New York Times: NYU Gives Loans for Summer Homes

June 18, 2013: A New York Times article exposes more questionable loans to NYU elite. As if primary residences weren't enough, NYU is now buying them vacation homes!

According to the article, NYU loaned $600,000 to John Sexton for a vacation home on Fire Island; helped buy a summer home on 65 acres in Litchfield County for former Law School Dean Richard Revesz, bringing the amount he owes the university to $5.7 million; and gave Executive Vice President Martin Dorph a $200,000 loan on a home in Bucks County, PA that he already owned.

You can read the full article online here.

UCATS Votes NO CONFIDENCE in Sexton

The Union of Clerical, Administrative and Technical Staff at New York University (UCATS Local 3882) has concluded our No Confidence vote in NYU President John Sexton's leadership. Ballots were mailed to our membership on April 4, and were accepted through May 2.

Ninety-seven percent of voters expressed No Confidence in NYU President John Sexton's leadership.

 

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Referendum on NYU Leadership

Last month, NYU faculty took a historic vote of NO CONFIDENCE in NYU President John Sexton's leadership. Many of their issues are the same as ours: stagnant wages, rising health insurance costs, and the substantial resources directed toward the 2031 capital expansion plan at the expense of current operational needs. Now, Senator Charles Grassley (R - Iowa) has questioned NYU's tax-exempt status due to questionable loans and bonuses that came to light during the Senate confirmation hearings on the appointment of former NYU Executive VP Jack Lew to be Secretary of the Treasury. (You can read the full text of Senator Grassley's letter in a previous blog post.)

On March 12, 2013, your Executive Council made the unprecedented decision to join NYU faculty to give you the opportunity to vote NO CONFIDENCE in John Sexton's leadership. You have told us that you can't continue to do more and more with less and less; this is your opportunity to communicate that directly to NYU's decision makers.

Two weeks ago we sent you a ballot for your vote. The deadline for returning ballots was April 25, but the conversations your stewards have had in the workplace has indicated that many of you we're not aware this vote was in progress. In response, we are extending the deadline by one week, to May 2.

Please take a moment to complete your ballot and send it in. If you need another ballot, contact your area steward or call the union office at 646-602-1485.

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Senator Grassley Grills Sexton on NYU Loans, Tax-Exempt Status

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley has a lot of tough questions for NYU President John Sexton.

Back in February, Senator Grassley raised alarm bells about fishy NYU loans and "severance payments" to former NYU Executive VP Jack Lew. Now Grassley has followed the trail of big bonuses and mortgage subsidies back to the source: NYU's leadership.

In his March 15 letter to Sexton, Grassley asks "whether NYU uses its tax-exempt status primarily to benefit its students or to compensate university administrators." He demands information about the millions of dollars in interest-free loans NYU gave out to top administrators and the "severance bonus" Jack Lew received when he left NYU for a higher-paid position at Citigroup.

You can read the full letter here.

Retirement Literacy Workshop TONIGHT

Everyone wants a financially secure retirement, but making it happen takes more strategic planning than ever. The sooner you start planning, the more financially secure you will be. This workshop is for everyone who wants to become more literate about financial planning for retirement.
UCATS Retirement Literacy Workshop
Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 5:30 pm
NYU School of Law, Furman Hall
245 Sullivan Street (between Washington Square South and West Third Street)
Room 326

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Triangle Factory Fire Commemoration

Join your fellow UCATS members and other labor groups at this year's Triangle Factory Fire Commemoration TODAY, Wednesday, March 20. This event marks the 102nd anniversary of a watershed moment in workplace safety and labor rights history, the death of 146 women and men in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911.  

Workers United/SEIU (ILGWU) Presents 
The 102nd Triangle Factory Fire Commemoration 
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 
12 noon – 1 pm 
Washington Place and Greene Street, NYC 

More information at http://rememberthetrianglefire.org

UCATS to Join Faculty in Taking No-Confidence Vote

PRESS RELEASE:

The Executive Council of the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Technical Staff at NYU (UCATS), Local 3882 voted March 12 to take to their membership the issue of President John Sexton’s leadership. The UCATS leadership joins the NYU faculty in taking a no-confidence vote.

The nearly 1,400 NYU staff represented by UCATS are experiencing stagnate wages, unmanageable healthcare costs and a deteriorating quality of work life. The enrichment of those that have, at the cost of those that have less, has been a hallmark of President Sexton’s leadership. The resources required to proceed with the NYU 2031 expansion portends three decades of disinvestment in faculty and support staff who deliver the education for which NYU students pay so dearly.

UCATS represents approximately 1,400 staff working throughout the various schools and divisions of New York University.

Contact Info:

Stephen Rechner
UCATS Local 3882, NYSUT, AFT, AFL-CIO
646-602-1485
ucatspres3882@hotmail.com