uup works non-stop to defend sunyuupinfo.org/voice/mar/1415/marchapril2015voice4web.pdf ·...

TTHE

Official Publication of United University Professions n The Nation’s Largest Higher Education Union Working For You

March/April 2015

UUP works non-stop to defend SUNY— Page 5

2 The Voice March/april 2015

What’S iNSidet h i s i s s u e

10 conferring on contingentconcerns

UUP chapters around the state use “National

Adjunct Walkout Day” to bring attention to

contingent issues at SUNY—without walking out.

ALso:

3 to the Point

9 New research intern joins UUP

12-17 Candidate statements for statewide posts

18-22 2014 financial statement and chapter

expenditure reports

23 UUP Benefits: helpful hints for retirement

24 Finance Committee discusses spending plan

Non-stop advocacy

4—UUP has been bold in its fight to keep

SUNY a high-quality, accessible, affordable

system of higher education for all New

Yorkers. here’s how:

• UUP President Fred Kowal, on the cover,

is among a number of UUP activists to join

NYSUt K-12 locals at “Call Out Cuomo”

rallies around the state—page 5

• tech Sector advocates stress the need

for more funding, equipment—page 6

• Downstate, Upstate members

testify on the distribution of health care

funds—page 7

• UUP calls for Legislature, regents

to investigate SED’s flawed teacher

certification process—page 8

TTHE

Official Publication of United University Professions n The Nation’s Largest Higher Education Union Working For You

March/April 2015

UUP advocating non-stop for SUNY— Page 4

COvEr PhOtO BY

DArrYL MCGrAth

?uupinfo.orgJust click on The Voiceicon on the Home Page

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Follow UUP

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Go to www.UUPinfo.orgto sign up today.

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THE

VoiceVolume 42, Number 4

The VOICE is the official publication of United

University Professions (UUP), bargaining agent for

the more than 35,000 academic and professional

employees of the State University of New York.

Contact UUP at P.O. Box 15143, Albany, New

York 12212-5143. Telephone (518) 640-6600 or

toll-free at (800) 342-4206. UUP’s Internet site

is www.uupinfo.org. UUP is Local 2190 of

the American Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO)

and is affiliated with NYSUT and the National

Education Association.

UUP STATEWIDE OFFICERS

FREDERICk E. kOWAl

President

J. PhIlIPPE AbRAhAm

Vice Presidentfor Professionals

JAmIE F. DANglER

Vice Presidentfor Academics

EIlEEN lANDy

Secretary

ROWENA J.

blACkmAN-STROUD

Treasurer

ARThUR m. ShERTzER

MembershipDevelopment Officer

UUP COMMUNICATIONS DEPT.

mIChAEl lISI

Director of Communications

kAREN l. mATTISON

Associate Director of Communications

DONAlD FElDSTEIN

Media Relations Specialist

DARRyl mCgRATh

Communications Specialist

ANgEll m. lAW

Communications Assistant

The VOICE is a member of the American Federation

of Teachers Communicators Network and the

International Labor Communications Association.

Letters poLicyThe Voice welcomes timely

letters about university and union

issues, politics and other events

relevant to UUP’s concerns. All

letters are subject to editing for

length, accuracy and clarity.

Please type or email your letters,

limit them to 300 words, and

include your name and daytime

phone number for verification.

Unsigned letters will not be

published.

Email letters to UUP Director of

Communications Michael Lisi at

[email protected] or send them

to his attention at: The Voice,

United University Professions,

P.O. Box 15143, Albany, NY 12212.

March/april 2015 The Voice 3

To the Point

For months, UUP has been out-

spoken about the State Educa-

tion Department’s botched and

harmful rollout of new teacher

certification requirements.

At their March 17 meeting, members of

the Board of Regents made it clear they

were listening.

Regents Betty Rosa and Kathleen

Cashin—who was outspoken at our

March 5 press conference where we

called for an investigation into SED’s

teacher prep process—expressed strong

concerns and pointed out a number of

major flaws that SED needs to correct.

There is hope in Albany. Our work to

educate lawmakers and Regents about the

debacle that is SED’s teacher certification

process is yielding results.

By the end of the meeting, the Regents

gave SED some homework: bring recom-

mendations to create “safety nets” for the

faulty certification exams. If enacted, the

safety nets could allow student teachers

to secure their initial certification without

passing the exams as they currently exist.

This is not an unprecedented move.

Last year, the Regents—reacting to cries

from students and teacher educators

about the educative Teacher Performance

Assessment (edTPA)—imposed a safety

net that allowed students who failed the

poorly implemented edTPA to use a pass-

ing score on the Assessment of Teaching

Skills-Written (ATS-W). That safety net

expires in June.

While the Regents’ concern about

SED’s ill-conceived, invalid certification

process is encouraging, we—student

teachers and the professionals who teach

them—must push forward and continue

educating lawmakers about what’s really

going on. We’re in the field. We know

firsthand what the problems are.

We must continue to raise opposition to

the rhetoric spewed by SED officials in

their efforts to defend their faulty policy.

The reasoning is simple: SED lies.

Ken Wagner, SED’s senior deputy

commissioner for educational policy,

misled the Regents by stating that teacher

preparation programs received $10 mil-

lion in Race to the Top funding to support

their implementation of the new tests.

Untrue.

Much less was available for teacher

preparation programs. The federal grant

also covered APPR, Common Core

and Data Driven Instruction.

Wagner also stated that decisions to

use the new tests were made in 2009,

implying that programs had plenty of

time to make curriculum changes and

prepare students.

Untrue.

SED didn’t decide to use the edTPA

until March 2012.

And SED is not owning up to its failure

to deliver prep materials to programs and

students on time. SED said materials for

the Educating All Students exam and

Academic Literacy Skills Test would be

available during the spring 2012. They

weren’t available until spring 2014, two

years later than promised and after the

exams went operational the previous fall.

Still today, the practice tests that are avail-

able don’t include answer keys, so students

can’t determine what’s right or wrong.

Talking about making changes isn’t the

same as deciding exactly which changes

to make and providing teacher prep

programs with the tools they need to

make them.

At the meeting, several Regents said

they had problems with a number of

issues, including declining enrollments

in teacher preparation programs, SED’s

rushed implementation of the certifica-

tion process, delays in test prep materials

and glitches with the tests’ computer-

based format.

And here’s a perfect example of why

we must question what SED says: We

have been told by SED that they haven’t

heard complaints about computer format

problems with the ALST and EAS. I find

that very hard to believe because so many

people have contacted us about these

problems.

Regent Cashin was strong in expressing

her concerns. She said many of her

constituents have complained about prob-

lems with the new exams. She suggested

that the high-stakes nature of the edTPA

be removed; the test should be used as a

formative assessment to help students

develop their skills.

Regent Rosa said the ongoing attacks

on New York teachers and cuts to school

funding have them feeling disrespected

and abused. She drew a link between

declining overall enrollments and ethnic

diversity in the state’s teaching force,

indicating that as enrollment numbers

go down, so does representation of under-

represented groups.

Regent Charles Bendit, who co-chairs

the board’s Higher Education Committee,

floated the possibility of requiring students

to take the new exams but not using them

for certification until 2016.

We cannot sit back and expect that the

Regents will end up taking constructive

action. They will rely on SED for recom-

mendations and explanations. SED hasn’t

listened to educators, and they’re not

listening now.

And SED consistently misrepresents

the situation.

We must demand SED’s attention by

directly informing the Board of Regents

of the perspective of professionals in

the field.

Please, contact your legislators and the

Board of Regents; lists with names and

contact information are available on

UUP’s Teacher Education Task Force

website, at http://goo.gl/e1AP5X.

Let’s seize the moment and work

together to bring an educationally sound

and properly implemented teacher certifi-

cation process to New York state.

Regents take major step on teacher prep

http://uupinfo.org/committees/teached/edTPAActionPlan.php


Cover story

UUP President FredKowal isn’t averse toshooting from the hipon occasion.

