Dear Colleagues,
Please see the following from statewide President, Mr. Fred Kowal:
I had intended to send you all an email outlining where we are regarding vaccinations for our members, as I anticipate that we will have certainty as to where things stand. However, upon consideration of the stress our members are under, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you where things stand right now.
On Friday, Governor Cuomo announced that the next round of vaccinations would target several categories of individuals, including “teachers, educators and public employees.” However, given the discrepancy between what he said and what was published in associated documents, it appeared that he was talking about K-12 teachers only, and not our members.
Without clarity, I reached out to Chancellor Malatras and had a long conversation with him Saturday morning. I made clear our disappointment and anger at this exclusion. I pointed out that our members (outside of the hospitals where our members have been treating patients and are in the first group to be vaccinated) especially in areas like residential life are preparing to greet returning students in the next couple weeks. They must be vaccinated, along with all those in our bargaining unit who will be interacting with students. He made clear to me that he is in conversations with the Governor and his staff to convince them to include these individuals.
Along with that conversation and continuing text messages back and forth, I also spoke with CUNY/PSC president Barbara Bowen. Their members are also concerned about being excluded from the vaccination program as of now. We strategized about how to coordinate our pressure on the Governor, should nothing change in the next day or two. We also continue to text back and forth, though neither of us has heard anything as of yet.
So, to summarize: Except for those UUP members who are at SUNY Hospitals or work in campus health clinics, no others will be in the 1B category for vaccinations unless they are over the age of 75. We continue to pressure SUNY leadership to convince the Governor to broaden the category to include — at the very least — those in our bargaining unit who are or will be interacting with students or the public directly in their jobs.
Stay tuned…
Fred