May 8, 2024

Carolyn Kube’s dedication as a medical technologist at Stony Brook University Hospital and her passion for union work as a longtime UUP leader are reasons why NYSUT awarded her with its Healthcare Professionals Member of the Year Award.

Kube, UUP’s statewide Vice President for Professionals, received the award May 4 at the 2024 NYSUT RA in New York City.

“Carolyn brings incredible energy, caring and compassion to her work as statewide Vice President for Professionals,” said UUP President Fred Kowal. “She is an amazing person who has always stepped up to defend and advocate for UUP. She worked tirelessly to protect Stony Brook hospital workers during the pandemic, advocating for protective gear and bonus pay for front line workers. There is no one more deserving of this award than Carolyn.”

“When I was working in the lab, I was on three negotiations teams believe it or not,” Kube said in a NYSUT video highlighting her work as a medical technician and a union leader. “I remember my pager going off and driving straight from Albany straight into a lab to work. Then I did union work and it was a totally different skill set I had to use. To go from the lab to the bargaining table really formed my leadership. It was the first time that I realized that I could lead, my voice was heard.”

Kube has been active in UUP for more than 20 years, serving as a department representative and representing the Stony Brook HSC Chapter as an elected statewide delegate. She was elected as chapter Part-Time Concerns Officer and Vice President of Professionals before becoming Stony Brook HSC Chapter president, serving nearly three terms.

As a three-time member of UUP’s Negotiations Team, Kube played a key role in helping to negotiate new contracts between the state of New York and UUP. She’s also worked as a NYSUT PAC coordinator.

She was elected to the statewide Executive Board in 2011 and served until 2021, when she was elected statewide VPP.

As VPP, Kube has led UUP’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative, meant to create a diverse and inclusive environment for all members and foster a greater sense of belonging. DEI is a priority for UUP members and the union.

Kube was instrumental in obtaining a $50,000 AFL-CIO Workforce Development Institute grant in 2022, used to contract with Tangible Development, an Albany County DEI consulting firm, and fund a 14-week capacity building training that formed several new UUP DEI initiatives—including the creation of the Capacity Building Workgroup and the Communications Working Group.