Category: News

News from and about UUP Oneonta

Categories
Events

Student Debt Workshops October 1 and October 22

Dear Colleagues, 

Over 12 million people in the United States are struggling to make their monthly student loan payments, and millions more see economic and personal opportunities pass as they prioritize paying down their debt. Does this sound like you or someone you know? 

Many of these people may qualify for free federal programs that can help reduce their monthly payments and eventually lead to student loan forgiveness, but these lifeline programs are significantly under-enrolled. In an effort to help our members get access to these programs, United University Professions and the American Federation of Teachers are proud to host a Student Debt Clinic which will provide information on how to enroll in Income-Driven Repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.  

We will be offering virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics on the following dates:

Wednesday, October 1, 2025 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM via Zoom

Wednesday, October 22, 2025 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM via Zoom

To attend one of the virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics, you must pre-register here: http://go.aft.org/StudentDebtClinicRSVP. From the “student debt clinic” drop down menu, please select the UUP clinic that you are interested in attending – they are labeled “UUP [Virtual Student Debt Clinic] [date] [time].” In the affiliate field, type in the full name of our local (United University Professions), and it will autofill after a few keystrokes. 

Registration is first-come, first-serve, and we must cap attendance for a single clinic at 125 participants to ensure that we are able to provide maximum assistance to attendees. Registration will close 48 hours prior to the virtual clinic. Webinar login information will be provided prior to the clinic to all who register. [If you can’t make one of these virtual clinics, don’t worry – we’re planning on offering them every payday. If you want to help host a chapter-specific virtual clinic, please let us know!] 

Managing your student loan debt is the first step in taking on the inequities which plague our system of higher education, and we look forward to seeing you at the virtual Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinic and working together to find a collective solution to the problems of student debt and college affordability! 

Register now!

Register now »
Categories
Rapid Response

Take Action to Keep International Students On Our Campuses!

Keep International Students on our campuses! Please comment today on the elimination of the Duration of Status (DS) for international students.

The Trump Administration is proposing a rule to eliminate the Duration of Status (DS) for international students. This proposed rule, issued on August 28, 2025, replaces the current DS period with a system that admits international students to a stay no longer than four years barring an expensive and lengthy application for an extension.

The administration has already begun a brief 30-day comment period. We urge UUP members and higher ed advocates to submit comments to stress how this proposed rule would harm our students and institutions. The implementation of this rule would: 

  • Restrict the number of international students attending SUNY campuses and campuses across the United States by curtailing the amount of time students could take to complete academic programs; the rule would likely deter many students from seeking higher education in the US at all.
  • Have a detrimental effect on graduate programs since the median time to complete a Ph.D. for all students in the US is 5.7 years. Many graduate programs would risk losing all of their international students.
  • Reduce human and intellectual capital across the country. Many international students seek to stay in the US and work legally after their studies are complete; US companies would lose access to their skill and talent.  
  • Be unnecessary. International student visa holders are already the most closely monitored group of nonimmigrants in the US.

Please COMMENT HERE on the damage that this rule change would inflict!

Comment here »
Categories
Featured Events

September/October Chapter Events

Flyer outlining dates and speakers for upcoming chapter events for September and October.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

Labor Relations Specialist Workshop: Problem Solving in the Unionized Workplace: Gripes, Grievances, and Everything In-Between
with NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist Chris Sielaff
12:00 PM — Morris Hall, Le Cafe
Lunch: Fajita Bar

RSVP HERE »

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7

DEI Seminar: A Restorative Justice Approach to Immigration
12:00 PM — Morris Hall, Le Cafe
Lunch: Taco Bar

RSVP HERE »

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29

Labor Relations Specialist Workshop: Getting to Tenure
with NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist Chris Sielaff
9 AM — Morris Hall, Le Cafe
Breakfast: Coffee, Tea, Pastries, Fresh Fruit

RSVP HERE »

The next chapter meetings are on SEPTEMBER 10 and OCTOBER 8 in Morris Hall, Le Cafe. Chapter Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month. Lunch provided.

