UUP Acting President and Chief Negotiator Fred Floss, right, and GOER Director Gary Johnson sign a tentative deal on a new four-year collective bargaining agreement.

As The Voice went to press, UUP and state negotiators had just reached a tentative agreement for a new four-year contract.

“This agreement meets our goal of a fair and equitable contract for all our members — academic and professional, full and part time,” said UUP Acting President and Chief Negotiator Frederick Floss. “The agreement provides competitive salaries and strong benefits that will attract and retain top-quality faculty.”

In mid-December, the two sides had quickened the pace of their talks, meeting several times a week in daylong sessions in an attempt to hammer out a deal. The current contract expired July 1, 2007.

Highlights of the tentative deal — effective July 2, 2007, through July 1, 2011 — include the following major elements:
• Across-the-board, on-base salary increases of 3 percent in the first three years of the contract (the first retroactive to July 1, 2007), and 4 percent in the final year;
• Discretionary salary increases of 1 percent in each of the four years;
• A $500 lump-sum payment for eligible part-time employees with at least eight years of consecutive service at their current campus;
• A one-time $500 salary advance, effective July 2, 2007, for eligible employees with continuing or permanent appointment, and those with a second five-year appointment — all at the campus at which they are currently employed;
• Location stipend increases up to $3,026 for employees in the downstate region and up to $1,500 for employees in the Mid-Hudson region; and
• A $250 contribution per eligible employee by the end of the contract to the UUP Benefit Trust Fund, which covers dental and vision benefits.

Other gains include a pre-tax transportation program that reduces employee commuting costs; increases in on-call and inconvenience pay; an opportunity to use 30 days of available sick days for family leave; and $12.5 million over four years for the UUP/New York State Joint Labor/Management Committees.

There will be no percentage increases in employees’ share of the cost of health insurance premiums, with only small increases in their co-payments.

“The UUP Negotiations Team visited each campus prior to the start of negotiations to gauge members’ concerns,” Floss said. “The terms of this agreement show that the Team accurately conveyed those concerns at the bargaining table, and the state heard them.”

According to the UUP constitution, any tentative deal reached between UUP’s

19-member Negotiations Team and the state must be reviewed and accepted by the UUP Negotiations Committee before it can be presented to the membership for ratification. The committee is comprised of at least one member from each of UUP’s 33 chapters, plus one academic and one professional part-time representative.

“We cannot seal the deal until members of the Negotiations Committee agree we have achieved the best deal possible,” Floss said.

Once the Negotiations Team receives the committee’s OK, the union will set into motion a plan to disseminate the details of the tentative pact. In the past, the union has prepared a handout that explains key contract issues, such as salary, benefits and leave time.

Team members will then visit all UUP chapters to discuss the tentative deal in face-to-face meetings with members, and to answer any questions about the tentative proposal. At the same time, the union will be putting together the full text of the contract proposal — with an article-by-article commentary explaining the major changes — that will be mailed to members’ addresses of record. Included in that mailing will be details about the r atification vote.

“UUP is one of the few unions in the United States to provide the complete text of an agreement prior to a ratification vote,” Floss said. “We want our members to be able to make an informed decision before voting in favor of a new collective bargaining agreement.”

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) will conduct the ratification vote. Members will have approximately three weeks to return their ballots to AAA.

Watch for additional information on the UUP Web site at www.uupinfo.org.

— Karen L. Mattison