So it wasn’t out of character whenhe took the opportunity at NYSUT’s“Call Out Cuomo” rally in AlbanyMarch 2 to invite Gov. AndrewCuomo to work with UUP to improvepublic higher education. If the gover-nor isn’t interested, he’d better stepout of the way.

“If you want to join us, governor,that’s great,” said Kowal. “If not, youwill be swept aside by history becausejustice will prevail. The times we faceand the challenges we face demandthat we be bold.”

UUP has been very bold.

OUt fRONt

Since January, hundreds of UUPmembers from campuses across the statehave traveled to Albany to meet with statelegislators and fight Cuomo’s plans, whichwould weaken SUNY and its public hospi-tals and health sciences centers.

More than 400 students and stafffrom SUNY’s Educational OpportunityProgram and Educational OpportunityCenters came to the Capitol Feb. 10 totell lawmakers to restore the $1.3 millioncut to EOP in Cuomo’s Executive Budgetproposal, and to fully fund the successfulopportunity programs.

Two weeks later, UUPers from SUNY’shospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook andSyracuse and HSCs in Buffalo and StonyBrook were in town Feb. 25 to defendthose full-service, state-run health carefacilities. The next day, members wereback to take part in Higher Ed AdvocacyDay and Higher Ed Action Day.

On Feb. 28, Kowal joined AFT Presi-dent Randi Weingarten and NYSUTPresident Karen Magee in Plattsburgh ata stop on NYSUT’s “Call Out Cuomo”North Country bus tour. The union’sstatewide officers and more than 40

UUP members also attended NYSUT’s“Call Out Cuomo” rally in AlbanyMarch 2. The following week, more than80 UUPers and students from tech sectorcolleges met with Albany lawmakersduring Tech Sector Advocacy DayMarch 10.

And UUP launched a hard-hittingmedia campaign in February that featuredtelevision and newspaper ads, and anaggressive social media presence.

The advocacy actions were necessary.As Kowal said at a NYSUT “Call OutCuomo” rally Feb. 28, the governor’sunjust, oppressive proposals didn’tjust warrant a strong response—theydemanded one.

“For the 35,000 members I represent,we will never retreat, we will neversurrender,” Kowal told the crowd at theopen-air rally.

‘MiSSed OppORtUNitY’ ageNda

Since the governor unveiled his“opportunity agenda” in January, UUPhas been determined to publicly chal-lenge Cuomo’s proposals that threatenpublic higher education. The union has

been outspoken in its oppositionto the governor’s planned $1.3 mil-lion cut to SUNY’s EOP and hisperformance-based funding schemefor SUNY.

UUP castigated the governor for hisplans to shut down underperformingteacher preparation programs—basedon results from invalid, deeply flawedcertification tests rushed into place bythe State Education Department—andchanges that would block tenure formany new teachers.

And the union criticized Cuomo forreviving a plan to allow private cor-porations to own and operate state-run hospitals and health care centers.

As The Voice went to press, UUPlearned that the Assembly’s budgetbill—crafted under the new leader-ship of Speaker Carl Heastie—showsthat lawmakers are heeding theunions’ call for change.

The Assembly bill rejected thegovernor’s performance-based fundingplan, sent nearly $8 million combined tothe EOP and EOCs and added $18.6 mil-lion for the SUNY hospitals. The Demo-cratic-led body also opposed Cuomo’steacher prep changes.

The Senate countered with its own one-house bill, which wasn’t nearly as posi-tive for UUP and SUNY as the Assemblybudget bill was.

There is much work left to do.

KeepiNg Up the pReSSURe

For UUP members, the work begins byshowing their support not only for SUNY,but for all public education in the state.They can do that through participation inchapter advocacy at lawmakers’ districtoffices and by attending forums andrallies held by NYSUT and UUP.

“The fight has been long and hard, butthis is no time to rest,” said Kowal. “Wemust keep pushing forward to let the gov-ernor and all those who would attackpublic higher education know that theywill meet with fierce resistance everystep of the way.”

Union bold in its advocacy to save SUNYbY Michael lisi

Vpa JaMie Dangler Talks abouT sunY FunDing

wiTh asseMblYwoMan Donna luparDo (D-enDwell),

leFT, During a recenT uup aDVocacY eVenT.

DonalD FelDsTein


UUp activists ‘Call Out Cuomo’ with colleagues

When it comes to challeng-ing the governor on hisbad public policies forpublic education, UUP is

standing in solidarity with its sisters andbrothers in K-12 school districts andpublic colleges around the state.

UUP showed its support when Presi-dent Fred Kowal and the other UUPofficers turned out with nearly 1,000NYSUT members, students and support-ers of public education March 2 for astop on the “Call Out Cuomo” tour. Thestop was one of more than 50 rallies,forums and other events NYSUT hasorganized during budget negotiations.

The rallies and forums, many of whichwere held outdoors in bitter tempera-tures, call attention to Gov. Cuomo’spunitive and unprecedented stance onpublic education.

The “Call Out Cuomo” march inAlbany” began in the Empire State Plazaconcourse and ended on the steps of theMillion Dollar Staircase at the stateCapitol. Kowal and more than 40 otherUUP activists—including Vice Presidentfor Professionals Philippe Abraham,Vice President for Academics JamieDangler, Treasurer Rowena Blackman-Stroud and Membership DevelopmentOfficer Arty Shertzer—reiterated their

message to the governor to quit messingwith public education.

Kowal fired up the crowd before themarch, accusing the governor of further-ing injustice and oppression with his con-tinued attacks on public higher education.

“Our governor wants to reduce resourcesneeded to lift up the poorest in our schools,our state university and our public hospi-tals,” he said. “We won’t let that happen.”

NORth COUNtRY tOUR

Kowal and Abraham joined more than500 of their K-12 colleagues Feb. 28 fortwo stops on a North Country bus tour,that included stops in Massena, St.Lawrence County; and in Indian River,Lewis County.

As he waited to speak to those gatheredin the Plattsburgh High School parkinglot, Kowal said that such a large crowd—weathering temperatures in the teens toprotest—conveyed “the depth of the com-mitment that we have to defend ourschools and our vocation. That’s what wedo. We teach.”

Kim Hartshorn, Plattsburgh Chaptervice president for academics, called theExecutive Budget “a disaster.”

“It’s taking curriculum out of the handsof the faculty, even out of the Universitysystem,” he said.

(Michael Lisi contributed to this report.)

bY DarrYl McgraTh

uup presiDenT FreD kowal aDDresses hunDreDs oF unionisTs prior To The ‘call ouT cuoMo’

rallY aT The sTaTe capiTol. There were seVeral oTher sTops on The ‘call ouT cuoMo’ Tour,

organizeD bY nYsuT To call aTTenTion To The goVernor’s ongoing aTTacks on public eD.

karen l. MaTTison

nYsuT MeMbers FroM The elizabeThTown-

lewis school DisTricT sTanD behinD a banner

ThaT puTs goV. cuoMo in a casT oF Villains.

DarrYl McgraTh

It’s not often that you can putt inthe Empire State Plaza. But morethan a few visitors and workerspassing through the plaza stopped

to try their hand at the putting green.Others opted for a relaxing massage.All took part in UUP’s Technology

Sector Colleges Advocacy Day—anopportunity for SUNY Colleges of Tech-nology at Alfred, Canton, Cobleskill,Delhi and Morrisville to showcase thebest their institutions have to offer and todemonstrate how the tech sector col-leges benefit the public.

Lawmakers—many of whom theUUPers would talk with in theiroffices later that day—were invitedto check out the various exhibits.

“It is important for our membersto display the top-notch technologyand education programs availableto New Yorkers and to speak withlawmakers about the needs of theircampuses,” said UUP SecretaryEileen Landy.

