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

Campaign for Obama in Ohio--Without Leaving New York!

You can campaign for Obama in Ohio without leaving New York! UAW Region 9A and AFSCME DC 1707 phone banks are making calls to union members and retirees from many different unions in Ohio as part of the Labor 2012 get-out-the-vote efforts across the nation.

NYC Phone Banks for Obama are being run out of the UAW Region 9A Sub Regional Office, located at 256 West 38th Street in Manhattan, 12th Floor, (between 7th and 8th Aves). You can see the schedule and sign up to volunteer on the New York City Central Labor Council website.

Family and friends are welcome!

NYU Law Trustee Locks Out Nursing Home Workers

For 66 days, workers of the HealthBridge nursing homes in Connecticut have been on strike. The issues are what you would expect: the employer trying to cut benefits, significantly raise health insurance costs and offering miniscule raises that don't cover the cost of living, let alone the increased cost of benefits.

Here's where it gets really interesting. The owner of HealthBridge is a man named Daniel Straus, a trustee of NYU Law School who has funded the Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law and Justice! You can read more about it here:

http://www.thenation.com/blog/169413/nyu-law-trustee-funds-justice-institute-locks-out-workers

To call attention to their plight, striking HealthBridge workers will be having a "Rally for Justice" outside the Institute on September 11 from 12:00-2:00, as the Institute holds a welcome reception for this year's fellows and scholars. Please support the HealthBridge workers by spending some of your lunch hour at the rally.

When: Tuesday, September 11, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Where: 22 Washington Square North

Rally against student debt TODAY

UCATS has endorsed 1 T Day, an event to raise awareness about the staggering levels of student debt in this country. From their website:

On April 25th, the total amount of student loan debt in the U.S. is due to top 1 trillion dollars. This marks a momentous victory for Wall Street—much to the despair of student loan debtors across the country. On this date, the profiteers on Wall Street will be popping champagne bottles, eating caviar, and sneering at the debt-burdened students and graduates who lug around this 1 trillion dollar ball and chain.

Occupy Student Debt Campaign is hosting a party of its own. Throughout the country we will be taking direct action to raise awareness about this crisis as part of a new movement to make education a right.

...[J]oin us at 4PM in Union Square, where Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir will preside over a debt jubilee - an emancipatory student loan debt write-off for all! ... Then, let's march to Wall Street banks and watering holes to spread the news about student debt and drink up the joys of our new-found freedom.

You can find more info at the 1 T Day website.

1 T DAY RALLY
TODAY
Wednesday, April 25
UNION SQUARE
4:00 PM start, march to follow

Rally Against NYU 2031 this Friday

We received late word about a rally this Friday, April 20, in opposition to NYU's 2031 expansion plan.

The march begins at 4:00 at the dog run at the corner of Houston &
Mercer Streets, winds through the Village, and ends at Garibaldi Plaza, just
east of the fountain in Washington Square Park. Since this event starts during the work day, we encourage you to join the rally at Garibaldi Plaza once your shift is over.

You can view a flier for this event here.

RALLY AGAINST NYU 2031
Friday, April 20
4:00 start
Washington Square Park, Garibaldi Plaza

Schedule for first year wage increases

The implementation schedule for the 1% wage increase in the first year of the new contract is as follows:

· March 9: 1% increase to salary in paycheck for all bargaining unit members with the exception of 34 employees that have special compensation issues (i.e., promotions, leaves of absences, longevity increases, etc.)

· April 6: 1% increase to salary in paycheck for the 34 exceptions

· April 19: Retroactive payments of the 1% increase effective 9/4/2011

Those members who are among the 34 exceptions have been notified by NYU.

UCATS Membership Meeting March 13

UCATS Membership Meeting
When: Tuesday, March 13, 5:30 pm
Where: Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Rm. 216

We are meeting primarily to elect our delegates to the 2012 American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Convention. This event is where elected delegates from affiliated union locals set the agenda of our national federation.

