Please see the following message from UUP Statewide President, Fred Kowal:
Dear Colleagues,
First and foremost, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to you and your families during these trying times. The UUP leadership and I commend our health care workers, and all those who are dedicating their time and effort to keeping us safe and healing those who are sick.
Before this crisis struck, we felt confident about where the state budget was headed and that our advocacy efforts were going to produce real results on the issues of TAP Gap, capital funding and the acceleration of funding to cover our negotiated retroactive raises. Given the impending recession, we need to press for the state to grow revenue and not resort to draconian cuts. We are asking that members contact their representatives to protect public hospitals and higher education. Our public hospitals are currently playing a vital part in controlling the spread of the Coronavirus and this role accentuates the importance of increasing the state support for these institutions. Students across SUNY need a financial commitment from the state so that they no longer need to bear the lion’s share of the cost of public higher education.
Contact your legislator and tell them they need to fully fund SUNY hospitals and campuses by passing the “billionaire’s tax” in this year’s budget. It’s time for the richest New Yorkers to pay their fair share. Provided below is the link to the letter to send to your representative. Act now to support public hospitals and public higher education in New York: https://uupinfo.org/communications/uupdate/200325.php
In Solidarity,
Fred