Landy and Membership Develop-ment Officer Arty Shertzer advocatedalongside tech sector UUPers in meet-ings with lawmakers.

“Our members are proud of the workthey do, and it shows,” Shertzer said.

the beNefitS

SUNY Delhi used the putting green todraw attention to its golf managementprogram.

“Golf is a growth industry, and it’sone of our premier programs,” said DelhiChapter President John Taylor. “We haveone of only two 18-hole golf courses on acollege campus in the state.”

Delhi also brought a 3D printer, whichdrew looks of wonder from lawmakersand the public.

Morrisville UUPers set up severaldisplays, highlighting the college’sequine, criminal justice and massagetherapy programs.

“What we’re trying to do is show theLegislature the important work we do atMorrisville,” said Chapter President Tom

Hogle. “We want people to see what wedo every day to educate our students tobe professionally trained citizens and toadvance the University.”

SUNY colleges at Canton, Cobleskilland Alfred shared information aboutseveral unique programs. Alfred boastsprograms in surveying and geometrics;Canton specializes in alternative andrenewable energy.

the aSK

About 80 UUP members and studentsclimbed the stairs of the LegislativeOffice Building to meet with more than

two dozen lawmakers. They pointed outthat SUNY’s tech colleges have carvedout a unique niche in public higher edu-cation in New York. These colleges—through the dedicated faculty who workthere—bring real-world experience to theclassroom; the graduates enter theworkforce ready to take on jobs in aglobal economy.

UUPers urged lawmakers to set asidefunds to address the high cost of equip-ment, salary inequities and years ofunderfunding—including a decades-oldmandate to add four-year programs with-out additional state support.

They also stressed that the governor’sproposed appropriation for the tech sectorcampuses is down $11 million from whatit was in 2010. Enrollment at thoseschools has risen by 5 percent since then.

Morrisville delegate Jim Engletold Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi(D-Queens) that SUNY’s technologycampuses urgently need more funding.Hevesi was supportive of the technology


Cover story

tech Sector Colleges showcase uniqueness

aboVe, MorrisVille chapTer MeMber roberTa

chapin greeTs Dean Joseph bularzik aT The

chapTer’s csTep prograM DisplaY.

leFT, Delhi’s puTTing green is useD To

highlighT iTs golF ManageMenT prograM.

DonalD FelDsTein phoTos

bY karen l. MaTTison


sector colleges.Many lawmakers noted

that the governor’s trou-bling performance-basedfunding plan—whichwould pit campusesagainst one another forstate funding—wouldlikely be excluded fromthe final budget.

(Donald Feldstein con-

tributed to this report.)

The alFreD chapTer DisplaY

highlighTs soMe oF The unique

prograMs The college oFFers.

SUNY hospitals crucialto health care deliverybY DarrYl McgraTh

As New York plans how it will use $8 billion in Medi-caid savings to improve health care around the state,UUP and its leaders at SUNY hospitals are speaking upabout the role those hospitals can and should play in

this major change to health care delivery.“We applaud plans to improve health care services to the state’s

highest-need residents and regions,” said UUP President FredKowal. “We believe that all three of the SUNY hospitals alreadyhave extensive experience to offer in helping underserved regions.At the same time, we want to ensure that the state’s use of Medi-caid savings doesn’t diminish critical clinical services in the hospi-tals. All SUNY hospitals need to remain full-service, completelyaccessible public hospitals.”

At issue is a state program known as the Delivery SystemReform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, which New Yorkis using as a way to distribute most of the $8 billion in Medicaidsavings. The DSRIP program requires the state’s “safety netproviders”—hospitals and other health care services in high-needsareas—to develop cooperative proposals for improving health caredelivery in ways that also continue to reduce Medicaid costs. Eachset of health care providers working together on a DSRIP initiativeis known as a “Performing Provider System,” or PPS. Each PPSsubmitted proposals for DSRIP projects in mid-January. Funds willbe awarded over five years to proposals based on a review of thePPS plans by a state panel.

The state has encouraged proposals that would bring health careservices into neighborhoods, mostly through clinics that wouldimprove access and reduce reliance on hospital emergency depart-ments for primary care. Representatives of different PPS planstestified before the state review panel in February.

The $8 billion in Medicaid savings is the result of earlier work bythe state’s Medicaid Redesign Team, charged by Gov. AndrewCuomo with reducing the state’s Medicaid costs.

UUp MeMbeRS teStifY

SUNY hospitals—University Hospital in Brooklyn, which ispart of the SUNY Downstate Medical Center; Upstate MedicalUniversity in Syracuse; and Stony Brook University Hospital onLong Island—are all participating in the DSRIP program.

Two UUP chapter leaders—Michael Lyon, chapter president atUpstate, and Karen Benker, vice president for academics at Down-state—testified in February at hearings on the PPS plans.

Both urged the DSRIP panel to remember that the SUNY hospi-tals have highly unionized workforces, and that any cooperativeplan must take into consideration that plan’s effect on collectivebargaining agreements.

“An effective plan should clearly value the experience of currentemployees and include procedures to keep the existing employeeswithin the same bargaining unit, salary, benefits and employer,”

see DSRIP, page 17

aboVe, canTon’s sabel bong seTs up The canTon sTaTe DisplaY.

below, cobleskill chapTer presiDenT bill Tusang, righT, poses

wiTh sTuDenTs shawna MiTchell anD JeFF brown.


UUp calls for investigation into teacher certification process

Contradictions and confusioncontinue to pour forthfrom the State EducationDepartment following

UUP’s call for an investigation intothe deeply flawed new teacher certifica-tion process.

“Some of what we are hearing SEDofficials say, coupled with what we arereading on the SED website, is in directcontradiction to what we see happeningto students in our teacher preparation pro-grams, as well as what we hear from ourteacher preparation faculty,” said JamieDangler, UUP’s vice president for aca-demics. “It is all the more reason forlegislators to take a serious look at thisextremely troubled process.”

UUP President Fred Kowal wasjoined by Regent Kathleen Cashin,NYSUT Vice President CatalinaFortino and a group of teacher prepara-tion faculty and students at a news con-ference in the Legislative OfficeBuilding March 5, at which Kowalasked the Legislature and the Board ofRegents to investigate the many com-plaints about the process. Cashin saidshe would bring the request to the fullBoard of Regents.

At the Regents’ March 17 meeting,Cashin and Regent Betty Rosa spokeabout problems with the new exams.The Regents then directed SED todevelop a “safety net” for all fourcertification exams that will addressthe high failure rate by students whowere enrolled when the exams wereintroduced.

Sed dOdgeS qUeStiONS

Following the UUP news conference,Susan Arbetter, host of the WCNY-FMradio show Capitol Pressroom, inter-viewed Ken Wagner, SED’s senior deputycommissioner for education policy.(http://www.wcny.org/cpr030915/)

When Arbetter pressed Wagner about thefact that preparation materials for two of

the certification exams were postedmonths after the new tests were alreadybeing offered, Wagner dismissed the lateavailability as irrelevant. He said a stu-dent’s overall experience in the teacherpreparation program would provideadequate preparation for thecertification exams.

“We got the test prepara-tion materials out just assoon as we possibly could,but test preparation is notwhat teacher preparation isabout,” Wagner said. “Tosay that ‘I have no idea ofwhat’s going to be on theEducating All Studentsassessment,’ is just not ac-curate. That’s what you’vebeen doing in your teacherpreparation program for thepast few years.”

Wagner’s remarks indi-cate the difficulty of tryingto get SED to acknowledgeany problem with theexams, Dangler said. Thisis why UUP is calling forthe investigation, afterhearing from teacher preparationstudents and faculty for more than ayear that the tests often bear little resem-blance to curriculum.

