For months, UUP leaders have emphasized the importance of coalition building to fight $152 million in additional budget cuts to SUNY and the proposed so-called Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act (PHEEIA).

That directive was carried to the ultimate March 9, when nearly 100 UUPers—armed with placards stating “Stand Up for SUNY” and “SOS: Save Our SUNY”—joined with students and faculty from SUNY and CUNY and the New York Public Interest Research Group for Student/Faculty Higher Education Action Day in Albany.

UUP President Phillip Smith addressed the crowd of about 400 who assembled for an indoor rally prior to a series of visits to nearly every state lawmaker.

“There are three things you’ve got to remember. Tell legislators to stop the budget cuts, restore the funding, and stop looking at students as cash machines,” he said to loud applause during the indoor rally. His call to restore funding referred to the $410 million already cut from SUNY in the last two years.

Smith also zeroed in on PHEEIA, saying it “would make public higher education unaffordable for thousands of students by allowing campuses to boost tuition without legislative approval. It would allow SUNY tuition costs to skyrocket,” he said.

Senate Higher Education Committee Chair Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Whitestone) expressed her strong support.

“We’ve had over half a billion dollars in cuts to public higher education, and that’s got to stop. We need to stand together and say ‘Enough is enough,’” she said as the audience cheered.

Faculty and students traveled in groups to jointly take their concerns directly to state lawmakers, including three dozen UUPers who made their debut as Albany advocates. Among them: Brian Posthauer, an Educational?Opportunity Program (EOP) counselor at Plattsburgh, who told Assemblyman James Conte (R-Huntington Station) that budget cuts have seriously affected EOP by reducing the numbers of students they can serve.

As students described the problems budget cuts are causing them, UUPer Mary Kay Skrabalak of UAlbany shared a personal note.

“When my daughter at Oneonta says she can’t get into two of her courses, that’s frustrating,” she said.

Two first-time advocates from Cortland—Mary Toti and Vicki Hess—were encouraged by comments from Assemblyman Thomas Alfano (R-North Valley Stream).

“We’re going to do the best we can for public higher education. We agree that we can’t use SUNY as a cash cow,” he said.

UUP’s advocacy wasn’t confined to March 9. On March 2, dozens of UUP advocates came to Albany for NYSUT Higher Education Advocacy Day.

NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi lent his unqualified support during a pre-advocacy briefing.

“NYSUT is one that will stand behind all its members” he said. “We stand for restoring cuts to higher education. All of us are there with you.”

UUP members responded by standing up for SUNY in nearly two dozen meetings with state legislators, including a 40-minute session with Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket). Charlie McAteer of Stony Brook emphasized that SUNY has already suffered enough budget cuts.

“We’ve paid our dues. We’ve done our fair share,” McAteer said.

“This is the time for New York to invest in its future, not divest,” added Fred Miller of Oneonta.

Englebright clearly heard UUP’s message against the Empowerment Act.

“This is not a terrific thing to do, cutting the Legislature out of the process,” Englebright said.

Outreach Committee Co-chair Glenn McNitt of New Paltz pressed the charge against the Empowerment Act. He told Sen. Catharine Young (R- Olean) that individual campuses could impose differential tuition rates on top of the 10 percent overall tuition increase SUNY’s Board of Trustees could authorize.

A smaller but determined group of UUPers ventured to Albany Feb. 23 to build the union’s case against budget cuts and the Empowerment Act.

Morrisville Chapter President James Engle lent a personal touch to his appeal.

“Both of my kids went to Morrisville, and I’d like to think that it would be a viable option for my grandchildren,” he said. “But differential tuition might not make it possible. Small campuses like ours are going to go under.”

The advocates found an empathetic ear in Assemblyman Joseph Errigo (R-Conesus).

“Someone should tell the governor to talk with an economist,” Errigo told the union advocates. “If you cut higher education, your economy doesn’t grow.”

— Donald Feldstein