Tag: Online Actions

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Events

UUP 101 Webinars – December 10th & January 7th

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, December 10 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Wednesday, January 7 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM

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

uup 101 »

Jeri

Jeri O’Bryan-Losee, MA, MS, MSEd
United University Professions
Statewide Secretary-Treasurer
NYSUT Board of Directors, ED41
AFT PPC Member

Categories
Events

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Clinics – December 3rd & 17th

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, December 3, 2025 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM via Zoom

Wednesday, December 17, 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!

Jeri

She / Her / Hers

Jeri O’Bryan-Losee, MA, MS, MSEd
United University Professions
Statewide Secretary-Treasurer
NYSUT Board of Directors, ED41
AFT PPC Member

Categories
News

UUP Oneonta Professionals Survey Reopened

This survey is intended for all UUP professionals. It seeks information about your workplace support and resources available to effectively perform your job. The survey is anonymous and takes 10 to 20 minutes to complete, depending on the level of detail you provide.

To take the survey, please click the button below or visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UUPOneontaWORK

take the professionals survey »
Categories
Events

National Higher Ed Day of Action – Nov. 7th

Friday, November 7 is a National Higher Ed Day of Action on which labor, student groups and allies will join together to demand the kind of higher education system our communities deserve. Across the country, we’re speaking out for:

  • Strong protections for academic freedom and freedom of expression
  • Affordable and well-funded higher education
  • Safe and welcoming campuses for all students
  • Fair wages and secure employment for higher ed workers

In addition to gatherings at some of our chapters, UUP will be hosting a statewide virtual session on Protecting Academic Freedom in Turbulent Times. We invite all UUP members to join us to address how Academic Freedom is essential to the integrity of our institutions and to the work of everyone in UUP (not just academic employees); to learn about UUP’s contractual protections for Academic Freedom and recent legal developments in this area; and to and to discuss how union members can defend this critical right.

The session will be held from 12-1.30pm on Friday, November 7. CLICK HERE to register:

Register Here »

In solidarity,
Fred & Alissa

Frederick E. Kowal, Ph.D.
President
United University Professions 

Alissa Karl, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academics
United University Professions

Categories
Events

DEI Virtual Panel – Oct. 29

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion UUP logo

To kick off Indigenous Peoples Month, the statewide DEI committee is featuring a panel discussion about indigenous people’s history around NYS entitled “Erasing History and Stealing Futures” – featuring Melissa Parker Leonard, M. Ed, & Jeremy Dennis MFA. 

Date: October 29, 2025
Time: 1:00 pm
Register HERE »

REgister Here »

Melissa Parker Leonard is a Seneca Educator and advocate founder of the 7th Gen Cultural Resources and Jeremy Dennis is a Shinnecock Photographer Founder of Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio.

The discussion will be focused on Ely S. Parker’s life and legacy and the Shinnecock Nation’s path to federal recognition. Ely S. Parker was an engineer, U.S. Army officer, aide to General Ulysses S. Grant, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the ancestor of Melissa Parker Leonard. In highlighting his life and legacy here, she is directly combatting current attempts to erase his contributions to the United States that are occurring under the orders of the current department of Defense/War.  

Jeremy Dennis is a contemporary fine art photographer, an enrolled Tribal Member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, NY, and the founder and lead artist of Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc., a nonprofit art space and residency program on the Shinnecock Reservation dedicated to uplifting Indigenous and BIPOC artists.

His work center’s Indigenous identity, culture, and the legacies of colonial assimilation, using photography to stage cinematic, otherworldly narratives rooted in Native oral stories, history, and contemporary experience.

Categories
Events

UUP to hold Oct. 29 virtual panel discussion on the Film “Adjunct”

As part of Campus Equity Week, UUP is hosting an Oct. 29 virtual panel discussion of the independent film “Adjunct,” featuring a question-and-answer session with filmmaker and former adjunct Ron Najor.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Panelists are Najor, who starts in the 2024 film; Jaclyn Pittsley, UUP’s Contingent Employment Committee chair and a statewide Executive Board member; Bret Benjamin, UUP’s chief negotiator and Executive Board member; and NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist Chris Sielaff.

The panel will draw comparisons between the film and how job protections UUP successfully secured through collective bargaining agreements with the state have produced big wins for adjuncts. Panelists will also talk about the UUP’s current contract with the state benefits adjuncts.

Registration is required to view the panel discussion. Click HERE to register:

REGISTER HERE »

UUP members can view a free livestream of “Adjunct” at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. That event is sponsored by Higher Education Labor United (HELU). UUP is a founding member of HELU, a national organization formed in 2021 to unite higher ed workers across the country.

Click HERE to register for the HELU free screening and for more information:

REGISTER HERE »

Click HERE to view the trailer from the film, or watch below:

UUP members who aren’t able to view “Adjunct” on Oct. 25 can contact their chapter officers for information about “Adjunct” watch parties and other ways and times to view the movie. Last year, UUP delegates unanimously designated the last full week of October as UUP Campus Equity Week, a national initiative that highlights working conditions and contributions of contingent faculty (part-time, adjunct, and other non-tenure-track instructors) in higher education.

Categories
Rapid Response

Stand for Education and Against the Federal Higher Education Compact

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

Dear UUP activists,

You have likely heard about the Federal administration’s offer of a “compact” with nine Research universities that would, if agreed to, effectively abolish academic freedom and institutional autonomy at those campuses. It is critical that our union join the chorus of Higher Ed voices speaking out against this proposal. See a message below from our national affiliate, the AFT, and click to sign on to a letter calling upon university leaders to reject this compact.

In solidarity,

Frederick E. Kowal, Ph.D.
President
United University Professions

Under the Trump compact, a successful childhood cancer research project could be cut off because the university allows trans athletes to play on a team. A lab focused on ensuring a clean water supply could be shut down because the university’s mission includes promoting diversity in the student body. A nursing school could lose critical funding because professors are teaching about women’s history.

This policy is a clumsy attempt at thought-policing that will have repercussions for all of society. It risks America’s world leadership in science, technology, innovation and healthcare, creating opportunities for our competitors and our enemies to take the lead. It sets us backward toward an era of less innovation, fewer cures for diseases and a shrinking economy.

Add your name to our public sign-on letter, and call on university leaders to reject this compact.

Add Your Name »

Read more about the implications of Trump’s so-called compact with colleges in Erwin Chemerinsky’s op-ed in the New York Times.

Read the AFT and the American Association of University Professors’ press release slamming the Trump administration’s ideological litmus test for higher education. 

Categories
Featured Events

2025 Fall UUP Legislative Town Halls

Flyer for UUP Legislative Town Halls, hosted virtually on Zoom on October 15 and 28

Dear Colleagues,

I’m writing to invite you to join our virtual Legislative Town Hall where we will gather input for UUP’s 2026 Legislative Agenda. 

There will be two opportunities to join: Wednesday, October 15th at 6 pm and Tuesday, October 28th at noon. To sign up, please click here.

UUP 2025 Legislative Virtual Town Halls »

If you’re not able to attend but would like to submit your legislative proposals – click here. 

2026 Legislative Proposal Submission Form »

Please also save the date for UUP’s Advocacy Day being held on February 24, 2026:

Advocacy Day Save the DateDownload »
Register for the 2026 uup Advocacy Day »

I encourage you to be active, participate in our advocacy efforts, and add your voice to the cause of our union. Your ideas and suggestions are critical for us to create a comprehensive agenda to take to the State Capitol.

In Solidarity,

Fred

Frederick E. Kowal, PhD
President
United University Professions