For the full schedule of chapter meetings, visit the links below:

Fall 2025 Chapter general Meetings »
Chapter Events & Calendar »
Categories
Events

Know Your Benefits Webinar – Sept. 16th

September 16th 2025 - New Semester Know Your Benefits Workshop graphic

UUP’s Benefits Department hosts monthly “Know Your Benefits” webinars for UUP members and all UUP-represented employees.

The forums provide information about benefits that SUNY employees receive, which are negotiated by UUP, as well as UUP membership and voluntary benefits associated with being a member.

The next webinar, titled “New Semester Know Your Benefits,” is scheduled for noon on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Click HERE to register for the webinar.

Know Your Benefits Webinar registration »
Categories
Rapid Response

Phonebank to Protect Science Funding – Sept. 5th

UUP Rapid Responder Sign Up. Stay informed. Take action. bit.ly/UUPRapidResponders

Dear UUP Rapid Responders,

Join our fellow higher ed unionists as we demand that Congress preserve funding for scientific research in the upcoming Federal budget. See all of the details below!

Register to join a national phonebank to protect science funding on September 5th!

Register here »

We have had major successes fighting back against the federal government’s attacks on science and higher education together with academic workers across the country. But our fight is not over. The Trump Administration has proposed devastating cuts to NIH funding, and we have a critical window in which to act before the 2026 federal budget gets approved. 

In order to prevent any cuts to scientific research, we are continuing to leverage the nationwide movement we’ve built to pressure officials in both political parties. Our ability to win more depends on showing our elected officials that we are all united in the fight to save science. The more of us who participate, the stronger our message will be.

On September 5, at 12pm PT/3pm ET, higher ed workers across the country will call representatives in Congress to demand NO CUTS to science funding in the federal budget. Fill out this form to join the phonebank.

Register now »

In Solidarity, 

Andrew Little

President, UAW 4100

Categories
Events

A Labor Day Message from UUP President Fred Kowal

Happy Labor Day from UUP!

Labor Day is labor’s day

“Strong men and broad minds only can resist the plutocracy and arrogant monopoly. Do not be frightened at troops, injunctions, or a subsidized press. Quit and remain firm. Commit no violence. American Railway Union will protect all, whether member or not when strike is off.”-Eugene Debs

Labor Day was first celebrated as a national holiday in 1894, its designation by President Grover Cleveland an act of reconciliation with organized labor after 13 people died during the Pullman Strike earlier that same year. The first Labor Day parade was held a decade earlier, on Sept. 5, 1882 in New York City.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first labor union led by Black workers to join the American Federation of Labor.

Workers and organizers have been fighting and dying to organize since before the American Revolution. Our predecessors fought for better wages, better working conditions and fair treatment. It is a fight we continue to this day. We stand on the shoulders of giants.

Union power grew throughout the 20th century to a peak in the mid-1950s when more than 30% of the American workforce was unionized. There were 21 million union members in 1979 and today only 10.3% of U.S. workers (14.4 million) are union members — 6.1% in the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

At the same time, interest in unions is growing; a 2024 Gallup poll last year showed 70% of Americans approve of labor unions, the second-highest rate since 1965.

An Aug. 20 Economic Policy Institute went further; in 2024, working families in union-friendly states took home $12,000 more than workers in low-density union states. Workers in union-friendly states more often benefited from paid sick leave legislation, health insurance coverage and far fewer voter restriction laws than their colleagues in low-density union states.

The report’s bottom line: “Rebuilding worker power by strengthening unions is not just good policy—it is a democratic imperative in the face of authoritarian backsliding.”

At UUP, we learn from the lessons of the past. We see how labor unions achieved their goals because of solidarity and became stronger as they became more diverse. We see how wage inequality correlates with falling union membership.

This Labor Day, we know we have work to do and we are inspired all that is possible if we work together.

Happy Labor Day!

We invite you to attend a local Labor Day Rally – 12-1 PM in Oneonta, NY on Main Street – Mueller Plaza. Wear your UUP red shirts, hats, and clothing!

