In my September 2010 column, I started the year by congratulating the thousands of UUPers who stepped up and spoke out against the so-called Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act (PHEEIA), a threat UUP played a large part in averting thanks to your hard work.

To close out the year, I want to thank you again, this time for your tireless dedication to UUP in 2010-11.

It’s been an interesting year, to say the least.

We faced challenge after challenge and fortunately won more battles than we lost, including a big one: the restoration of $60 million in state aid for the state’s three teaching hospitals—SUNY’s first legislative restoration in a decade.

PRESSING THE FLESH

That victory didn’t come without lots of hard work and worn shoe leather, both graciously donated by 119 UUPers, many who made multiple trips to Albany to meet with lawmakers. From late January through late April, members logged 426 legislative visits; they met with 58 of the Senate’s 62 senators and 128 of the Assembly’s 150 members, including every person on the Assembly’s Higher Education Committee.

And legislators listened when UUPers advocated for SUNY. Besides securing the hospital aid, UUP helped enact legislation allowing Upstate Medical Center to acquire Syracuse’s Community General hospital—and bring Community General employees into the union.

Be assured that we’ll also continue to make our opinions known regarding the new NYSUNY 2020 proposal. I have a number of serious reservations about it, as you’ll read about later in this issue.

SPREADING THE WORD

While legislators didn’t return any of the $100 million in funding reductions to SUNY in the 2011-12 budget, many of them understand that the University cannot withstand more cuts; SUNY has been slashed by nearly $700 million over the past three years.

Many of them got the message through our effective statewide multimedia ad campaign, which included television and newspaper ads, billboards, Twitter and Facebook plugs, and the revival of our SaveSUNY.org microsite, which SUNY students and supporters used to send more than 10,000 electronic faxes and petition signatures to their state representatives.

Our message—to think ahead and invest in higher ed—is one that we’ll be repeating to lawmakers over the summer and throughout the year.

TAKING CARE OF OUR OWN

We also saw the compassion and caring UUPers have for their sisters and brothers as the union battled fiercely to protect members in the tiny New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI) Chapter. Though the union fought valiantly to preserve funding for NYSTI, it was gutted by state budget cuts and forced to close.

And members watched with anger and frustration as conservative Republicans in states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida and others blatantly tried to bust public unions for political gain while using public workers as scapegoats for million-dollar budget deficits—a move castigated by President Obama himself. UUPers saw through the ruse and participated in pro-union rallies across New York, including the huge “We Are One” rally in Times Square.

GET READY TO BE READY

We will face many more challenges in the fall, including what we expect to be prolonged and difficult negotiations for new contract, NYSUNY 2020 or yet another SUNY flexibility proposal, and battles to protect our members at Stony Brook HSC and SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn.

As always, we’re going to need you to step up and speak out. Your support is what makes UUP strong, and we’re going to need that strength to take on the trials and tribulations of 2011-12.

On a closing note that’s also a new beginning, I want to say thank you to the delegates that elected me to another two-year term as UUP president. I am honored and I am looking forward to working with all of you to meet the challenges ahead.