“New courses needed to update curricu-lum in order to ‘educate all students’aren’t fully in place yet,” Dangler said.“I hope that teacher education profession-als call SED on Wagner’s statements.They are troubling, to say the least.”

pRObleMS with pROCeSS

The complaints from students and fac-ulty in teacher preparation programs haveextended far beyond the certificationexam known as the educative TeacherPerformance Assessment, which was themain focus a year ago. Since then, manyconcerns have been raised about the otherthree exams—the Academic LiteracySkills Test, the Educating All Students

exam and the Content Specialty Test,which has about 40 variations to coverdifferent teaching specializations.

“Students have been taking the newContent Specialty Tests this academicyear, including some who already gradu-

ated,” Dangler said. “ButSED hasn’t set cut scoresfor all of the tests yet, sostudents have taken examswith no information aboutwhat constitutes a passingscore. They are being heldup from getting certificationbecause cut scores have notbeen set yet.”

The New York StateTeacher CertificationExams website(www.nystce.nesinc.com)contains a notice postedMarch 2 announcing thatSED is still establishingpassing scores for 17 of theContent Specialty Tests, andthat the reporting of scoresfor students who have al-ready taken those tests willbe delayed until spring.

The notice caught the attention of edu-cation writer Alan Singer at Huffington

Post, one of many writers and bloggers—including Diane Ravitch—who has raisedquestions about the accountability ofPearson, which is administering thecertification exams in New York.

UUP members themselves havereported questionable actions about thescoring. At the March 5 news confer-ence, UUPer and New Paltz educationprofessor Julie Gorlewski—who serveson the UUP Task Force on TeacherEducation—said that Pearson offeredher a position as an edTPA scorer ofstudent teachers specializing in teachingmathematics, even though Gorlewski isan English teacher by training and is notcertified to teach math.

Teacher preparation students andrecent graduates of teacher preparation

Cover story

“The (teacher

ed preparation)

evaluation methods

need to be valid

and reliable.”

— Kathleen Cashin NYS Regent

CAShIN

bY DarrYl McgraTh


UUp calls for investigation into teacher certification process

programs have also been outspoken criticsof the process. At the news conference,Bobby Fatone, a 2014 SUNY Brockportgraduate with a 3.72 grade-point-average,was perplexed by the content of the EASbecause questions were constructed forclassroom applications. He said, much of

the EAS “is not appropriate for or relevantto my specific field of study—physical ed-ucation—since I don’t teach in a class-room.

Katherine Knapp, a student teacher atSUNY New Paltz, said the edTPA has de-tracted from her focus on student teaching.

Travis West has joinedUUP as its newresearch intern.

West is working 20hours a week through the end ofMay researching and analyzingissues for potential legislation,conducting qualitative and quanti-tative research, organizing UUPOutreach Committee events, andcompleting other tasks associatedwith UUP Research/Legislation.

West holds his bachelor’s degreein business administration/market-ing from the University at Buffalo.He is planning to pursue amaster’s degree in labor andemploymentlaw with aconcentrationin humanresourcesinformationsystems atUAlbany start-ing in the fall.

“I’m thankfulto have theopportunity to work at UUP,especially as an EOP student andrecent SUNY graduate,” he said.

West brings research experienceto his new position at UUP, havingworked as a market research andcommunications specialist forEMVISS, LLC, a technologystartup company at UB. He’s alsoworked as a research assistant atCommuniqué Design and Market-ing, a private firm in Ithaca.

“Having Travis on our team ishelping UUP to meet the manychallenges our union faces in acontentious political environ-ment,” said UUP President FredKowal.

The UUP Research InternProgram was recently developedto supplement the union’s John M.Reilly legislative intern program.

New research internon board at UUp

bY DonalD FelDsTein

aboVe, new palTz uuper Julie gorlewski ouTlines The concerns ThaT Teacher eDucaTors haVe

wiTh The eDTpa, one oF Four Teacher cerTiFicaTion exaMs ThaT uup belieVes are ‘DeeplY FlaweD.’

gorlewski anD oTher criTics oF The exaMs shareD Their sTories During a March 5 news conFerence

aT The legislaTiVe oFFice builDing in albanY. uup presiDenT FreD kowal, righT, also spoke.

below, leFT, sunY brockporT graDuaTe bobbY FaTone shares his experiences wiTh The new exaMs.

below, righT, nYsuT Vp caTalina ForTino sTanDs in soliDariTY wiTh uup, Teacher eDucaTors,

parenTs anD sTuDenTs in opposing The new high-sTakes Teacher cerTiFicaTion requireMenTs.

Michael lisi

WEST


UUP front

Social media was abuzz with thenews for months: adjuncts atcampuses across the countrywould walk out of class on the

same day to show how much universitiesand colleges rely on them and how badlythey are treated on the job.

The date was set: Feb. 25 was slatedas National Adjunct Walkout Day.

But the buzz never became reality. Adjuncts at a few colleges out west—

Seattle University, the San FranciscoArt Institute and the University ofArizona—walked out to protest the over-reliance and overuse of adjuncts, accord-ing to a Feb. 26 Inside Higher Ed article.

adjUNCtS get aCtive

But at most colleges and universities,including SUNY, adjuncts didn’t walk out.Instead, they used the opportunity toenlighten—they held teach-ins, rallies andworkshops, and set up information tables.

That’s what UUP members did.UUPers at UAlbany, Buffalo State,

SUNY Canton, SUNY Fredonia, SUNYMorrisville, SUNY Oneonta, SUNYOswego and SUNY Plattsburgh took partin seminars, discussions and lunchtimemeetings to inform and educate membersand students about adjuncts’ low wagesand poor working conditions.

“We support our adjunct faculty and weapplaud chapters who chose to take partin the national action for adjuncts without

engaging in an organized walkout,” saidUUP President Fred Kowal.

In January, Kowal urged members tonot participate in the walkout. If they did,it would constitute an illegal strike underthe Taylor Law; members who walkedout while on the job risked being disci-plined and fired.

Members heard and heeded Kowal’swarning.

ChapteRS hOSt eveNtS

At UAlbany. for example, the AlbanyChapter’s Contingent Concerns Commit-tee hosted “Challenging Contingency,”a lunchtime presentation and paneldiscussion on adjuncts’ issues.

“I want to make certain that we makeevery effort to improve the lives ofcontingents on campus, but that we doso in a way that does not put any of us,especially contingents who are mostvulnerable, at risk of violating thelaw,” said Albany Chapter PresidentBret Benjamin.

UUpers bring attention to adjuncts’ concernsbY Michael lisi

“We support our adjunct faculty and

we applaud chapters who chose to take part

in the national action ... without engaging

in an organized walkout.”

— UUP President Fred Kowal

aboVe, The plaTTsburgh chapTer’s lisT oF The 915 courses TaughT bY

aDJuncT FaculTY This Year was one piece oF The union’s acTion plan.

righT, The new palTz chapTer sTresseD The precarious eMploYMenT

oF sunY’s oVerworkeD anD unDerpaiD aDJuncT FaculTY.

richarD aberle

peTer D.g. brown

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/26/adjuncts-deem-national-walkout-day-success


The New Paltz Chapter honored contin-gent faculty members during its NationalAdjunct Action Week, which ranFeb. 23-27. The chapter set up a displaylisting about 700 SUNY New Paltzcourses taught by 57 full-time lecturersand 248 part-time lecturers.

“Students are adversely affected whentheir teachers lack basic support in theform of a living wage or offices to meetand mentor their students,” said ChapterPresident Peter D.G.Brown. “Education suf-fers in the absence ofany meaningful aca-demic freedom due toour contingent faculty’sprecarious employment.”

At Fredonia, thechapter hosted a week-long series of eventsand activities as part ofits National AdjunctAction/Awareness Week.Faculty, professionals,students, staff andadministrators wereasked to participate indaily events such astaking a selfie while hold-ing a hand-made sign with a statementsupporting adjuncts.

Oneonta Chapter members started apetition to address job security andpay for adjuncts. They expressedconcerns about the impact of low salaryon recruitment and retention of part-timefaculty during a Feb. 25 labor-manage-ment meeting, said Acting ChapterPresident Rob Compton.

