Just days after the SUNY Board of Trustees voted to dole out $30,000 annual raises to three of its high-ranking officials, 39 unionized employees at Brooklyn HSC were informed they may be losing their jobs.

In late September, 34 employees in the hospital’s neurosurgery and radiation oncology depart-ments and five more in the dental clinic received non-renewal advisories.

“There is reason to believe that these three departments will be retrenched,” UUP President Phil Smith warned. “None of this makes any sense for an academic medical center, to say nothing of the loss of health care services to the community.” Brooklyn HSC Chapter President Rowena Blackman-Stroud said the news of the non-renewals came without warning.

“The employees, as well as the department heads, were shocked and surprised that their departments were being considered for closure and that action was taken without providing them with the opportunity to engage in productive discussions,” she said.

UUP is working hard to prevent any retrench-ment and protect the jobs of its members. The union is writing letters to state lawmakers who represent the areas served by Brooklyn HSC, as well as to U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, appealing for their support to stop the cutbacks.

The potential retrenchments at Brooklyn HSC come after the retrenchment of two depart-ments at Morrisville; the pending closure of Nylink at System Administration; the New York State Theatre Institute’s loss of half of its state funding and staff; and just before UAlbany stopped admissions to five programs and other cutbacks.

“UUP is prepared to fight to protect the livelihoods of our sisters and brothers in Brooklyn or wherever our members are employed,” Smith said. “We will use whatever means we have at our disposal.”

— Donald Feldstein