(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - By a final tally of 128-to-104, Staff employed at a total of seven Stanley G. Falk Special Day Schools in the Buffalo area have voted to Go Union with the New York State Teachers Union (NYSUT), NYSUT Officials told WNYLaborToday.com today (Monday, December 4th).

Posting on his Facebook Page, NYSUT Western New York Regional Staff Director Mike Deely wrote: In the face of a well-funded Anti-Union Campaign, the Staff at Falk School voted 128-104 in favor of NYSUT.  Great job by (NYSUT Organizers) Rose Hennessy, Danielle Judge and Liz Smith.

The Stanley G. Falk School, a New York State Education Department-approved Special Day School, provides educational programming for students age five to 21 years who have special learning, social and emotional needs. According to information posted on its web site, the school’s highly-qualified Staff provide students with the academic, social, and behavioral supports necessary for meeting commencement requirements.

NYSUT Organizer Hennessy told WNYLaborToday.com that a total of 250 Falk Special Day Schools Workers (including some pictured below/photo courtesy of NYSUT Buffalo) employed in Buffalo (five locations), the Town of Kenmore and Tonawanda are now Union Members.

“We started in September and it was a ‘quick’ campaign,” she told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper.  “NYSUT had ‘consistently reached out and attempted to organize’ the Staff (in the past), ‘but were unable to.’  This time, ‘they’ reached out to NYSUT ‘after having concerns over workplace polies and job security.’  They ‘wanted to make sure they also had the time outside their jobs to take care of their families.’”

Staff at the Stanley G. Falk School cast their votes on Friday (November 30th) after a “tough” campaign, Hennessy said. 

“The school hired an outside/out-of-state consultant who ‘pushed’ the employer’s proposals.  They had their consultants talking about ‘what would happen if the Union came in’ and it was ‘tough for us (NYSUT Organizers) to keep in touch’ with the Staff to keep them updated.  Obviously, (NYSUT Organizers) ‘weren’t allowed inside’ the school – we couldn’t go into ‘their’ workplace, so we kept in contact with e-mails and telephone calls.”

“Over the course of time, (NYSUT Organizers) had ‘kept up a relationship’ with the school’s Staff and after several years we finally ‘broke through,’” Hennessy said. 

“I feel very excited for them and (NYSUT) is looking forward to what is ahead of us (in terms of negotiating a first contract),” she added.