Here’s a sampling of what went on atother SUNY campuses:

• At Plattsburgh, more than 40 peopleattended the chapter’s public forum onadjunct issues and higher education fund-ing. Organized by Plattsburgh ChapterOfficer for Contingents Richard Aberle,the forum got news coverage in The Press

Republican and on WCAX-Channel 3News in Burlington, Vt. StatewideMembership Development Officer ArtyShertzer spoke at the Feb. 25 event.

The chapter also displayed 915 course

sections taught by more than 800 Platts-burgh adjuncts. The display—14 panels of Post-it-size course listings—was 28 feet long.

• At Oswego, chapter Officer forContingents CindyFuller created a shortsurvey and sent itto 241 adjuncts; 115responded. During alunchtime workshopshe co-organized withdelegate Charlie Itzin,Fuller said 30 respon-dents expressed aninterest in servingon a new chapterAdjunct/ContingentConcerns Committee.

Oswego Chapter President Lori Nashand Fuller were featured in an article onthe event that ran in the student newspa-per, The Oswegonian.

• The Buffalo State Chapter held anopen forum Feb. 25, inviting adjunctsto discuss employment concerns and tolet chapter leaders know how the unioncan better serve them.

• Canton Chapter members handed outfliers to faculty, students and staff aboutissues adjuncts face, said Sabel Bong,a chapter delegate.

aboVe, canTon chapTer MeMbers brian harTe

anD sabel bong, righT, Tell sTuDenTs abouT

The issues Facing ManY oF Their parT-TiMe

lecTurers.

leFT, oswego chapTer MeMbers cinDY Fuller

anD charlie iTzin Discuss conTingenT

concerns During a lunchTiMe workshop.

below, FreDonia helD week-long eVenTs anD

DisplaYeD a lengThY lisT oF courses TaughT

bY aDJuncT FaculTY.

canTon chapTer

larrY Fuller

bruce siMon


2015 Spring Delegate Assembly April 17-18, 2015

eLeCtiON

Delegates to the 2015 SpringDelegate Assembly, set for April 17-18 atthe Saratoga Hilton, will elect 11 state-wide union leaders. Elections will be heldfor the offices of president, secretary andmembership development officer, as wellas eight Executive Board seats.

If the membership ratio of academics toprofessionals remains the same as thepresent ratio, of the 11 people to be

elected, seven must be academics andfour must be professionals. If theratio changes, the elections will beadjusted accordingly.

In accordance with union policy, candi-dates running for statewide elective posi-

tions are entitled to have statements and aphotograph printed in The Voice, which isdistributed to all bargaining unit members.

Statements longer than 500 words wereset in smaller type to ensure fairness forall candidates. The statements areprinted as received, with minor editingfor consistency of style.

The following pages contain the state-ments and photographs of those unioncandidates who chose to submit them.These and other candidate statementssubmitted by March 6 are also on the UUPwebsite, under Elections.

eLeCtiONdelegates to elect union officers, board members

for President

Frederick kowalcobleskill

For the past two years, it has been my dis-

tinct privilege and honor to serve you as presi-

dent of our great union. It has also been a very

exciting and rewarding time to serve in this

office. My goals from the start were three-fold:

To increase the grassroots involvement of our

membership while growing the core group

of activists in UUP, to increase the political

power of UUP in New York, and to expand the

influence of UUP throughout the state and

nation. I believe that we have made a start in

each of these areas, but work remains. There-

fore, I am asking for your support of my

candidacy for the presidency of UUP for

another term.

Over the past two years, we have seen UUP

take part in political campaigns, labor gather-

ings, and advocacy events as never before. New

activists, and a new generation of future leaders

are emerging. We have also seen UUP become a

known player in the work of the Legislature, in

our affiliates, and nationally. And we have met

my challenge that UUP become the “ideas

factory” for higher education, culminating in

the attention our ideas on public funding and

solving the student debt problem

received at the state and national

levels. I am proud of the work that

my fellow officers, activists from

across UUP, and I have done in the

past two years. But, much more

work must be done if UUP is to be-

come the powerful force it must be

for the sake of our union’s future,

our members, our students, and our

University.

So, as I ask for your vote at April’s Spring

Delegate Assembly, let me outline my priorities

for the next two years should I be re-elected

president.

First, we must continue to strengthen our

union in order to build a large group of grass-

roots activists to do the advocacy work that we

must do to build strong alliances in our commu-

nities. We must work to put in place policies

that serve the common interest our union shares

with our students and our communities. We

have been more active politically in the past

year than we ever have been. But, it’s just a

start. We must do more.

Second, we must utilize the expanded

resources that have been put in place in our

Research, Communications and IT departments

to continue to develop new and better

ideas for the future of higher educa-

tion and unions, while also more

effectively projecting those ideas to

our membership and our nation.

Third, as I have challenged all

leaders of our union over the past two

years, we must re-think the ways that

we organize ourselves as a union and

how best to use our scarce resources.

In the next year, we must collectively

consider ways to enhance our internal strengths

while also conserving our union’s resources for

the struggles to come.

My most important task, should I be re-elected,

will be to create a structure, within our constitu-

tional requirements, for our upcoming contract

negotiations. This is the most important task a

UUP president has and I will take it on with

careful thought and determination. And for this

process to be successful for UUP, we will need

a strongly engaged membership.

We have had two good years together. And

together, we will move forward to successfully

face the challenges ahead of us. I thank you for

your help and support in the past two years.

And I thank you in advance for your considera-

tion of my request for your vote.

kOWAl


2015 Spring Delegate Assembly April 17-18, 2015

eLeCtiON

for Membership development officer

eileen landyold westbury

Thank you for allowing me to serve youand our union as UUP secretary. It is asmeaningful and important as any work Ihave ever done.

The past two years have been as chal-lenging as any UUP has faced. Budgetswere slashed in the time of surplus. Ahostile governor is pushing to increaseprivatization of SUNY through START-UP NY and other commercializationplans; to dismantle teacher prep programsacross SUNY; to impose performancemeasures that will negatively impact di-versity among our students, faculty andstaff. The very concept of “public” inhigher education and health care is undersiege. In the face of all this, we havepushed back—fighting hard and workingtogether.

Officers have travelled across the statefor labor, community and political rallies;

we have reached out to buildalliances on the campus, com-munity, state and national lev-els; we have strengthened ourrelationships with our affiliates.We have worked together andwith you to activate our mem-bers and make alliances withinand across our communities.We have worked together withyou and with our students toreaffirm our commitment to them and tothe civil right that is public education.

One of our organizational allies is theCampaign for the Future of HigherEducation. This now-international coali-tion of over 90 higher education organiza-tions and unions has become an indepen-dent national voice in support of quality,affordable and accessible higher educa-tion. Because our experiences in NewYork are echoed from California toFlorida, we work together in CFHE tomake common cause.

We also worked collectively torepurpose our meetings. We areworking to make our shared timemore productive and user-friendly, in part through incorpo-rating workshops into the DA.We have updated chapter, affili-ate and retiree electionprocesses. We continually tryto improve our registrationand election processes at the

Delegate Assembly. We are taking greateradvantage of technology for communica-tions within and among committees. Wecontinue to seek your ideas on how toimprove our practices and lessen ourcarbon footprint.

We still have work to do.I ask you to let me continue with you in

this fight. I bring to it my experience, mypassion and my fierce commitment toUUP, the labor movement and the valuesthey represent. I ask for your support.

Thank you.

Arty ShertzerStony brook

How do we engage our members?Are we inclusive? Are we welcoming?Are we informative?

Two months ago, I posed these questions.As I write to you again, seeking election

for a full two-year term, I believe thatthese questions are still at the core of whatwe need to do in order to move our unionforward.