Oneonta Labor Day Rally »
Statewide Labor Day Rallies & Events »
Categories
Events

AI Update with UUP – Sept. 9th & 15th

This Fall semester will see the introduction of ever more AI applications and tools in our workplaces.

UUP Statewide is holding “AI Update with UUP” sessions on Tuesday, Sept 9 at 4pm and Monday, Sept 15 at 10am. They’ll discuss how these applications could impact our work and how our rights as UUP members apply to the introduction of AI platforms and programs. They’ll also address recently-enacted state law and legislative efforts AI, as well as developments in collective bargaining over AI.

You can RSVP at the links below:

RSVP – Sept. 9 »
RSVP – Sept. 15 »
UUP Statement of Principles on AIDownload »
Categories
Events

Pre-Retirement Workshops – Aug. 19th & 21st

Dear Chapter Members:

UUP’s popular monthly Pre-Retirement Workshops are scheduled for August 19th and August 21st, 2025. The part 1 workshop will take place on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 12:00pm which will cover Healthcare/Medicare.

The part 2 workshop will take place on Thursday, August 21, 2025, at 12:00pm which will cover union benefits (dental & vision)

You may take these workshops as many times as you like as the information is rather complex especially with Medicare and feel free to have your spouse/partner attend with you.  Also, you can take these two workshops in any order as they don’t depend on each other. For this and other UUP programing information go to the UUP Events Calendar: https://uupinfo.org/calendar/

You will need to register for the workshops and a Zoom link is sent the day before the workshop to the email address that you register under.

We do not record these workshops because of privacy concerns and because the information does change, and we want to make sure you have the most current information.

To register for the August pre-retirement workshop’s, use this link: https://forms.gle/HujQacDnvZQFyWj68

Register here »

From Patrick Romain
UUP Statewide Membership Development Officer
518-640-6639
promain@uupmail.org

Categories
Events

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Workshops Sept 10th & 24th

Dear Colleagues, 

Over 12 million people in the United States are struggling to make their monthly student loan payments, and millions more see economic and personal opportunities pass as they prioritize paying down their debt. Does this sound like you or someone you know? 

Many of these people may qualify for free federal programs that can help reduce their monthly payments and eventually lead to student loan forgiveness, but these lifeline programs are significantly under-enrolled. In an effort to help our members get access to these programs, United University Professions and the American Federation of Teachers are proud to host a Student Debt Clinic which will provide information on how to enroll in Income-Driven Repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.  

We will be offering virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics on the following dates:

Wednesday, September 10, 2025 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM via Zoom

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM via Zoom

To attend one of the virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics, you must pre-register here: http://go.aft.org/StudentDebtClinicRSVP

RSVP HERE »

From the “student debt clinic” drop down menu, please select the UUP clinic that you are interested in attending – they are labeled “UUP [Virtual Student Debt Clinic] [date] [time].” In the affiliate field, type in the full name of our local (United University Professions), and it will autofill after a few keystrokes. 

Registration is first-come, first-serve, and we must cap attendance for a single clinic at 125 participants to ensure that we are able to provide maximum assistance to attendees. Registration will close 48 hours prior to the virtual clinic. Webinar login information will be provided prior to the clinic to all who register. [If you can’t make one of these virtual clinics, don’t worry – we’re planning on offering them every payday. If you want to help host a chapter-specific virtual clinic, please let us know!] 

Managing your student loan debt is the first step in taking on the inequities which plague our system of higher education, and we look forward to seeing you at the virtual Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinic and working together to find a collective solution to the problems of student debt and college affordability! 

Register now!

Jeri

Categories
Events

UUP 101 Webinar on Weds September 17th from 5:00-6:30 PM

From Jeri O’Bryan-Losee- Statewide UUP:

Hello all,

We have added an additional “UUP 101” webinar for those who have been unable to attend previous workshops. This workshop will cover UUP’s structure, who we are, who we represent, what we do, and our role in the larger labor movement.

Webinars will now be held on:

  • Wednesday, September 17 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM

To join the discussion, please register using the link below.

https://forms.gle/tEUUdHReuwn6QpME9

REgister here »

Jeri