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n An Online Publication of United University Professions The Nation’s Largest Higher Education Union Working For You THE EchoEcho Vol. 4, No. 3 HAT S THE SPIRIT UUp Tmembers’ give back dUring The holidays and ThroUghoUT The year — page 4 To the Point THE Echo Volume 4, Number 3 The Echo is an online 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 Tribute to the late Sam Wakshull, UUP president 1975-1981 FREDERICK E. KOWAL UUP CELEBRATES THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF A UNION LEADER. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE. President THOMAS J. TUCKER Vice President WHATthis’S issue INSIDE for Professionals 6 UUP turns 45 COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF The Echo takes a look back at the early years of JAMIE F. DANGLER THE ONEONTA CHAPTER UUP. Vice President for Academics 9 Negotiations update UUP negotiators working hard to get best contract JERI O’BRYAN-LOSEE UUPers give back possible. Secretary/Treasurer 4—UUP members—including Jen-Ting Wang of Oneonta, cover—reach out in their communities all year long. Wang and ALSO: several of her Oneonta colleagues served 3 UUP unveils legislative agenda up meals at the Saturday’s Bread kitchen. THOMAS C. HOEY 7 Union says goodbye to former president Membership Development Officer 10 Know your rights 11 Snapshots from the chapters 12 Members earn excellence awards OLLOW F UUP 15 Take the survey! UUP COMMUNICATIONS DEPT. ON FACEBOOK, 16 President Kowal receives Kate Mullany Medal MICHAEL LISI Director of Communications TWITTER AND 16 Labor notes 18 Candidate statements due March 9 KAREN L. MATTISON INSTAGRAM! Associate Director of Communications 20 NYSUT Benefits DARRYL MCGRATH Go to www.UUPinfo.org 21 Notes from AFT Healthcare Communications Specialist to sign up today. AMY SHELDON Communications/Research Associate ANGELL M. VILLAFAÑE Communications Assistant THE ECHO VOL. 4, NO. 3 2 UUP front Union eyes TAP gap, more faculty with legislative priorities related increases and revenue decreases, “This legislation would also prevent the BY MICHAEL LISI costs that campuses would be forced to pay. state from delaying future DSH payments.” nsuring that SUNY campuses are The union also wants the state to pay The union is also calling on the state to fully reimbursed for costs con- $60 million to take on the full cost of Tuition restore to $153 million the subsidy for its nected to the state’s Excelsior Assistance Program grants for students at state owned-and-operated hospitals, and Scholarship, closing the “TAP state-operated campuses. TAP helps New $36.1 million to cover the hospitals’ debt gap” for students, and supporting a SUNY York residents cover tuition costs; awards services costs. The hospitals are the only initiative to hire more full-time faculty, top are based on income eligibility and a host state department required to pay debt UUP’s legislative priorities for 2018-19. of other stipulations. service and fringe benefits costs. EUUP will also push for laws that require More than 40 percent of TAP students the state to pay past, present and future are enrolled at SUNY, yet the University has IN SYNC WITH SUNY federally mandated matching Disproportion- been forced to pay TAP benefit costs above UUP’s legislative priorities include support ate Share Program (DSH) entitlements to levels funded by the state, creating what’s for a SUNY proposal to create a “Competitive SUNY’s three state-run hospitals, and to pro- known as the “TAP gap”—the difference Innovation Fund,” to be used to hire full-time tect the facilities from any federal legislative between SUNY tuition and the maximum SUNY faculty each year over the next five cutbacks in DSH allocations. The union esti- TAP award. With the state covering the years. Funding for the $48 million program mates that the hospitals are owed more TAP gap, SUNY would be able to use those would include $30 million in new appropria- than $120 million, reaching back to 2016. dollars to sustain educational quality and tions and use of $18 million budgeted for “We are well aware of the constraints pro- improve services to students, Kowal said. SUNY’s Performance Improvement Fund. jected to be put in place in the governor’s “Those funds should be tied to quality UUP’s plan differs from SUNY’s in that it Executive Budget,” said UUP President Fred education in the classroom,” Kowal said. would set a target to hire 300 full-time Kowal. “So we have limited our requests to faculty per year, and would only pertain to those issues of most importance, issues HOSPITALS IN CRISIS SUNY, rather than including private entities. that will ensure our Kowal said SUNY’s