I have been very busy. I have visitedPlattsburgh and New Paltz; I haveadditional meetings scheduled for bothindividual chapter and regional visits.I have attended EOP Advocacy Day,Higher Ed Advocacy Day, Committeeof 100 and Tech Sector Advocacy Day.

I have put together a meeting of theOutreach and Membership chairs alongwith our legislation staff and our newpolitical action organizer to begin work-ing to coordinate our efforts.

Over the last two months and through-out my years of UUP involvement, I haveseen hundreds of our members, at the

chapters, at the Delegate Assem-blies, at events and rallies. WhatI see are people who have felt theneed to participate. At the sametime, there are many who do not.The difference is that those whodo feel that we as leaders haveconnected to them on some level.

Maybe it was a personal issue,maybe it was as simple as return-ing a phone call. I know that inmy case, it was the help I got when I wasfacing a nonrenewal many years ago.

We have, at our disposal, enormousresources to help one another. We havea contract that affords us the right to beinvolved in the issues and problems weas SUNY employees face.

We all want to see SUNY remain accessi-ble and affordable. We all want to feel thatwe are doing what needs to be done toeducate students and care for patients.We all want to feel appreciated and valued.

We, as leaders, must always rememberthat we are leaders because the member-ship has entrusted us to do the very bestwe can for them—that it is a privilege to

serve. If we work together, wecan create the opportunity formembers to see us, feel com-fortable with us and to trust us.Together, we can reach out toour membership to exploretheir interests and listen totheir concerns. We can bedifferent; we can become anextraordinary, active andmeaningful union.

It starts with us; it grows member bymember, chapter by chapter.

With the serious issues facing us asunionists, if we hope to preserve a SUNYthat remains accessible and affordable, ifwe want to preserve the ability to teachwithout interference, and to care for theneediest amongst us, and to be valued andcompensated appropriately, then we mustcreate an environment, in everythingwe do, that is inclusive, welcoming andinformative.

I need your assistance, your energy andyour ideas.

We have much work to do. I ask foryour support and trust.

for Secretary

lANDy

ShERTzER


eLeCtiONfor executive board

Anne wiegardcortland

UUP’s political positioning with regardto contingent employment practices mustbe comprehensive, righteous, deeply grass-rooted and, above all, utilitarian.

Like SUNY initiatives such as “OpenSUNY,” SUNY 2020, and the edTPA, thatthreaten our members, our students, andthe public good, contingency must befought aggressively and strategically. It isdetrimental to our union and our profes-sions. Contingency must be addressed withthe kind of urgent, wholehearted responsewe see in the work of our union to thwartrecent efforts to privatize SUNY. It must beaddressed through an internal organizingcampaign and a programmatic PR cam-paign that integrates internal and externalmessaging.

Our internal messaging absolutely has toemphasize the exploitation and injustice ourcontingent workforce experiences. We needto educate all our members about the unfair,even inhumane employment practices, anddo everything possible to mobilize ourmembers to create change. But there is ahuge difference between the internal and theexternal messages that are necessary.

Our external message cannot be a series

of complaints. None of theunions which have achieved thegreatest parity for their contin-gent faculty has ever focused onsuch complaints in their externalPR. They will tell you that com-plaints about salary and workingconditions seem self-interestedand offensive to the taxpayersand to other worker organiza-tions whose members arearguably treated much worse and whocould be our greatest allies. The same istrue of potential alliances with other socialjustice organizations.

Much as we might wish to express ourgrievances similarly to the indignationexpressed during the Civil Rights, the GayRights or Women’s Rights Movement, welose our credibility when we falsely com-pare ourselves to those movements. Ouroppression revolves entirely around ouremployment situation, not around who weare. We do have a choice of employers andthe public knows it. (Of course, if we allchose to resign, SUNY would have to closeits doors!)

Instead, in the same way that our messag-ing about our budget proposals and otherkey political goals focuses on the conse-

quences for our students and thecitizens of New York, our externalmessaging about contingencyshould consistently focus on suchconsequences. Lawmakers andvoters care about the quality of ed-ucation that SUNY provides theirchildren, and hearing about itserosion concerns them much morethan the notion that some facultydo not receive a living wage.

They can understand that students’ learningconditions depend upon faculty’s workingconditions.

All elected UUP representatives whopurport to speak on behalf of UUP’s con-tingent members need to be on message.There is a very narrow bandwidth for thepublic discourse related to higher educa-tion, much less the specific issue of contin-gency. When there are two or threedifferent competing messages, none ofthem gets through. Let’s agree to cometogether to develop a clear, effective, com-prehensive PR campaign, even if it meansletting go of a slogan or two that soundappealing. Our members need to stay onmessage, the single message that UUPcrafts, so that we will speak with one voiceand we will be heard.

beth e. wilsonnew Paltz

It has been both a pleasure and a privi-

lege for me to serve on the statewide

Executive Board over the past two years.

Serving on the board has expanded my

perspective, and helped connect me with

the experiences and ongoing concerns of

UUP members across the wide expanse of

our bargaining unit.

The current leadership has transformed

the board into a dynamic, engaged, delib-

erative body. We are called upon to under-

stand the full range of chal-

lenges facing our members—

whether it’s edTPA, the threat

to Downstate, the precarious

employment of our contingent

brothers and sisters, or any of a

dozen others—and to advise

and support the president and

officers as they work to

address them.

Approaching the end of my first term on

the Executive Board, I feel that I have

done my best to productively contribute

to the dialogue in our meetings and to

represent UUP at functions such

as AFT’s higher ed conference,

the CFHE annual gathering, and

the Coalition of Contingent

Academic Labor (COCAL),

producing detailed reports back

to the president for each of these

events.

I would very much appreciate

your support as I seek re-election

to the Executive Board, so that I can

have the opportunity to follow through

on the good work that we have only

just started.

WIlSON

WIEgARD


for executive board

lori nashoswego

I am running for an academic seat onthe Executive Board and I ask for yourvote. I have been serving on the ExecutiveBoard since 2013. I am also currentlyserving as Oswego Chapter president.

From 2005-2013, I served as the part-time concerns representative for theOswego Chapter. In 2005, the startingsalary for adjuncts at Oswego was $2,310.It had been at this rate for more than 15years. Through my efforts and the effortsof my Oswego colleagues, we were ableto negotiate four increases to the startingsalary for adjuncts at Oswego: $2,502(Fall 2006); $2,604 (Fall 2008); $2,850(Spring 2013); and $2,952 (Fall 2013).

I am a member of the statewide Contin-gent Employment Committee and havebeen a member of this committee forthe last 10 years. I was the part-timeacademic at-large member of the Negotia-tions Committee for the 2011-2016 con-tract. I also served on the President’sCommission on Part-time Labor. In 2008,I was awarded the Fayez Samuel Awardfor Courageous Service.

I am currently serving on theTask Force on Hostile Workplace.In the summer of 2013, I com-pleted a workshop on “BullyBusting” at the United Associa-tion for Labor Education (UALE),Northeast Regional SummerSchool for Union Women.

As an Executive Board mem-ber, I have sought to do what isin the best interest of the mem-bers of the union. I keep in mind theunion as a whole and I also think aboutthe issues that affect those in the unionwho are the most vulnerable. I partici-pate actively in board discussions, givingcareful considerations to all mattersbrought before the board. I have devel-oped relations of mutual respect with allboard members. I seek agreement when-ever it is in the best interest of the unionto foster agreement and I challenge ideasand practices when ideas and practicesneed to be challenged.

In the time that I have served on theboard, UUP has sought to increase itspower and influence, so that UUP cansecure for its members those things that

are the most important to themembership, a good contractand public support for educa-tion. UUP has launched impres-sive education campaignsaimed at making members,as well as the broader public,aware of UUP’s priorities.These campaigns have spurredmembers and other activiststo action.

