Here's the article. The AFL-CIO IS THREATENING NOT TO SUPPORT A BILL WITHOUT A PUBLIC OPTION. –Suzanne

This is an excellent article from the Wall Street Journal concerning how the recession is forcing older workers into retirement years before they had planned, forcing many to start receiving social security payments earlier, which lowers their payments for life, and making it very difficult for those who do want to work to find a new job. It looks like we will be facing a wave of poverty among seniors. –Suzanne

Dear UFCT Member: Regrettably, I have to cancel tomorrow's: UFCT General Membership Meeting (Tuesday, 12/8, 12:30 to 1:50, 110/ENG.). I have been struggling with laryngitis and asthmatic bronchitis for the last five days and am simply in no shape to attend or conduct the meeting. I apologize for the late notice. I will be sending my Status Report electronically by week's end. Best wishes for a smooth end to the fall semester. In Solidarity, -Kye

Dear Union Member: As a reminder, I have scheduled a UFCT General Membership Meeting for Tuesday, December 8th, 12:30-1:50, room: 110/Engineering Bldg. This will be the only GMM for the fall 2009 semester, and I will be on sabbatical for the spring 2010 semester. I will have for distribution my 2009 UFCT Status Report. Lastly, we would like to serve lunch on the 8th, but will need you all to RSVP ASAP. Few have responded thus far. Regards, and Happy Thanksgiving! -Kye

Here's the story from Democracy Now . Tuition at California state schools is due to rise an average of 32%. Update (November 21): Protests continue across the state. Democracy Now continues to provide excellent coverage, here with an articluate interview with the president of University of California, American Federation of Teachers, Bob Samuels. The interview reveals not only the the stakes of the current budget crisis, but the more pervasive and long term pressures on u

The next general membership meeting will take place Tuesday, December 8, 12:30-1:50 in Engineering Building 110. Topics for discussion include executive and grievance team configuration during Spring 2010 when President Kye Carbone is on sabbatical leave, the status report, elections, and negotiations. Please RSVP (718-636-3614; kyecarbone@gmail.com) as lunch will be served.

A benefit enshrined in the Collective Bargaining Unit involves a full-time or adjunct faculty member's ability to follow any course of study at Pratt Institute and to receive full or partial reimbursement depending upon the faculty member's status (full time or adjunct). Article 28.4 (b) of the UFCT 1460 Collective Bargaining Agreement states the following: 28.4 Tuition Remission and Tuition Exchange Plan (b) Part-Time Faculty The tuition remission program set forth in Articl

The protest march took place October 28, 2009.

Recognizing that passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is currently stalled at the national level, unions are acting at the state level to achieve the same effects, which are to inhibit employer interference in employees' ability to form unions: Kris Maher, Unions Push Issues in State Capitals, Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2009. The glaring question here is, if President Obama has pledged to sign it, why is it stalled? Will the Democrats compromise here as well, as th

Good news or bad? Democrats and progressives are all over the map. Here is a range of articles addressing the issue: 1. New York Times Op-Ed November 12, 2009: Trading Women's Rights for Political Power 2. Nicholas Kristof Op-Ed, New York Times, November 12, 2009: A Defining Choice 3. Ralph Nader, Commondreams.org, November 11, 2009: Still Waiting for Health Care 4. Dennis Kucinich, Commondreams.org, November 8, 2009: Why I Voted "No." 5. Lucinda Marshall, Commondreams