Author: Derrick

Hello,

An updated UUP COVID-19: Q&A has been posted on uupinfo.org and is attached for your information. Note that the Governor has directed that non-essential state employees will continue to work from home through 11:59 PM, April 29.

UUP_COVID19_Q-A_4-13-2020_

Thank you and be well,
Jeri

Jeri O’Bryan-Losee
she/her/hers
Statewide Secretary/Treasurer
United University Professions

Colleagues,

I am writing to you with a request to add your voice to the thousands of other UUP members advocating to keep our union strong and to protect SUNY. The recently enacted budget has – for now – spared SUNY from budget cuts despite the downturn in the economy. But we must work to guard against likely future cuts and press our representatives in Washington for federal relief in what is expected to be a difficult year ahead.

Please click here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/uupcovid19letter/ to send a letter to your member of the House of Representatives and our United States Senators. Thanks to Senator Schumer, New York received significant resources for state-operated campuses and our hospitals. In addition to the $180 million direct aid to campuses, we will seek funding from other pools of money from the recent stimulus bill. Today, with your voice, we are advocating for additional resources in the next round of stimulus that will preserve our state funding and strengthen the position of SUNY and the work we do. We have been in constant contact with our national affiliate AFT since this crisis has unfolded and they are incorporating our input into their national agenda.

I thank you for your dedication. Our advocacy and work does not stop in these times of crisis, the times demand we do even more.

In solidarity,
Fred

Dear UUP Members –

We have two members only benefit announcements we would like to share.

Special Enrollment for MetLife Legal Plans

During uncertain times we know that now more than ever our members are concerned about their health and personal finances. We want to help our members navigate these challenging times by allowing a special enrollment period for MetLife Legal Plans (formally known as Hyatt Legal Plans). MetLife Legal Plans help eliminate some of the financial burden of preparing legal documents with fully covered legal services when you meet with a Network Attorney.

With the MetLife Legal Plans, you’ll have a network of attorneys with an average of 25 years of experience that will help you prepare important planning documents including: Wills/Living Wills (for you and your spouse/partner); Power of Attorney (which is a document that let’s someone conduct transactions on your behalf); Health Care Proxy (where you can appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf); Landlord/Tenant Disputes; and Credit/Debt Collection. All these services and more are fully covered with no copays, deductibles, or claim forms with Network Attorneys but you must enroll by May 31, 2020. For more information regarding the cost of the program, and an enrollment form, go to www.uupinfo.org and click on Benefits, Member Services Trust, and then MetLife.

Additional Program – WillsCenter.com

UUP is also extending a no-cost benefit at WillsCenter.com for all UUP members through our MetLife Legal Program. This is a free service available to all UUP members even if they aren’t signed up for the MetLife Legal Plans. Please note that this is a free service and does not come with legal consultation support. In order to register and create your own WillsCenter Account, UUP Members just need to go to WillsCenter.com, click on the “Register Here” button under New Users, and enter a few points of information including an email address and password, state of residence, marital status and employer name. It’s easy to start the SmartLegalForms® at WillsCenter.com. Just click on the title of the document you need and a questionnaire will open in your web browser (PC or MAC). You will move through the SmartLegalForms® questionnaire answering all the questions (help prompts will be available along the way), and you will see your document being created during this process. All free documents will be stored in your own secure, online WillsCenter Account. You can even save incomplete questionnaires in your WillsCenter Account and come back at any time to edit, finish and print out as applicable. All documents are accessible in your WillsCenter Account 24/7.

You may also call the UUP Member Services Trust at 800-887-3863 and a representative will be glad to help you with any questions.

Thank you and be well,
Jeri

Colleagues,

Late last week, the state legislature completed work on the Fiscal Year 2020-21 budget. The result was the latest swing in what has been a roller-coaster year for our advocacy efforts, going back to early last summer. If you recall, we started working in May of 2019 at reaching out to state legislators as a result of what was another disappointing budget last year. We began meeting with legislators in their home districts, especially the leadership (nearly all from New York City and the suburbs, most with little background on SUNY issues). That was just the start of our efforts.

In October, we commenced a campaign to raise the profile of UUP and our issues still further, issues such as TAP Gap, student debt, the devastating, long-term impacts of the cuts of the Great Recession and the abandonment of our SUNY hospitals. We were able to work with the New York State Senate to organize the historic public hearings across the state. Dozens of UUP members and hundreds of our students, partnering with PSC, gave testimony about the importance of our mission and the issues we battle for every day. We held rallies across the state in December and February and brought almost 500 students to the State Capitol to educate lawmakers about SUNY and CUNY. Most recently in the final days of budget negotiations, our membership sent almost 2000 postcards to Gov. Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and we submitted almost 900 digital letters to those leaders and individual legislators. In a time of crisis so many of you stepped up to the fight. And that is why I believe we have averted what could have been a terrible budget.

