WOULD YOU RATHER BE AN ONION?
POSTED 5/20/11
Reprinted from NYSUT NOTES
by Dorothy Zuckerman, NYSUT Retiree Services Consultant
email: dzuckerm@nysutmail.org

     The Clayton Act of 1914 declared that “The labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce.”   Workers were not to be treated as though they were no more than a piece of merchandise to be traded in the marketplace.  Unionism grew, workers’ rights were fought for and defended; major gains were made against managements at bargaining tables.  In recent years we have seen these achievements eroded by legal rulings, company decisions, stockholder demands.  Union busting has become a growing force. The decline of the labor movement started in the private sector, led by the corporate ideology that workers were no more than a commodity – “things” to be put in or taken out to meet the demands of production. Workers were no different than widgets or onions. This corporate ideology has now reached out to the public sector.
      “1200 fewer Teachers!” scream the headlines; attack public pensions –they’re too costly!;    tenure is an obstacle to progress!  Public employees are held to blame for all the disruptive woes our country faces today.  Constant threats of job loss and unrelenting economic demands have forced unions to make major concessions. Like a magnetic force, more and more programs are taken away from public institutions and turned over to private managers. The recent attacks on public sector workers are an attempt to destroy unions and to assert corporate control.   Anti-labor activists see a world where money and the marketplace are the controlling factors.  In their view, public education and public services would have value only as they can be controlled by the world of business and commerce. In 2010, during the strike at the Mott’s apple juice company, a plant manager was overheard to say during negotiations that employees were “a commodity like soybeans and oil, and the price of commodities goes up and down.”
     This is a crucial time in our lives and in the lives of our brothers and sisters who are in service.  As union members, we fought bravely to gain and maintain our rights and working conditions.  As retirees. we are proud of who we are and what we have done.  We must continue to work together to maintain our dignity and our strength.
     Or would you rather be an onion?

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SUMMER FUN STORY TIME
POSTED JUNE 27, 2011

     ROBS Members, Long Island Authors Sheila and Letty Sustrin, have been invited to do a "Summer Fun Story Time" for children, on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at 1 P.M. The event is at Borders in Bohemia, 5151 Sunrise Highway. The twins will be reading, "The Teacher Who Would Not Retire Goes To Camp," as this is the perfect time of the year for children to enjoy this funny book about Mrs. Belle and her life as a camper. Bring the grandchildren, or any kids you know, to have a fun time. After the reading, there will be a coloring project, and all children will receive a Mrs. Belle Pencil. For further information, Sheila and Letty can be contacted at 631-586-8150, or by e-mail: twinniesls@optonline.net

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ROBS NEWSLETTER WINS 2011 NYSUT JOURNALISM AWARDS
POSTED 6/16/11

      On June 4, Carmela Criscione and Phyllis Goodwin attended the second annual NYSUT Journalism Conference at NYSUT headquarters in Latham. There they were presented with the Journalism Awards won by the ROBS Newsletter and website.
     Best Feature Story - Award of Merit, Headline: "That Which is Lost is Found Again: A Brentwood Story"
Author: John Sherin
Editor: Carmela Criscione
     Best News Story - Award of Merit, Headline: " Equal Justice For All: A Citizen's Responsibility"
Author/Editor: Carmela Criscione
     Best Website - First Place
Webmaster: Gloria Hanneman
Web Editor: Nick Siciliano
     Congratulations to all!

SAD SHARING
POSTED 5/28/11
     Daniel Benitez, head custodian at North Middle School, passed away yesterday morning. Following are the details:

Moloney Funeral Home
132 Ronkonkoma Ave.
Lake Ronkonkoma, NY
588-1515
Sunday and Monday
2-5 pm and 7-9 pm

Service - St. Patricks RC Church
Smithtown, NY
Tuesday, 9:45 am
      Funeral to follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rte 112, Coram.
     Condolences may be sent to Joe and Chrissy Perine, 77 W. 1st Street, Ronkonkoma, NY. 11779. 

JOE GOVERNALE'S NEWSDAY COLUMN   
POSTED 6/11/11  
     This column will be in today's NEWSDAY. Joe Governale wrote this beautiful piece about his son, Tim. It was in NEWSDAY online last night. Below is the link to the online article.
NEWSDAY Online

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SAD SHARING
POSTED 6/13/11
     Jack Sobocinski, the husband of Carole Sobocinski, passed away yesterday morning after a battle with melanoma. Carole is a retired teacher from Northeast Elementary School. 
Information:
Viewing 2PM-4PM, 7PM-9PM
Tuesday, June 14th
McLaughlin-Heppner Funeral Home
336 Marcy Avenue
Riverhead, NY 11901
Tel: 631-727-3388

Funeral Service 11AM
Wednesday, June 15
St. John the Evangelist RC Church
25 Ocean Avenue
Center Moriches, NY 11934
Tel: 631-878-0009

Immediately following:
Internment Service at St. John Cemetery
546 Saint John's Place
Riverhead, NY 11901
Tel: 631-727-2030

     

     Why did we do it? What was our purpose in taking on such an open ended “History Project”; the one for which we’ve evolved a script of questions with corresponding answers from over one hundred and fifty dedicated volunteers for nearly two decades?
      We couldn’t answer the question in ‘94 when people would ask “What are you going to do with the interviews?” All we could say was that for educational and informational purposes we had better document our record or lose any chance to preserve innumerable poignant accounts, humorous stories and touching tales told to us by exemplary educators and dedicated public servants, who shortly and for reasons unknown might soon be leaving our Brentwood for good.
     We decided to let time sort out the details as we commenced making appointments to ask questions and simply listen. Listen we did as this project evolved saving for subsequent generations the very essence of what it means to have been an educator or employed in a large student centered public school system during the latter half of the twentieth century. Brentwood remains an exemplar to all the others; a diverse microcosm and accurate reflection of the approximately one hundred and twenty seven neighboring school districts on Long Island and the thousands across this country. We’ve accomplished something here, something we can all be proud of having been part of, whether we were interviewed or not, ours is a claim of service that few other professionals in the State of New York are positioned to share in a like manner.
     INITIALLY the practice of sitting for an hour with the Subject of our interview and giving them one hundred percent of our focused attention for that period of time seemed a little threatening to many of our friends and former colleagues. So much so in fact that many declined repeated invitations to be interviewed as they left careers behind or retired from full time employ with the District. Despite all assurances that this was not to be about investigative journalism or invading their privacy, they’ve deferred. Until now, almost seventeen years after we began, some say they may finally be ready. We say, “Better late than never”. However, to all those among you who were willing to share openly not only your classroom experiences but personal stories, precious memories from your lives and fondest hopes for the future, we say thanks for allowing us to be able to continue the process of giving as we now are able to share interviews with you, with the community and with countless regional professional educators and researchers through tentative acceptance of ROBS offer of collaboration with The Long Island Studies Institute at Hofstra University.
      Commencing early next month (Nov 2010), you’ll be able to enjoy unlimited visits to www.robsny.org/ where you’ll see and hear segments from the History Project Interviews featured here in the ROBS History Project section on the Announcements Page archived each month thereafter for those wishing to return again and again.