|
Delegates re-elected President Phil Smith, Secretary Eileen Landy and Membership Development Officer Ed Quinn, and sent all but one incumbent back to the Executive Board in union elections held during the 2011 Spring Delegate Assembly (DA). More than 325 delegates attended the two-day DA, held May 6-7 in Albany. They listened to Smith’s update on union issues, such as the newly proposed NYSUNY 2020 plan, and voted on a number of resolutions, including items regarding affirmative action, academic freedom, and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Unionists unanimously approved special orders honoring Potsdam’s Ed Alfonsin as UUP?Outstanding Retiree of the Year, and the late Stony Brook delegate Salvatore Lentini for his service to the union. Delegates also collected $1,314 in donations for Alabama tornado victims, dollars that were matched by UUP. ELECTING LEADERS Union elections were center stage at the DA, with multiple candidates vying for statewide offices and eight Executive Board seats. Smith, who faced challenges from Vice President for Academics Fred Floss and Buffalo Center delegate Paul Zarembka, received 171 votes, a majority. Floss got 128 votes, followed by Zarembka with 16 votes. After the elections, Smith thanked delegates for returning him as president, and urged UUPers to unite and move forward. “The voters have spoken; we are all one,” Smith said. “Let’s move on.” In the race for statewide secretary, Landy received 251 votes, while Morrisville delegate Raul Huerta got 61 votes. The tightest race was between Quinn and Alfred delegate Robert Rees for statewide membership development officer. Quinn won a majority by a single vote, 155-154. Empire State College delegate Jacqui Berger is the Executive Board’s sole new member, winning the board’s specialized colleges seat. She joins Edison Bond Jr. of Brooklyn HSC, Caroline Bailey of ESF, Bob Reganse and Mike Smiles of Farmingdale, Plattsburgh Chapter President Dave Curry, Potsdam Chapter President Laura Rhoads, and Brian Tappen of Upstate Medical University as Executive Board at-large seat winners. Executive Board positions carry two-year terms, set to begin June 1. SMITH SPEAKS During his president’s report, Smith urged UUPers to stand together to repel a growing anti-union sentiment that has spread across the country. “We need to be united; we cannot be divided,” he said. He also expressed serious reservations about the NYSUNY 2020 proposal, a scaled- back version of the controversial UB 2020 plan. Smith warned NYSUNY 2020 could allow the university centers to charge differential tuition, which could cut off SUNY access to thousands of students from low-income families. The plan may also permit the universities to use increased tuition to fund public/ private partnerships. Smith noted that this is the 15th version of a SUNY flexibility proposal; UUP has been instrumental in defeating the others. USE SUNY SURPLUS UUP will continue to press SUNY and SUNY schools to use budget surpluses to cover state budget shortfalls, derail retrenchments and nonrenewals, and hire new academics and professionals. SUNY’s $600 million surplus is expected to grow by $120 million annually, more than enough to cover $100 million in state aid cuts in the state’s 2012 budget, Smith said. “The chancellor and the SUNY Board of Trustees have the power,” he said. “They should do the right thing.” RESOLUTION WRAP Delegates referred a proposed constitutional amendment regarding UUP election procedures to the Executive Board, which will create a task force to investigate the issue. Delegates will hear a report on the matter at the 2011 Fall Delegate Assembly. They also approved an Affirmative Action Committee resolution that encourages chapters to appoint affirmative action officers and to consider a constitutional amendment at the 2011 Fall DA to reinforce the election or appointment of an affirmative action officer. The item requires UUP to implement a training program for chapter affirmative action officers, and to develop and publish an affirmative action handbook. Delegates also approved resolutions to: • Condemn the actions of governments in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia for “excessively repressing” the voices of academics and university students and for persecuting faculty because of their religious affiliations. • Direct UUP’s president to investigate alleged bargaining unit interference involving AAUP. • Offer UUP’s support of Sodexo workers employed on SUNY campuses to ensure them rights to fair wages, benefits and union organizing activities. • Take action to use “all available means” to resolve attacks on the integrity and academic freedom of bargaining unit members teaching online courses. • Oppose a proposed change of U.S. Patent Law from a “First to Conceive” to “First to File” basis to protect UUPers who file patent applications when their work is completed. • Oppose a move by Harper Collins to change the basis of its e-book sales to libraries from outright purchase to a limited use license. • Encourage documents distributed to UUPers be printed using Tahoma 12 point font or in an enlargeable electronic format. • Invite Dr. Jesse Kabwila Kapasula to serve as a SUNY visiting professor until her safety can be reasonably assured. Kapasula, acting president of the Chancellor College Academic Staff Union, was fired by the government of Malawi over academic freedom issues and has received death threats. Highlights of the DA are posted on the UUP website at www.uupinfo.org. — Michael Lisi
Above left, UUP intern Mark Agnello helps Cobleskill delegate Z.J. Jiang send a letter to lawmakers urging them to reject the NYSUNY 2020 bill. Above right, Treasurer Rowena Blackman-Stroud discusses the consolidation of SUNY Downstate Medical Hospital and a private downstate medical facility.
|
Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/uuphos5/public_html/voicearchive/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 405