Let’s make no mistake about it: All indications were that this year’s budget would feature deep cuts, as we started the year with a $6 billion projected deficit due to Medicaid spending. That is why we, along with a revenue coalition of unions and grassroots advocacy groups, pushed for increased taxes on billionaires in New York. Right from the start, that was at the center of our advocacy campaign. And it will remain so for the foreseeable future. We know in order to truly make progress for SUNY we need to grow the resources the state has to invest in higher education. The day is long past when the rich in our state can continue to avoid paying their fair share to help all of us enjoy a more equitable distribution of the fruits of our labor and a more just and humane society.

And then, as you all know, COVID-19 shut down our economy here in New York and then the entire country. This alone has led to a state budget deficit that could exceed $15 billion. I, and many of you, were fearful of what that could mean for SUNY. It was the relationships that we built and the work that we have done, that laid the groundwork for a path forward protecting SUNY and UUP, which was followed by our state leaders. The final budget passed this week did not cut SUNY’s funding. It is a flat budget. It’s bitterly disappointing that this is the case. It is not the budget we hoped for. The source of my disappointment is that before COVID-19 struck we were poised to see an increase in funding for SUNY. However, to end up without the deep cuts that many were predicting as recently as last week, is a relief, albeit a temporary one.

There is no doubt that New York State still faces a fiscal emergency that may necessitate mid-year cuts. There is also no doubt that our campuses will face challenges due to the loss of operating revenue triggered by refunds of unused fees and room and board, along with great uncertainty about enrollment in the Fall. What we can be hopeful about is the level of federal assistance New York will be receiving that’s a part of the stimulus package, and the fact that our friends in Washington are fighting for more aid to New York, specifically for higher education and the hospitals. Working with AFT in analyzing the recent stimulus package, I can report that our campuses are set to receive almost $180 million in direct aid to campuses. There is an additional $164 million pool of money available for the Governor’s office that must be used for higher education this fiscal year. We will work hard with SUNY and the Executive to ensure much of that gets to our campuses.

Additionally, there is funding in the federal stimulus to help hospitals deal with the pandemic. SUNY hospitals, on the frontlines of this pandemic, will be able to apply directly to the United State Department of Health and Human Services for costs related to COVID-19. This pool of money is $150 billion nationwide. Given the burden being carried by our members at SUNY hospitals, in the state that is the epicenter of the pandemic globally, we will make a strong case for a significant share of those resources.

Though the state budget is flat, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out some of the victories we did get:
1. We were able to stop (once again) the Governor’s proposals to end the standard Medicare Part B reimbursement and IRMAA for NYSHIP retirees and defeat his proposed sliding scale (based on retirement year) for health insurance reimbursements.
2. We were able to stop the extension of the so-called rational tuition program. Remember that this proposal would have created a huge increase in the TAP Gap. This win helps students and our institutions with high percentages of TAP students.
3. We were able to keep the $150 million in capital funding for the three SUNY hospitals. This will assist in the further modernization of these facilities in the aftermath of the present COVID-19 crisis.
4. We were able to keep the DSH funding in the budget, to the tune of over $230 million, with a federal match of another $230 million. This will also be a big help during the crisis.
Unfortunately, given the declining state revenue, SUNY’s proposal to have a 2:1 match on new campus capital projects remained in the budget. We will work to have targeted capital resources next year to offset this ill-conceived plan.

Now we turn our attention to aggressive advocacy on the federal level. We have plenty of friends in the New York Congressional Delegation, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. We are working to set up advocacy programs (virtual, of course) whereby all members of UUP can be heard by our members of Congress. Our goal is simple: To avoid the worst impacts of a contracting state budget with the federal dollars New York must have, while also generating our state’s own resources through rational, fair, and progressive tax changes. We can make a difference and we must all take part in these efforts. Our success depends on each other; no one strategy, no one effort will suffice. Our future can be protected and can be brighter if we do our parts. Stay tuned for how you and your colleagues can help us into that future.

Once again, I thank all those who have written, called or visited your legislators this year. You have made a huge impact. Now, let’s move to the next struggle.

