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UUP members made a strong case May 24 for realistic funding of SUNY campuses and hospitals and fair treatment of the state’s next generation of teachers, in a productive day of post-budget advocacy as lawmakers hammered out final deals in the Legislature.

Topping the list of union priorities: a reinstated Maintenance of Effort that would pay SUNY’s operating costs, an idea which last year had nearly unanimous support from the Assembly and the Senate but was vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo; the enactment or preservation of funding programs that would recognize the unique role of SUNY teaching hospitals and health sciences centers in their urban and upstate settings; transparency and public accountability for the SUNY research foundations; and the removal of the educative Teacher Performance Assessment as a high-stakes requirement for teacher certification.

UUP members met with generally receptive and attentive staff and lawmakers. Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo), came off the Assembly floor for a meeting that lasted nearly 20 minutes with a delegation led by Oneonta Chapter President Bill Simons. Peoples-Stokes, above with Simons, left, and Oneonta Chapter member Ed Wesnofske, sat down with the delegation in a quiet corner outside of the Assembly chamber, read the materials and asked a number of questions.

“She was really gracious,” Simons said.

Addressing teacher certification issues

UUP member Amanda Merritt of SUNY New Paltz told staffers at the office of Assembly Member Michael Simanowitz (D-Queens), that the edTPA is driving talented young teachers out of New York.

“It’s the final high-stakes test that you have to pass, and what (students) are doing is completing their college degree, they’re doing their student teaching and they’re leaving New York,” she explained.

VP for Academics Jamie Dangler explained in meetings that there is no legislation yet that would fulfill the union’s two goals around teacher certification: removal of the edTPA as a mandatory requirement for certification, and a change in state procurement law to stop educational testing companies such as Pearson Inc.—which administers the edTPA—from profiting through students’ failure.

Under the current system, the least that a teaching student usually spends on certification test registration fees is about $1,000; many students spend far more if they fail and retake an exam. UUP wants the state to pay companies like Pearson for their services, instead of the current system, in which the company’s profit is built around test-registration fees.

“There’s really a complex set of problems with the certification exams; we do need legislation,” Dangler said, adding that lawmakers and the Regents are increasingly responsive to the union’s concerns about teacher certification.

UUP will continue pressing for its post-budget agenda. Watch the UUP website for future opportunities to advocate in Albany or in lawmakers’ home districts.

http://uupinfo.org/communications/2016releases/160518.php

http://www.nysut.org/news/2016/may/nysut-says-sunys-top-down-teach-ny-report-fails-to-address-the-real-issues-with-teacher-education

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher ignored UUP’s well-documented evidence of major problems with the state’s teacher certification process Wednesday as she announced a plan to address the coming teacher shortage in New York and the nation—a shortage she attributed solely and inaccurately to a mass wave of retirements.

Zimpher and State Education Commissioner MaryElen Elia announced the findings of the TeachNY Advisory Council at a news conference Wednesday. Zimpher described the council’s work as a movement with national implications, but did not address her decision to create the council and steer its work without consulting the Regents, who are charged by the state with overseeing the development of educational policy for New York’s public education system—including the State University of New York.

News conference promotional materials distributed by the council incorrectly listed UUP and NYSUT as partners in the council’s work, despite two strongly worded recent letters to Zimpher by NYSUT President Karen E. Magee and UUP President Fred Kowal informing her that the unions did not want their unions’ names associated with the council’s report. The study included 62 recommendations for drastically revising the teaching profession and teacher education programs in the state. The promotional materials did not list the Regents as partners.

Kowal dismissed the TeachNY report as pretentious and overreaching, and said it was absurd that Zimpher and Elia plan to hold a “listening tour” at public college campuses and school districts around the state to solicit feedback on the recommendations, given that Zimpher made it clear at the press conference that she considers the recommendations final and worthy of state funding.

“You solicit public opinion at the beginning of a process like this, not at the end, so the idea of public forums to obtain feedback is a farce,” Kowal said. “UUP has been telling the Regents and the State Education Department for two years now that the state’s new teacher certification exams are a large part of the reason for a teacher shortage that is already hitting several subject areas and specializations in New York. Countless numbers of talented students have been unable to pass these exams, which are stacked against them. Untold numbers of other prospective teachers have graduated but have never taken the exams, and have changed professions or left the state to take teaching jobs.

“Before Chancellor Zimpher heads out on her ‘listening tour,’ she might consider consulting first with the Regents, several of whom have worked quite hard with UUP to hear the very real concerns expressed by teacher education faculty and students in teacher education programs,” Kowal added.

Jamie Dangler, UUP’s vice president for academics, said the unions tried to work behind the scenes with Zimpher and SED to delay release of the report until the unions and their faculty experts in teacher education could review it and help correct its many omissions and inaccuracies. That attempt ended earlier this week when Zimpher announced the council report in an interview published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a major publication and showcase venue for taking such a plan to the national level.

