The PA understands that being an effective union means communicating with and reaching out to not only our own members but also the various community groups with which we interact, including MVCC students, residents of the Mohawk Valley, the Oneida County Board of Legislators, and our fellow unionists in the area and across the state, just to name a few. In this section of the PA website, we have subdivided those groups into Political Outreach and Community Outreach.

In the area of Political Outreach, you’ll find information about our Local Action Project grant-funded activities, our ongoing and evolving Educators Meet Legislators program, ways for our members to contact their elected representativesVOTE/COPE initiatives, and participation in the Central New York Labor Council.

In the area of Community Outreach, you’ll find an overview of recent community and charity outreach activities, information on our $1,000.00 scholarship for MVCC students, and a brief introduction to unionism as well as to the history of the MVCC Professional Association.

Contact Your Elected Representatives

The PA strongly believes that public education forms the backbone of our nation and must be protected and preserved. Therefore, we encourage our members to contact their elected representatives on the local, state, and national levels and to voice their concerns about the many issues affecting public education, higher education, and community colleges.

The New York State United Teachers website offers a Legislative Action page at which NYSUT members can fax or email their state or federal legislators: Legislative Action. Using an online form, you can look up your Senator or Assemblyperson/Congressperson as well as select from a number of messages to edit and send. Please use this NYSUT feature to remind your state and federal representatives of the issues that affect our daily lives as employees in a public institution of higher education.

As you know from the Educators Meet Legislators page, the PA has maintained an active presence at the Oneida County Board of Legislators (OCBOL) meetings. Meetings typically are held every other Wednesday during the month, with most meetings at 2 p.m. and several at 7 p.m. For a complete list of upcoming OCBOL meeting times and previous meeting minutes listing resolutions adopted, go to this webpage: Oneida County Board of Legislators 2009 Meeting Schedule. For more information:Oneida County Legislators

If you have any questions regarding your legislative district, call the Oneida County Board of Elections at 315.798.5765. If you live outside Oneida County, your home county Board of Elections will be listed in the Government section of your phone book.

For local political outreach, use the following contact information:

Anthony J. Picente, Jr.

Oneida County Executive
Oneida County Office Building
800 Park Avenue
Utica, NY 13501
email: Honorable Anthony J. Picente