During the last two years, UUP has prior-itized the following: saving SUNY Down-state; protecting teacher education pro-grams; fighting against the privatizationof higher education; addressing adjunctpoverty and contingent issues; seekingsupport for EOP and EOC programs;and seeking increased support for SUNY.I have supported these priorities and I haveworked to encouraged others to supportthese priorities.

I teach as an adjunct in the departmentof philosophy at SUNY Oswego.

I have been honored to serve on UUP’sExecutive Board and would be honored tocontinue to serve in this role.

I ask for your support and your vote.

NASh

laura rhoadsPotsdam

Sisters and brothers, I seek your support

for election to the statewide Executive

Board at our Spring Delegate Assembly in

April 2015.

We face many challenges as public

sector unionized employees; it seems

overwhelming. We continue the fight,

however, as the largest, strongest higher

education union in the country, and our

solidarity will move us forward.

As a member of the UUP statewide

Executive Board, I have the opportunity

to represent all of you: professional and

academic, tenured and contingent, current

member and active retiree. My experi-

ences at a smaller campus allow me to

share ideas and contribute to the board

discussions. I have served on

the board for four terms and

stand with the officers and other

board members as a body that

represents you the member.

At the campus level, I have

been the Potsdam Chapter pres-

ident, so I have many experi-

ences with member issues and

dealing with management

through the labor-management process.

At the statewide level, I am an academic

delegate for Potsdam, and have served as

a committee member for the statewide

Grievance Committee, Legal Defense

Committee, Task Force on Workplace

Violence, and the Strategic Planning

Group. I previously chaired the Task

Force on Academic Member Recruitment.

I am a member of the Joint

Labor-Management Committee

on Affirmative Action and

Diversity. These activities have

strengthened my knowledge

about the union, and at the

same time have allowed me

opportunities to participate in

its functions.

I have been a faculty member

in the department of biology at SUNY

Potsdam for the last 15 years, and I am

proud to be a doctoral graduate of SUNY

Binghamton.

I have appreciated the strength of the

union to protect our collective bargaining

rights and will work diligently for my

union sisters and brothers in the upcom-

ing term.

RhOADS


eLeCtiONfor executive board

Pamela Maloneempire State college

Brothers and sisters,With great enthusiasm I am writing to

ask for your vote for our UUP ExecutiveBoard. As a member of the board, Ipledge to listen carefully, make informeddecisions, and work to make our union asstrong as it can be.

My experience at both the chapter andstatewide levels will allow me to serveyou well in the role of board member. TheEmpire State College Chapter functionssimilarly to UUP—we have locations ofvarious sizes across the state, all withunique and diverse needs. As chapterpresident, and previously as vice presi-dent for professionals, I have learned tobuild upon our diversity to support indi-vidual members, as well as the chapteras a whole.

I understand the challenges of unitingmembers who are geographically distantand are facing local issues, and am sensi-tive to the foresight needed when makingdecisions that impact all members. If my

experience has taught me any-thing, it is that making deci-sions at any leadership level isharder than it looks. In order forour union to stand strong, wemust each invest in the needs ofeach of our sisters and brothers,be they academic or profes-sional, full or part time, at alarge center or at a smaller unit.Therefore, it’s imperative thatwe share as much as possible and I planon continuing the work of our currentboard in earnest.

Through serving on the last Negotia-tions Team and on our Elections andCredentials and Outreach committees,I’ve learned about the incredible varietyof the work that we do and the uniqueconcerns at our chapters and within ourdisciplines. I’ve learned about the uniquepressures facing some of us—for exam-ple, our part-time members and our mem-bers working at our hospitals and medicalschools. I’ve learned about the enormousexternal factors such as politics, publicperception, and funding that impact our

work and our work lives. Impor-tantly, I have been able to applywhat I have learned in my workat the chapter and for UUP—whether it be helping a memberone-on-one, discussing issues atour chapter labor-managementmeetings, engaging and inform-ing my chapter membership,standing strong with my fellowNegotiations Team members,

working side by side with my E&C Com-mittee members to ensure fair elections,or advocating with legislators for SUNY.

As you can see, this experience pro-vides me with a strong foundation toserve our membership on the ExecutiveBoard. I have often told my members“we are all in this together” and there’sno truer statement.

If you elect me to the statewide Execu-tive Board, that truth will govern my workand my decisions. I will strive to representour diverse membership by listening andlearning, and serving with passion anddedication for our union, our membersand our causes.

darleyne e. MayersFarmingdale

My name is Darleyne Mayers and I ama member of UUP Farmingdale. I wouldconsider it a privilege and honor to con-tinue to serve as an Executive Boardmember. I would like to continue to workfor you in this capacity. And I would likeyou to vote for me.

As educators, health care providers andmembers of our strong union, I recognizethe importance of maintaining its effectiveorganization in spite of the ongoing at-tacks that are affecting our livelihoods,and values. I have the ability to assist inmaking this a continued outcome.

This is why I would like to continue tobe a part of the hard-working and produc-tive board as a member with a voice thatrepresents everyone. The UUP theme ofsolidarity is something that I do not takelightly. Our efforts to build coalitions and

foster stronger relationshipswith organizations that havesimilar interests must continue.

My experience includes that Iam a member of the executiveboard on the chapter level andhave been involved in variousactivities for almost ten years,most recently, as the grievancechair for professionals, servingon the labor-management com-mittee. I would like to share with yousome of the direct actions that may helpyou decide to vote for me: co-chair of thestatewide Affirmative Action Committee,where among other activities, retreatshave provided yearly committee actionitems, and goals and objectives; chair,the EOC Concerns Committee; formermember of the Outreach Committee(I presently participate in campus visitsto Albany and facilitate Farmingdale

students and workers, who cometo EOP/EOC Day; supportedvoter registration efforts throughthe “Rock the Vote!” campaign;participated in phone bankingfor presidential elections andstatewide elections; member ofthe Task Force on Pay EquityBased on Race; and member ofTask Force on Emerging Issuesof Diversity.

I want to continue to serve on theboard where we will continue to work asadvocates for our students, our patientsand our institutions through coalitionsand activities at the chapter and state-wide levels.

I am asking for your support to re-electme, Darleyne Mayers, to the ExecutiveBoard. An independent thinker withintegrity and fortitude who will continueto focus on our UUP.

mAyERS

mAlONE


for executive board

Tom Hoey

Albany

Dear delegates,

I am running for re-election for a profes-

sional seat on the UUP Executive Board

and I ask for your vote at the upcoming

Spring DA.

One of the values that I hold in high

regard is keeping an open mind and truly

listening to what is being said then mak-

ing decisions based on information not

conjecture. In raising my 7-year-old son

Max, the phrase I keep repeating to him

is, “If you are talking you are not listen-

ing.” Teaching him has changed my inter-

actions and to the realization of how

important it is to lead by good example.

In serving the union in different roles

both on the chapter and statewide levels,

I have worked hard to get the important

work of the union done. I will bring that

same work ethic to the UUP Executive

Board. I have served as: chair of the Soli-

darity Committee; the UUP’s President’s

SEFA representative; a member of the AFT

Higher Ed Committee; a member of

NYSUT’s Task Force of Labor

Issues; a NYSUT delegate; and

AFT delegate.

I have been chair/co-chair of

the Solidarity Committee for

the past decade and I continue

in that role. As chair, I have led

the committee and UUP to sup-

port many different campaigns

important to both UUP and the

labor movement. One example is the

“killer coke” campaign we brought to the

attention of UUP and proudly we are still

boycotting their products.

My service as the SEFA representative

came with the responsibility to ensure that

the campaign was run successfully.

The AFT Higher Ed Committee experi-

ence led to a series of events that allowed

for the premiere showing of an important

labor film “Bread and Roses” in Albany,

which was attended by over 1,000 labor

activists. This event is a great example

about how being involved with UUP can

change lives.

Currently, I am the vice president for pro-

fessionals at the Albany Chapter,

where I am working to re-energize

the chapter with a new, younger

generation of labor leaders.

