UUP Cobleskill Chapter

Dear Colleagues:

Please be aware that there is a scam email campaign targeting current and former Empire BCBS members asking them to “click here” for credit monitoring.  These e-mails are not from Empire or Anthem. Please see the attached scam alert from Empire Blue Cross.

EmpireCONSUMERALERT

Thanks,
Fred

Dear Colleagues:

There was a data breach at Anthem – the parent of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (EBCBS), which provides coverage for the Hospital component of the Empire Plan.  Most of the media reports indicate that the breach was the result of a “sophisticated cyber attack”, rather than an internal business failure.

The breach involves Anthem’s entire book of business, including Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Anthem has contacted law enforcement, is working with the FBI, and has retained the cybersecurity firm Mandiant to evaluate its systems and conduct forensic work.  At this time, Anthem has not yet determined which specific enrollees have been affected.

Until proven otherwise, we should anticipate that the breach could impact all Empire Plan and EBCBS HMO members.

Anthem’s Actions:
·         Anthem will notify each current and former member whose information has been accessed;
·         Anthem will provide credit monitoring and identity protection services free of charge to those   who have been affected;
·         Anthem has established a website, www.AnthemFacts.com for members to access information or see FAQs; and
·         Anthem has established a dedicated toll-free phone number (1-877-263-7995) for members to call with questions.

The Department of Civil Service has placed an alert notice on the opening page of its website (http://www.goer.ny.gov/) with directions to the toll-free phone number and website.
I will let you know if additional details become available.

In Solidarity,
Fred

Please click on the link below to see UUP’s latest report on developments pertaining to teacher preparation programs and students.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

http://uupinfo.org/committees/pdf/teached/UUPGovernorTeacherEdFINAL2-1.pdf

Sincerely,
Jamie Dangler
UUP Vice President for Academics
Teacher Education Task Force chair

Sisters and Brothers,

The Leadership Education Action Development Institute is offering a new series of online workshops for UUP leaders, prospective leaders and members interested in getting more involved with the union.

The 60-minute workshops, developed by NYSUT, are set to debut in February. They are free and available 24 hours a day. Members must register at https://www.uuphost.org/leadinstitute to view the courses.

Registration for the first workshop, “Grievance Investigation, Filing and Presentation,” is open from Jan. 19-30. The course, led by NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist Pete Ludden, will be offered starting the week of Feb. 2-7.

The second workshop, “Performance Programs: How to Use Them to Your Advantage,” is set to start the week of Feb. 16-21. Registration is open from Feb. 2-13. NYSUT LRS Darryl Wood will lead the course.

Contract enforcement, member engagement, and professional and union leadership development are some of the themes to be covered in the online courses. The workshops are presented in “learning tracks” for members enrolled or who would like to enroll in the LEAD Institute certificate program.

For more information on LEAD Institute, contact NYSUT LRS Pat Domaratz at pdomarat@nysutmail.org

In solidarity,

J. Philippe Abraham
Vice President for Professionals

Comments on new proposed federal regulations for teacher preparation are due to the Department of Education on
February 2.

It is very important for individuals and institutions to communicate their concerns to the Department of Education. There are features of these regulations which are likely to have negative consequences for teacher preparation programs and the schools they serve.

Visit UUP’s resource page at the following link for information and assistance. Posted materials include a UUP/PSC Fact Sheet and instructions for submitting comments.

http://uupinfo.org/committees/teached/TeachEdResourcePage.php

Sincerely,
Jamie Dangler, PhD
United University Professions
Vice President for Academics
Teacher Education Task Force chair

Dear UUP Members,

Several weeks ago, word began to spread, from a variety of sources, of a planned nationally organized walkout by adjunct faculty. The event is planned for February 25, 2015. The protest was proposed by an adjunct professor of writing at San Jose State University who has chosen to remain anonymous. The purpose of the action is to call for fair wages and better working conditions. I have been informed that some Chapters are considering ways to support and participate in this protest. After consulting with our legal staff, I feel it is necessary to write to present several very important facts that must be understood.

UUP members who participate in any such action, which would constitute an illegal strike under New York State Civil Service Law, could be subjected to loss of two days’ pay for one day of action. In addition, anyone on a term appointment could be subjected to Article 19 disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Employees on temporary appointments are at-will employees and could be terminated immediately.
Participation in any such action (a strike or other concerted stoppage of work or slowdown by public employees) is barred by New York State Civil Service Law (a/k/a, the Taylor Law). Since the law stipulates that employees who take concerted action by walking out of their professional obligation to protest working conditions meets this definition, it is imperative to make clear that UUP does not endorse or encourage our members’ participation in this event. Should they take part, they could well face the punishment of a loss of two days’ pay for the day used for the action, as well as other possible consequences as indicated above.

Under New York State law, no public employee or employee organization can instigate, encourage, or condone a strike or a similar action. If UUP were to be found to have encouraged a strike, we would face legal action potentially leading to the loss of agency fee.

While I support our adjunct brothers and sisters in their quest for a living wage and better working conditions, we cannot support, encourage or condone this particular action. I am working with staff of the American Federation of Teachers to come up with alternative actions that will be meant to promote and pursue the goals we have established in UUP: Bringing adjuncts into full time status with job security and a living income. These steps will be finalized in the next couple of weeks and I’ll bring you up to speed at the start of the new year.

