations; and
Whereas, NYSUT appoints members to these councils and federations; and Whereas, NYSUT members include Pre-K-12 teachers, SchoolRelated Professionals, Health Care Professionals, Higher Education Faculty/Staff, Government, Professional Private Sector and Retirees; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that NYSUT make every effort to select diverse representation of NYSUT’s members to represent NYSUT on New York State AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils and Local Labor Federations; and be it further RESOLVED, that NYSUT establish its own guidelines and expectations for members who serve on New York State AFLCIO councils and federations especially regarding communication with NYSUT locals and retiree councils.