Welcome to your website!
Retiree Council #13 represents more than 6,200+ retirees from the Mid-Hudson Valley (Columbia, Greene, Dutchess, Sullivan and Ulster Counties). This website will provide you with information for your use including RC#13’s Constitution and By-Laws, Council meeting dates, NYSUT events, AFT/NEA events, and chapter events. We want this website to be user-friendly and informative for all retirees.
Our Council meets eight times a year, September through December and March through June. Meetings are held at NYSUT’s Regional Complex, 201 Stockade Drive, Kingston, NY. We also have a special meeting in January (last Saturday) where eight of our retirees meet with our New York State Senators and Assemblypersons to promote our legislative agenda. Additionally, we send one delegate to the NYSUT Committee of 100 in March and again in May (three delegates) to promote our cause with the State Legislature. Every second year (election year) we participate in NYSUT’s Endorsement Conference where we, along with actives and retirees throughout the state, meet and make decisions on endorsement recommendations for the NYSUT Board of Directors.
We participate in the annual Election District #51 (representing Councils 1 - 13) each March in Utica to discuss issues common to all of us. We are a founding member of Upstate Coalition (Councils 7 - 13) which meets three times a year to discuss common problems.
We man phone banks each spring (May) urging our members to vote for their local school budgets. Further, we man phone banks in a general election year (October) to urge support for our endorsed candidates for state wide and national office. We also participate in local ED#13 meetings with our active colleagues. You can surmise that we are a busy and active council on your behalf.
The Council’s major activities include preparation of resolutions for the NYSUT annual Representative Assembly in April. Resolutions adopted at the RA become NYSUT’s Board agenda to press the Governor and State Legislature for adoption. To be sure, we advocate at the federal level through the NYSUT/NEA affiliation with AFT and NEA. It is the federal government whose legislative agenda impacts us as well as state government. We believe a strong presence is crucial in Washington in order to protect Social Security and Medicare among other issues.
As a council we sponsor scholarships at the local community colleges in our five county area. Our scholarships are awarded to students who complete their community college education, receive acceptance at a four-year institution, and plan to pursue a career in education.
Should we provide other services for retirees? It would be a boon to have a travel program but we need dedicated volunteers to step forward and organize such a program. Anyone out there interested, please contact us.
We post articles from Mid-Hudson Bridges, our award-winning newsletter (published six times a year). Let’s hear from you! Suggestions are always welcome as well as helping hands.
Matt Ostoyich, RC13 President