hospitals—Brooklyn’s The union is backing SUNY’s plan to add efforts to maintain Downstate Medical Center, Stony Brook Uni- $5.2 million to its Educational Opportunity affordable access to versity Hospital in Stony Brook, and Upstate Program, $1.6 million for Educational one of the nation’s Medical University in Syracuse—are hurting Opportunity Centers, and $300,000 in largest university financially due to the state’s refusal to federal funding for the ATTAIN labs. systems, and provide release DSH funds. high-quality health Funded through Medicaid, the DSH dollars OTHER INITIATIVES care in our public are due the hospitals for services previously Other UUP legislative initiatives include: KOWAL teaching hospitals.” provided to Medicaid patients and uninsured • $5 million to set up an EOP-linked UUP represents more than 42,000 mem- individuals. The state has also withheld pipeline program to recruit and educate bers, including those who provide vital serv- matching Medicaid payments, which are future teachers from economically disadvan- ices to hundreds of thousands of SUNY required by law. taged communities to provide greater diver- students each year and more than one mil- The SUNY hospitals rely on DSH and sity in teaching. lion patients at SUNY-operated hospitals. matching state funds to fulfill their mission • $10 million to develop clean energy SUNY is still recovering from massive to treat all who walk through their doors, technology training programs at SUNY’s budget cuts enacted during the Great regardless of whether these patients have tech sector colleges. Recession. The state has cut its support for insurance or can pay for care. SUNY’s hospi- • $15 million to establish a Teaching SUNY by half since 2008, from $1.36 billion tals treat many of the state’s sickest and Health Care Fellow program at the Univer- to $674 million today. most vulnerable patients. sity at Buffalo’s medical school. It would “So many of these patients have nowhere fund new positions for as many as 75 health EXCELSIOR AND TAP else to go, and depend on SUNY’s hospitals care teaching fellows—medical and osteo- Kowal said the union will press for addi- for health care,” said Kowal. “Yet, SUNY’s pathic doctors—who would be SUNY em- tional state funding to make sure that SUNY hospitals are the only facilities that have not ployees. They would teach, mentor and campuses are “held harmless” and reim- received DSH payments from the state, dol- work with 750 resident physicians at nearly a bursed for costs or revenue losses caused by lars they rely on to provide vital health care dozen Buffalo-area hospitals. The program the state’s Excelsior Scholarship, a “last- services to so many. would help stabilize the relationship between dollar” scholarship for students whose fami- “This is why we will seek legislation re- the medical school and Buffalo-area hospitals lies make less than $100,000 per year. UUP is quiring the state and the state Department where it would place resident physicians. concerned that the program, with more than of Health to release past and present DSH The university center is the only SUNY 25,000 students, will generate enrollment- funding to the hospitals,” he continued. medical school without an attached hospital. VOL. 4, NO. 3 THE ECHO 3 Cover story The spirit of giving Chapters reach out to those in need with community projects BY DARRYL MCGRATH nspiration from the Chapter Action Project and awareness of how many of their fellow citizens face hardship this winter combined to bring out the best in a number of UUP chapters, as they offered special holiday help to those in need. UUP members dug deep into their own Ipockets to donate to cash collections and food pantries. They bought new toys so that children in their communities could have the joy of unwrapping a present. They turned out in droves to wrap those presents, and they served up hot meals to neighbors who dropped by at a free community lunch for companionship and comfort food. PHOTO: ONEONTA CHAPTER ONEONTA CHAPTER MEMBERS HELPING OUT IN THE SATURDAY’S BREAD KITCHEN ARE, FROM LEFT, NEW MEMBERS VOLUNTEER JACINTA BRENNAN, JIANG TAN, JEN-TING WANG, ROBERT SULMAN, ELIZABETH SEALE, BILL SIMONS, The projects drew a number of newly MIKE BROWN, BARBARA KAHL, WILLIAM ROCHE AND DOROTHY ROMBO. NOT SHOWN BUT HELPING active members, including Doug Hemphill, OUT THAT DAY WERE BETH SMALL AND JEFF WEINELL. a new statewide delegate, new chapter membership development officer and recent CAP trainee from SUNY Oswego who had said that his immersion into his chapter’s this kind of direct contact, other than with been a member for 10 years before his recent activities has “just been an incredibly my students.