“It is premature and it is pretentious for the chancellor to think that she can speak for teacher educators,” Dangler said. “We find it outrageous that SUNY would release this report and go national with it even as we were trying to point out its biased and deeply flawed assumptions. Chancellor Zimpher calls this an inclusive, broad-based report? Well, I have spent this academic year meeting with our entire teacher education membership, many of whom are nationally acclaimed experts in their fields, and none of them had ever heard of TeachNY.”

If you were employed as a UUP bargaining unit member at SUNY between September 1, 2013 and June 30, 2015 and are still on payroll, the repayment of Deficit Reduction Program withholding deducted during that period will begin on June 30, 2016 and continue for 39 pay periods. The DRP will be repaid in equal amounts. Because of the lag payroll the first repayment will be noticed in the July 27 paycheck. If you are on a 21 pay period cycle you will begin seeing the repayment in September. If you separate from State service before the end of the repayment period you will receive the remaining amount owed in one lump. The Deficit Reduction Program repayment is pensionable but is not included in the calculation of overtime. These monies are taxable income and are subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. Under the state’s Deficit Reduction Program for UUP, employees will be repaid the money owned to them, up to a total of seven days’ pay. 

If you have any questions about the Deficit Reduction Program, please contact John Marino, UUP at 800-342-4206. 

In Solidarity,
Fred

Dear Colleagues:

UUP has issued a fact sheet that explains New York State’s new Paid Family Leave Law and its implications for our members. It’s posted on the UUP website and can be accessed at the link below. Please alert your chapter members and make it available through chapter websites, e-mail messages, and newsletters.

NYS’s New Paid Family Leave Law: Implications for UUP Members
http://uupinfo.org/reports/reportpdf/FamilyLeaveFlier050616.pdf

In Solidarity,
Fred

Dear Colleagues,

This afternoon, UUP President Fred Kowal will discuss the cultural genocide of Native Americans and the importance of making education and our dialog about American history “historically complete” in a commentary airing this afternoon on WAMC.

Fred’s taped commentary is scheduled to air at around 3:50 p.m. today during “Northeast Report.” You can listen live as it airs at http://wamc.org/player#stream/wamc.
This is the latest in a series of commentaries Fred has taped for WAMC.

WAMC is a regional public radio network based in Albany that serves eastern New York and parts of six adjacent states. Stations and frequencies that carry WAMC are below:

New York
Albany – WAMC 90.3 FM
Albany – WAMC 1400 AM
Beacon – 103.9 FM
Brewster – WANR 88.5 FM
Canajoharie – WCAN 93.3 FM
Cooperstown – 97.3 FM
Dover Plains – 106.3 FM
Ellenville – 96.5 FM
Highland – 102.1 FM
Hudson – 97.1 FM
Kingston – WAMK 90.9 FM
Lake Placid – 88.7 FM
Middletown – 106.3 FM
Middletown – WOSR 91.7 FM
Mt. Kisco – WWES 88.9 FM
Newburgh – 107.7 FM
Oneonta – 99.3 FM, 90.1 FM
Plattsburgh – WCEL 91.9 FM
Remsen-Utica – WRUN 90.3 FM
Rensselaer-Troy – 93.1 FM
Stamford – WANZ 90.1 FM
Ticonderoga – WANC 103.9 FM
Warwick – 107.1 FM
Massachusetts
Great Barrington – WAMQ 105.1 FM
Pennsylvania
Milford – 90.9 FM

Michael Lisi
Communications Director
United University Professions

UUP supports the hundreds of nontenured faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who staged a two-day work stoppage to protest the University’s refusal to negotiate on key provisions of a labor contract.

On April 19, members of the Nontenure-Track Faculty Coalition Local 6546 (AFT/IFT/AAUP) walked out of their classrooms and labs in a move to help spur stalled contract negotiations. The local has been bargaining for a new contract for the past 18 months.

“UUP is in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Illinois,” said UUP President Fred Kowal. “They deserve a fair contract and we stand strong and united with them in their quest.”

UUP agrees with AFT President Randi Weingarten, who said that UIUC’s situation mirrors what’s happening on campuses nationwide.

“Across the country, universities are increasingly relying on contingent faculty, but these dedicated educators aren’t being treated fairly,” said Weingarten. “That’s why educators are coming together to demand fairness.

“At UIUC, non-tenured faculty teach nearly 40 percent of all undergraduate courses, yet they have no guarantee of stable employment year-to-year, no vote on department governance and no evaluations to help them measure or improve their teaching. They want UIUC to remain a place where students receive a high-quality public higher education, but that will only happen with a fair contract.”

The union is asking for improved employment security, opportunities for promotion and professional support, and academic freedom protections for non-tenure-track faculty members. Most of the union’s members have temporary, nine-month contracts and many have been ‘temporary’ faculty for over 20 years.