In the meantime, please understand the seriousness of this situation. As President of UUP I am duty-bound to insure that our union abides by the law. To do otherwise is to endanger the union I was elected to lead, as well as the 35,000 members whom we serve.

In Solidarity,
Fred Kowal, President
United University Professions

Dear Colleagues,

UUP President Fred Kowal and VP for Academics Jamie Dangler will discuss the state Education Department’s ill-conceived decision to release college-specific test scores from the state’s new teacher certification exams in separate radio appearances this week.

Dangler will be a guest Friday on “The Capitol Pressroom,” the daily one-hour public affairs program based at the Capitol that airs on public radio stations statewide. Her interview will take place during the final 15 minutes of the program.

You can hear the program live via an online stream at:
http://www.wcny.org/radio/capitolpressroom/

Kowal will address the controversy during the second in a series of commentaries Saturday on National Public Radio station WAMC.

Fred’s commentary is scheduled to air at 12:50 p.m. during WAMC’s “Midday Magazine.” You can listen online at http://www.wamc.org

WAMC is a regional public radio network based in Albany that serves eastern New York and parts of six adjacent states. Its signal is carried in the following locations and frequencies:

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

Capitol Pressroom is broadcast live at 11 a.m. on WCNY in Syracuse at 91.3 FM and at the following stations at the times indicated:

Albany – WVCR-FM (88.3 FM) 5 p.m.
Albany – WEDD AM1030 and 91.9 FM 6 p.m.
Binghamton- WSQX-FM (91.5 FM)11 a.m.
Buffalo- WBFO-FM (88.7 FM)8 p.m.
Buffalo -WNED-AM (970 AM)8 p.m.
Clayton -WRVH-FM (89.3 FM)8 p.m.
Cortland -WFUC-FM (90.5 FM)8 p.m.
Geneva Translator – (90.7 FM)8 p.m.
Geneva- WRVO-FM (88.9 FM)8 p.m.
Ithaca- ICR (88.1 FM)1 p.m.
Hamilton- WRCU-FM (90.1 FM)8 p.m.
Hamilton -Translator (92.3 FM)8 p.m.
Kingston -WLHV-FM (88.1 FM)6 p.m.
Norwich- Translator (89.9 FM)8 p.m.
Odessa -WINO-FM (89.9 FM)1 p.m.
Oswego -WRVO-FM (89.0 FM)8 p.m.
Rochester- WXXI-AM (1370 AM)10 p.m.
Syracuse- WRVD-FM (90.3 FM)8 p.m.
Utica- WRVN-FM (99.9 FM)8 p.m.
Watertown- WRVJ-FM (91.7 FM)8 p.m.
Watkins Glen- WRFI-FM (91.9 FM)1 p.m.

Don Feldstein
UUP Communications

November142014labormanagementnotes

Colleagues –

The location for the Rochester single-payer healthcare hearing has changed from the previously posted announcement. Please see attachment (page 2) for the updated information.

ROCHESTER UPDATED LOCATION! Statewide Hearings on New York H

In Solidarity,
Fred

Read the testimony

UUP President Fred Kowal laid the groundwork for the union’s upcoming legislative agenda in his Nov. 6 testimony before the SUNY Board of Trustees, as he urged the university to work with UUP for the betterment of the students.

“I encourage SUNY to stand with the union, as we advocate for a fully funded SUNY system,” said Kowal, who testified in a hearing after the Trustees’ meeting in New York City. “I am interested in developing a joint-advocacy agenda, so that our public higher education system is more than just maintained. It should be, can be and must be a hallmark institution serving the best interests of New York’s students.”

Kowal outlined the following goals:

• A public endowment for the long-term financial support of SUNY, to be used to increase the hiring of full-time faculty and professional and support staff; it would also give part-time and contingent employees opportunities to move into full-time positions.
• State funding that covers at least half of the operating costs of SUNY, as well as adequate funding for what is known as “maintenance of effort.” Maintenance of effort funding should cover expected, regular increases in annual expenses such as utilities, equipment replacement and negotiated contractual raises for employees. Tuition and fees paid by students now cover 65 percent of the university’s operating costs; the state should provide its fair share.
• An incentive spending program that would provide additional funds to reward campuses that: increase full-time faculty; pursue diversity in its faculty, staff and students; move adjunct and contingent faculty to full-time positions; and expand student support programs.
• The creation of a program that UUP is calling “Pre-College Entrance Development Effort,” or PreCEDE. The PreCEDE program would expand the Educational Opportunity Programs to help low-income students and their families prepare for college admissions in a variety of ways. Those methods include providing access to aggressive pre-college work, and assisting students and families with career planning and the college application process.
• A state program that would allow students to refinance their college loans. This idea has been advocated at the national level by a number of student activist groups. Lowering student debt has also been a major platform of the national coalition known as the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education, of which UUP is a member.

The state should use the settlements gained from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s actions against Wall Street banks to fund these initiatives, Kowal said.

Kowal will have additional opportunities in over the next few months to present UUP’s proposals during joint budget hearings of legislative committees overseeing higher education and ways and means.