My labor education with “Jobs

with Justice.” my service with

Capital District AFL-CIO Labor

Council and NYSUT leadership

Institute all have given me the

skills to mentor newer members.

I also worked with the Capital District

AFL-CIO to make UUP aware of anti-

labor practices by The Desmond, which

led to our boycott and a successful

contract for The Desmond’s workers.

More recently I have taken up the plight

of the unorganized Albany Crossing

Guards and the 911 dispatchers who have

gone without a contract for six years.

I am also serving as treasurer of my

neighborhood association and active in

my neighborhood school’s PTA.

Today, I want to work to give opportunity

to future activists. I ask for your support

and vote to accomplish this for UUP.

In union!

hOEy

testified Lyon, who told the panel that thehospital has already diverted public fundsto meet costs and responsibilities imposedby the DSRIP program.

Benker, a physician, also urged the panelto remember the unions in the governanceof the PPS for University Hospital, whichwould include Kings County Hospital inBrooklyn.

Benker warned the panel that the PPSplan under DSRIP that would include Uni-versity Hospital was vague about that hos-pital’s role, “except for some very limitedoutpatient care activities.”

University Hospital’s extensive clinicalservices include dialysis and kidney trans-plants. The dialysis service is the only onein the area that serves children and patientson Medicaid or without insurance. Benker

told the panel she worried thatthese essential services riskedbeing privatized or eliminated inthe coming redesign of health carethrough DSRIP.

“The loss of dialysis and kidneytransplants for children and adultson Medicaid means a death sen-tence to them,” said Benker, anassociate professor and interimchair in the department of healthpolicy and management.

In early February, an independent asses-sor made preliminary recommendations onthe PPS plans submitted to the state panel.The plan including Stony Brook wasscored the second highest in the state, andthe central New York plan that includesUpstate scored in the middle range. ThePPS plan including Downstate MedicalCenter scored the third-lowest in the state.

Concern about the future of the SUNY

hospitals haslong been a keylegislative issuefor UUP. Thisyear’s ExecutiveBudget proposeda total subsidy of$69 million, a$19 million cutfrom last year’sfinal figure of$88 million.

The Assembly and Senate budget propos-als would restore $18.6 million and $18.5million, respectively, to the hospital sub-sidy. The Assembly budget bill also in-cludes a $500 million appropriation to thePPS partnerships that include UpstateMedical University and Stony Brook Uni-versity Hospital, to help those partnershipswith the costs associated with developingthe DSRIP plans.

dSRipcontinued from page 7

bENkER


Financial Statement for 2014Dear Colleagues,

This is the report of the accountants regarding the audit for fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2014.The accounting firm Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC, conducted the audit, which was

reviewed by delegates at the 2015 Winter DA in Albany. Should you have any questions concerning theaudit, please contact me.

— UUP Treasurer Rowena Blackman-Stroud

2014 expenditure report of UUP chapters


In my experience as manager ofmember benefits, I have found thatmany people who eagerly awaittheir retirement date often forget to

dot all of their i’s or cross all of their t’s.Below are guidelines intended to

help you understand what you should dolong before you step into the nextchapter of your life.

It is important to consult with yourretirement system or financial advisor,and your campus health benefits adminis-trator (HBA), to get a better feel for theprocedures. Once you’ve picked a retire-ment date, consider the following:

• Contact and notify your retirementsystem (ERS or TRS) at least 30 days,but no more than 90 days, prior to yourchosen retirement date. The OptionalRetirement Program (TIAA-CREF, ING,Metropolitan or VALIC) requires notifi-cation by the 15th of the month prior tothe month of retirement;

• Meet with your campus HBA regard-ing health insurance coverage for you andyour dependents. Discuss the sick leaveconversion credit to calculate the basicmonthly value toward defraying therequired contribution to the monthlypremium for health insurance.

• Meet with HR regarding survivorbenefits, if any, and beneficiaries. Discussthe campus procedures for retirement.

• Notify your campus president, ordesignee, in writing.

NYSHIP in retirement

To be eligible to retire with healthinsurance, you must meet the eligibilityrequirements of your retirement system;have been eligible to participate in theNew York State Health Insurance Pro-gram (NYSHIP) for a minimum of 10years; and be enrolled in NYSHIP at thetime you separate from state service.

If you are 55 or older, you are eligible forthe sick leave accrual conversion credit todefray the retiree’s contribution toward thecost of health insurance. NYSHIP premiumcosts can be offset with your accrued sickleave credit; you may currently use up to amaximum of 200 days.

If you are not yet 55, and you are“vested for health insurance purposes,”

you may pay the full health insurance pre-mium until you are 55, when New Yorkstate will contribute the employer’s costand you will contribute the retiree’s cost.

Alternate method of applying basic

monthly value of sick leave credit

You may opt to apply up to 100 percentof the calculated basic monthly value ofthe sick leave credit toward defraying therequired contribution to the monthly pre-mium during your lifetime.

Alternatively, you may elect to apply onlyup to 70 percent of the calculated basicmonthly value of the sick leave credittoward the monthly premium during yourlifetime; and, any eligible surviving depend-ent may also apply up to 70 percent of thebasic monthly value of the sick leave credittoward the dependent share of the monthlypremium for the duration of the survivingdependent’s eligibility.

Selection of the method of sick leavecredit application must be made at the timeof retirement, and is irrevocable. In the ab-sence of a selection by the employee, thebasic method will be applied. The basicmonthly value of the sick leave credit willbe calculated according to the procedures inuse on March 31, 1991.

A retiring state employee may indefin-itely delay the start of, or suspend healthcoverage or the use of the employee’ssick leave conversion credits, providedthe employee applies for either and fur-nishes proof of continued coverage.

Medicare

Most UUPers become eligible forMedicare at age 65. Medicare Part A isavailable at no cost, and covers hospitalservices, skilled nursing, hospice and homehealth care. Medicare Part B covers physi-cian services, durable medical equipment

and other services.Once eligible for Medicare as primary

coverage, NYSHIP requires enrollment inParts A and B. When Medicare is your pri-mary insurance, the state reimburses youfor the Part B premium, as well as that ofyour eligible NYSHIP dependent who isalso enrolled in Medicare.

You are entitled to this benefit unless thePart B reimbursement is received from an-other source, and as long as you do not re-turn to work. Once eligible for Medicare,Medicare is your primary insurance andNYSHIP is your secondary insurance ifyou are not actively employed.

Prescription, dental, vision benefits

Prescription drug coverage remains withthe NYSHIP plan selected—such as theEmpire Plan or an HMO—during youryears of active employment with NYS.

After retirement, your UUP Benefit TrustFund (BTF) coverage for dental and visionservices terminates at the end of the monthfollowing the last month of employment.To continue these benefits, COBRA isavailable for 18 months and payments aremade to the BTF.

UUP retiree membership

Retiree membership is open to anyonewho retired from active service while a“regular” member of UUP. Applications areavailable at www.uupinfo.org. Retireemembership for 2015-2016 is $45.

Retiree members receive a $1,000 lifeinsurance policy and may purchase UUPand affiliate discounted benefits and serv-ices. UUP retiree dental and vision plansare available at competitive prices.

Personal information changes

After you retire from state service, allchanges of names, addresses, dependents,etc., for NYSHIP are processed through theNYS Department of Civil Service. Theoption transfer period in NYSHIP isallowed once in a 12-month period.

For more NYSHIP and sick leave accrual conver-sion information, contact your campus HBA or HRdepartment, or the Department of Civil Service at(800) 833-4344; for Medicare, call (800) 633-4227. For UUP active and retiree membership in-formation, or for vision and dental benefitsquestions, contact the BTF at (800) 887-3863.


Doreen M. Bango, Manager,Member Benefits & Services

are you ready for the next chapter in your life?

Union benefits

United University Professions

P.O. Box 15143

Albany, N.Y. 12212-5143

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budget brainstorming

Michael lisi

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