The Nontenure-Track Faculty Coalition represents approximately 500 full-time teaching, research, and clinical faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Every year on April 28, the unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job, and to renew our efforts for safe workplaces.

This year, the struggle continues to create good jobs in this country that are safe and healthy, and to ensure the freedom of workers to form unions and collectively bargain for fair wages and a better future. It’s time for our country to fulfill the promise of safe jobs for all.

If you want to get involved, Workers Memorial Day materials can be ordered from the AFL-CIO Safety and Health Department at (202)637-5366, by fax at (202)508-6978, via email at oshmail@aflcio.org or online at AFLCIO.com.

Unsafe conditions threaten us all

Four decades ago, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising every worker the right to a safe job. Unions and our allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality, but our work is not done.

Many job hazards are unregulated and uncontrolled, and some employers cut corners and violate the law. As a result, each year thousands of workers are killed and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs.

We must fight back against efforts to limit or eliminate safety and health protections. And we must succeed—workers’ lives are at stake.

Dear Colleagues,

UUP President Fred Kowal underscores the critical role SUNY’s hospitals play in caring for the sickest and most vulnerable patients, their significant economic impact and the urgent need for the state to provide the funding they require in a commentary airing on WAMC.

Fred’s taped commentary is scheduled to air at around 12:50 p.m. today during “Midday Magazine.” You can listen as it airs at http://wamc.org/player#stream/wamc

This is the latest in a series of commentaries Fred has taped for WAMC.

WAMC is a regional public radio network based in Albany that serves eastern New York and parts of six adjacent states. Stations and frequencies that carry WAMC are below:

New York
Albany – WAMC 90.3 FM
Albany – WAMC 1400 AM
Beacon – 103.9 FM
Brewster – WANR 88.5 FM
Canajoharie – WCAN 93.3 FM
Cooperstown – 97.3 FM
Dover Plains – 106.3 FM
Ellenville – 96.5 FM
Highland – 102.1 FM
Hudson – 97.1 FM
Kingston – WAMK 90.9 FM
Lake Placid – 88.7 FM
Middletown – 106.3 FM
Middletown – WOSR 91.7 FM
Mt. Kisco – WWES 88.9 FM
Newburgh – 107.7 FM
Oneonta – 99.3 FM, 90.1 FM
Plattsburgh – WCEL 91.9 FM
Remsen-Utica – WRUN 90.3 FM
Rensselaer-Troy – 93.1 FM
Stamford – WANZ 90.1 FM
Ticonderoga – WANC 103.9 FM
Warwick – 107.1 FM
Massachusetts
Great Barrington – WAMQ 105.1 FM
Pennsylvania
Milford – 90.9 FM

Don Feldstein
UUP Communications

Click here to read UUP President Fred Kowal’s media statement about UUP supporting striking Verizon workers

Chanting “Who’s the pig? Verizon’s the pig!” and “Union busting is disgusting,” a group of UUP and NYSUT members and staff joined over 200 striking Verizon workers and union supporters in an April 15 strike march in front of a Verizon Wireless store just up the street from UUP headquarters.

And a small group of Empire State College members marched with more than 100 Verizon workers on a picket line on April 16 in Queensbury, Warren County.

Statewide VP for Academics Jamie Dangler, above in red beret, led the UUP contingent, which picketed in front of a Verizon Wireless store in Latham, Albany County; Empire State College Chapter President Pamela Malone walked in Queensbury.

Union sisters and brothers from UUP and NYSUT joined the Verizon picket lines to show their support for more than 39,000 striking Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers employees across New York and the East Coast.

The CWA/District 1 and IBEW/Local 2222 workers have been without a contract since August 2015. Verizon workers went on strike April 13.

“Despite making $18 billion in profits in the last 18 months and top executives raking in $249 million over the last five years, Verizon is still insisting on slashing job security, health care and retirement security, and refuses to engage in serious bargaining toward a fair contract,” said UUP President Fred Kowal. “This is not fair to their workers and our sisters and brothers in labor.”

“As the son of a 50-year member of the IBEW, I can empathize with these workers, who are fighting for their families and their futures,” he said in an April 13 media statement.

Albany Chapter UUP member Ross Mealey, above, a 15-year member of CWA and a Verizon employee, said he’s disheartened that Verizon won’t bargain in good faith.

“Verizon makes so much money—they basically have a license to print money—and to not give regular, middle-class union people a good contract is just disgusting,” he said.

Malone, above, holding a UUP sign that read “Fair contract for Verizon Workers,” said she took part in the action because labor has to stick together.

“We have a company that posts billions and billions of dollars in profits every year, and instead of doing what’s right, they’re going after the rank-and-file and trying to take away their earned benefits and that is just not fair,” she said.

UUP members plan to join picket lines outside other Verizon Wireless stores, including an April 16 protest in Queensbury.