A crucial referendum vote will take place on November 7, 2017 that will ask NY citizens to choose whether there should be a State Constitutional Convention. Proponents of this action say it will be a "People's Convention" that will erase the root constitutional causes of ethics problems, protect and expand rights, and save the state money. These claims do not stand up to examination and rational thought.
The convention would allow citizens to elect delegates to the convention in 2018. The same well-known politician names will be on the ballot and will most likely get elected due to name recognition and their own constituencies. This makes the convention a "Politicians' Convention," not a "People's Convention." The delegates representing you will not make substantive fixes to ethics problems and corruption - if they wanted to do that, it would have already occurred through constitutional amendments they can pass while in office. The convention will also cost hundreds of millions of dollars - and legislators would be allowed to "double dip" their payment for being a delegate, as well as pension benefits that accrue from that role, so the cost would be ongoing.
In addition, a "Politicians' Convention" could strip working people of our rights to join unions and collectively bargain, as has happened in many other states that have enabled Right-to-Work legislation. It may also weaken our hard-fought pension protections that at present are untouchable due to the structure of the NYS Teachers Retirement System.
A "Politicians' Convention" could also eliminate or weaken valued constitutional guarantees, like every New Yorkers' right to a free public education, "forever wild" environmental safeguards for regions like the Catskills or Adirondacks, etc. During a politicians' convention, a pandora's box will be opened that will endanger many of our constitutional protections. Nothing would be off the table.
Lastly, the Constitutional Convention is not necessary. There is already a process for amending the constitution in place and it can be used to address any problems without the wasteful spending and overhaul of our entire state constitution.
NYSUT and RC 10 is asking all members to show up on November 7th, and VOTE NO on the referendum, as well as sharing the word with friends and relatives about the dangers of this proposition. Most people do not understand the complexities of this issue, and need to have good information so they can make their decision. If you wish to get more involved, letters to editors would be helpful and a sample letter is included below along with other information and links that should be helpful to you in understanding and communicating information regarding this important decision:
http://rc10.ny.aft.org/sites/default/files/no_new_york_convention_a_party_for_political_insiders.pdf
http://rc10.ny.aft.org/sites/default/files/pandoras_box_-_get_the_facts.pdf
http://rc10.ny.aft.org/sites/default/files/the_con_in_the_constitutional_convention.pdf
http://rc10.ny.aft.org/sites/default/files/point-counterpoint.pdf
http://rc10.ny.aft.org/sites/default/files/sample_letter_to_the_editor.pdf
http://rc10.ny.aft.org/sites/default/files/other_helpful_links.docx