More than 400 members of UUP, NYSUT and other statewide unions traveled to Albany

Dec. 13 to rally at the state Capitol, urging legislators to vote no on a state commission’s recommendation to privatize New York’s three SUNY teaching hospitals. The rally capped weeks of organized union opposition, from blast faxes aimed at state lawmakers, to op-ed articles and media interviews, to newspaper and television ads.

The members braved rain, chilly temperatures and brisk winds to tell the lawmakers — meeting in a special session called by Gov. George Pataki — to keep the SUNY hospitals in the public sector.

“Bring it up, vote it down,” and “Just say no!” the demonstrators chanted as they marched in front of the east side of the Capitol steps.

“The mission of the state university hospitals is to provide high-quality health care to all — regardless of ability to pay,” UUP President William Scheuerman told the crowd. “But what would happen if the Legislature allows the hospitals to be privatized? The bean counters in charge would start looking at their financial charts, and not at our health charts. They would be more interested in a healthy bottom line than healthy citizens.”

Dire consequences

Scheuerman and NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin urged the demonstrators to continue pushing their elected representatives to reject the recommendations of the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, chaired by Stephen Berger, saying the proposed privatization could force the SUNY hospitals to close if they do not turn profits. Lubin noted that New Yorkers who are indigent do not have the wherewithal to travel to other facilities for their health care needs, and warned the consequences of privatizing could be dire.

“Millions of New Yorkers have no health insurance,” Lubin said. “Privatizing and closing the very hospitals that provide them care could literally be a death sentence for some of these uninsured New Yorkers.”

UUP represents more than 8,000 academic and professional faculty at the teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Syracuse and Stony Brook. The leaders of each chapter brought dozens of their members by the busload to make their voices heard. Stony Brook HSC Chapter President Edward Drummond summed up their concerns.

“Privatizing the SUNY health science centers won’t fix any problems but could instead cause many serious new ones,” Drummond said. “What the commission is proposing is very damaging to the community, and a lot of indigent people would be hurt by it.”

The union leaders also warned that taking the SUNY hospitals out of the public sector would jeopardize SUNY-operated regional trauma centers, AIDS clinics and a burn unit — all vital but costly, specialized services. They noted, too, that the SUNY hospitals are all fiscally sound.

At risk: affordable education, research

Scheuerman and Lubin also warned privatization would threaten affordable, high-quality medical education and medical research programs in New York state.

“Privatizing the SUNY hospitals would not only put people’s lives at risk, it would also jeopardize adequate health care for future generations,” Scheuerman said. “We must keep medical education affordable if we hope to educate the next generation of health care providers, and the way to do that is to keep our outstanding academic medical centers in the public sector where they belong.”

“None of this makes any sense,” NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi said. “Privatizing vital health care services and eliminating physician training and education programs will only make New York’s health care problems worse. If the Legislature lets this stand, thousands of New Yorkers will have no health care for their families.”

The Legislature did not act on the report in its special session, so the commission’s recommendations were expected to take effect

Jan. 1, 2007.

Nevertheless, Scheuerman said the lack of legislative action does not necessarily mean that the hospitals will be privatized.

“Many legislators said they will address the hospital issue in the next legislative session that begins this month,” Scheuerman said. “We now must hold their feet to the fire, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.

“This battle is only beginning and we’re just getting warmed up,” Scheuerman vowed.

Members of the Public Employees Federation, Civil Service Employees Association, New York State Nurses Association and Communications Workers of America also participated in the Albany rally.

— Denyce Duncan Lacy