This year, the convention will be held in Detroit, MI from July 27-30 (Thursday-Monday). All UCATS members are entitled to run for a delegate position and to make nominations of other members to be delegates. UCATS is allotted a total of 12 delegates.

The election will be conducted by secret ballot at the meeting. If you have questions about being a delegate, please contact UCATS president Stephen Rechner at ucatspres3882@hotmail.com.

UCATS Contract Ratified!

We are pleased to report that our contract has been ratified by a vote of 454 to 102.

Thanks to all of you who voted, attended meetings, marched in rallies, spoke out, signed letters and petitions, and shared your thoughts and ideas throughout this process.

Voting Deadline Extended

The deadline for receiving contract ballots has been extended to February 17. We learned just last week that NYU failed to include some of our members in the database they provided to us and from which we generated labels for the ballot mailing. Ballots were sent to those members by overnight mail last Thursday. We also decided to extend the ballot deadline for all of our members.

All ballots received by February 17 will be counted.

Contract ballots in the mail

The contract ratification election is underway and a ballot has been mailed to your home. The ballot will come from the American Arbitration Association (see image above). Follow the enclosed instructions to mark your vote and return it as soon as possible. Your ballot must be received by February 13 to be counted.

If you have not received a ballot by Monday, January 30, call the American Arbitration Association at 1-800-529-5218 to request one.

The tentative agreement only becomes the contract if a majority of members who vote, vote FOR ratification. The UCATS Executive Council recommends that you vote in favor of ratification. A summary of the agreement is included with the ballot. For more information, go to our website, ucats3882.org.

Remember: If you don't vote, you are letting someone else decide for you.

Contract Ratification Vote

The contract ratification election is underway! A ballot will be mailed to your home. Keep an eye on your mailbox, and keep checking this blog over the next few days for further details.

General Membership Meeting - Contract Tentative Agreement

The tentative agreement we reached with NYU on December 8 will be presented to the membership at a meeting on Thursday, January 12, at 5:30 pm. We have reserved the Eisner & Lubin Auditorium on the 4th Floor of the Kimmel Student Center for this meeting. The floor will be open for questions and comments. The tentative agreement only becomes the contract if a majority of members who vote in the ratification election vote to accept the agreement. Ballots will be mailed the week of January 16.

There will be additional area meetings as follows:

Thursday, January 12
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
NYU Dental Center, Room 612

Wednesday, January 18
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Furman Hall, 245 Sullivan St., Rm. C10

Wednesday, January 18
6:00 PM
7 East 12th Street, Rm. LL-23

UCATS and NYU Reach Tentative Agreement

Late last night, the UCATS bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with NYU. It is important to note that there are still details to iron out before the proposed agreement is presented to the UCATS Executive Council.

Under the by-laws governing the Local, the Executive Council must review, evaluate and finally vote on whether or not to present the proposal to the membership for ratification. If the Council decides to present the proposal to the membership, the proposed contract will be distributed during a General Membership Meeting early in January. The purpose of the meeting will be to review the proposed contract and answer questions about it.

Following the General Membership Meeting, a ratification vote will take place by mail, supervised and conducted by the American Arbitration Association. We believe this will take place later in January.

Bargaining update

We went back to the bargaining table with NYU last night, and have scheduled an additional bargaining meeting for next Thursday, December 8.

We are hosting a town hall meeting for all UCATS members on Wednesday, December 7 at 5:30 PM in Vanderbilt Hall, Room 210. One of the purposes of the meeting is to update everyone on the status of contract negotiations.

We are up to 420 hard-copy signatures on our petition for a fair contract, and the online version is doing even better, with over 700 signatures as of this morning.

Have you signed the petition yet? If not, please do it now.


http://signon.org/sign/support-union-workers?source=c.em.mt&r_by=1550400

Please feel free to share the petition on your Facebook page or other social media outlet of choice!