As always, I wish you all continued health and well-being. Be safe and take care of yourselves and your loved ones.

In Solidarity,
Fred

Colleagues,

Hello. I hope this email finds you well. The recently signed CARES Act (Coronavirus Aide, Relief, and Economic Security Act) enacts some changes to our Health Care Spending Account. Specifically,

Over-the-counter drugs and medicines can be paid for or reimbursed without a doctor’s prescription.
Menstrual care products are now considered a qualified medical expense and are eligible for payment or reimbursement. All expenses incurred after December 31, 2019 qualify, and the provision has no expiration date.

WageWorks is currently working on programming to the debit card as well as to the list of qualified medical expenses to account for these changes. Programming should be completed soon. In the meantime, if an enrollee incurs a cost for an item that is newly eligible that wasn’t correctly adjudicated as FSA eligible, the claim can be submitted through the app or online. Communication on these changes will be posted on our website. Current enrollees will also receive a communication. Details will follow. Please help distribute this information to your members.

In addition, the deadline for submitting for reimbursement for the Health Care Spending Account and the Dependent Care Advantage Account has been extended from March 31 to April 30 to allow enrollees more time to submit claims for the 2019 plan year. Enrollees with an account balance were emailed a notice with the new deadline.

Be well,
Jeri

Jeri O’Bryan-Losee
she/her/hers
Statewide Secretary/Treasurer
United University Professions
Post Office Box 15143
Albany, New York 12212-5143
800 342 4206 / 518 640 6600
www.uupinfo.org

Colleagues,

So much has been occurring in the past couple weeks and there are times when I fear that those of us at the statewide level and at many chapters simply can’t keep up with the various issues we’re all dealing with, nor can we keep the flow of information moving as quickly as it should. This quick email is meant to give you a brief run-down on the issues we’re working on at both the chapter and statewide level. We’re also working on a weekly Update message, which will be going out regularly to all of you on these efforts.

First, there already is a great place to start for regularly updated information. Our website has a direct link to all information related to the Coronavirus. Just click on the Coronavirus link at the top of the page and it will take you to a listing of resources, including a portal which members are using to post questions to us, the videos I’m making to detail what we’re working on, and numerous other items. There will be an updated Q & A which reflects the most recent progress we’ve made on issues and the new ones that are coming up thanks to input from so many of you, especially our chapter presidents, who are providing great information to us on a daily basis.

So, to start, go to www.uupinfo.org and you’ll be up to date.

Second, here’s a list of the issues that we’re dealing with now:

Personal Health and Safety issues, primarily at the SUNY hospitals, but also for our members who have interactions with students and others at the campuses, e.g., residential life, financial aid, EOP, admissions, etc…
Overtime/Extra-Service pay for those who are at the hospitals, working on IT issues for online education and adjuncts doing the prep work for online work.
Childcare needs, primarily for those who are at the hospitals.

Working to insure that the lists of essential personnel who have to report to campus is reduced to a minimum. NOTE: Today, the Governor announced that Non-essential state employees would continue to work from home at least until April 15. That’s an additional two weeks. Extending it further will be considered as we get closer to the 15th.
Working to insure that the telecommuting agreement is working well for our members.
Working to make sure our members’ reappointment, tenure, and permanent appointment procedures are followed in a way that protects our members’ professional status and health.

Protecting the work we do in the online teaching environment, both in terms of intellectual property rights and the temporary nature of this work.
Protecting the exclusivity of our work, while accepting that the use of volunteer labor is needed at the hospitals during this crisis.

There are other areas that we are working on both at the chapter and statewide level. The work involves multiple teleconferences with SUNY and the Governor’s office daily. But we are making progress on them. We are also doing amazing work at protecting our members at the chapter/campus level thanks to the hard work of our chapter presidents and LRS’s. And the work will continue for as long as the crisis continues. Please take advantage of email and the portal on the website to let us know if there are other issues you feel we need to address. And please circulate this email as widely as possible across your campuses. Our members need to know that their union is working with them and for them. We will continue to do all that we can to make sure we are all safe, both physically and professionally.

These are difficult days. But the work we do together empowers us and from it, we draw the energy, determination and hope that we will get through this. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones.

In Solidarity,
Fred

Dear UUP members,

Please know that UUP is working diligently at this time and we are here to assist you with questions and concerns. Please take a few minutes to view the video message from UUP statewide President Fred Kowal.

Take care and stay well.

Sincerely,
Bill Tusang
WTusang@uupmail.org