UUP Cortland Chapter

Colleagues,

A statewide walk-out by SUNY students has been planned for Friday, March 4th at 12:00 PM. The walk-out has been planned in protest of a rational tuition increase and NY SUNY 2020. 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 you to discuss several very important facts that must be understood.

First, and most directly, 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 taking concerted action by walking out of their professional obligation to protest working conditions meets this definition, it is imperative that we all make clear to our members that UUP does not endorse or encourage our sisters’ and brothers’ 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.

Second, 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.

Although we certainly support students free speech rights and applaud their activism, please be aware – that as with the adjunct action that took place last year – we cannot support, encourage or condone this particular action.

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

Sign the petition now! Tell the legislature that our state needs jobs that boost the economy and allow families to meet the basics.

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-fight-for-15-new-york?clear_id=true&referrer=central-ny-area-labor-federation-afl-cio&source=direct_link&can_id=479864af9abfa7b517a3557f1aee76f2&email_referrer=cny-alf-workers-wrap-02-25-16&email_subject=cny-alf-workers-wrap-02-25-16&link_id=10

Employees enrolled in the Flex Spending Account (FSA) for the 2015 plan year have until March 31, 2016, to send in reimbursement requests for eligible 2015 expenses incurred under the Health Care Spending Account and the Dependent Care Advantage Account.

FSA reimbursement requests may be mailed, faxed or submitted online through www.myFBMC.com.

For more information, log on to www.flexspend.ny.gov or call 1-800-358-7202.

The contract for the NYS-Balance resource and referral service, jointly funded by the State and the unions, expires on December 31, 2015. If you need information or assistance related to resources and referrals, please contact the NYS Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at (800) 822-0244 (24/7) or nyseap@eap.ny.gov. You will be connected with an EAP coordinator who will be able to provide you with customized resources and referrals for a wide range of issues including work, family, daily life, finances, health and well-being, mental health, addiction, and stress. A list of EAP coordinators is available at http://www.worklife.ny.gov/eap/coordinatorlist.cfm?limit_to=all.

Dear Colleagues:

On Sunday, UUP’s new television ad spotlighting our adjuncts began airing across the state.

Titled “Ph.D.,” the ad focuses on the qualifications of SUNY adjuncts and calls attention to the poverty-level salaries of SUNY adjunct faculty. The ad emphasizes SUNY’s overreliance on adjuncts, who struggle to earn a living wage.

We are very proud of the work that our adjuncts do and we wanted very much to share that publicly. But we also wanted to publicize the plight of adjuncts—these exploited workers are underpaid, overworked and without job security. SUNY adjuncts deserve far better than this and we, as a union, will continue to work for better salaries and working conditions for our members, using all possible avenues to obtain more leverage in the context of rising public awareness about the plight of adjuncts.

The ad is running on cable television systems in the Capital Region, Buffalo, Long Island, Syracuse and Ulster and Dutchess counties. It will air for two weeks, ending on Jan. 23.

Three SUNY adjuncts— Bentley Whitfield of Farmingdale, Rebekah Tolley of Albany and Oneonta, and Bill Lee of Cortland—appear in the 30-second TV spot; they talk about their academic qualifications and experiences on camera. An announcer follows with the union’s concerns.

“Nearly one-in-three highly qualified SUNY faculty are adjuncts. Many paid so little, they struggle to make ends meet. Yet students pay more than ever before. SUNY adjuncts deserve better.”

The campaign’s goal is to raise public awareness of the precarious situation adjuncts face and to generate support for pay increases and improved working conditions.

You can view the ad and a press release about the ad on UUP’s website, at http://uupinfo.org/communications/uupdate/1516/160111.php.
You can also view it on YouTube, at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOeGk9SS7DQ.

In Solidarity,
Fred

Sign up online here: https://uuphost.org/myuup/Registration/ADVOCACY/RegForm.php

Date: 10/16/2015 01:40 PM
From: “NEA Higher Ed eAdvocate” <mflannery@email.nea.org>
Subject: The Fairness for Adjuncts Act needs you

Campus Equity Week!
October 26-30
Check out NEA’s CEW resources.

Sign here!
Support the Adjunct Faculty Fairness Act of 2015.
Help adjunct faculty to access public service loan forgiveness
just like full-time faculty do.
It’s only fair.

Ask Congress to support U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s bill
to make adjunct faculty eligible for the
federal public service loan forgiveness program.
The Do’s and Dont’s of Being an Ally

We all need to be allies – non-tenured and tenured faculty alike, aswell as students – in the fight for what it takes to provide a high-quality higher education forstudents. Read these tips from NEA Higher Ed and New Faculty Majority leaders Judy Olsonand Anne Wiegard.

Let the world know where you stand!

Download the equity poster and let the world know where you stand on issues of campus equity. Creating more equitable and just conditions on campus doesn’t just benefit faculty – it benefits students too.

Organizing for Equity!

Where do adjunct or contingent faculty get treated more fairly? In places where they’ve organized into NEA-affiliated unions that collectively bargain for fairer wages, and for the workplace conditions that underlay student learning.