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UUP’s voice resonated among other unions and non-profit groups expressing concern over the harmful effects of state budget cuts on working families.
“There is no doubt that New York is in a dire financial crisis, but there is also no doubt that it is difficult enough for working families to finance their children’s college educations,” UUP President Phillip Smith said during a Nov. 12 news conference in Albany. The news conference was called by the One New York Fighting for Fairness Coalition and the Better Choice Budget Campaign, consisting of more than 200 organizations. The coalitions called on Gov. David Paterson and state lawmakers to look for new revenue sources rather than rely solely on cuts to bail the state out of its fiscal crisis.
“Tens of thousands of qualified high school graduates and community college transfer applicants are already being denied access to SUNY and its four-year colleges and universities because of these budget cuts,” Smith told nearly two dozen journalists. “These cuts will also make it impossible for many current students to graduate on time. And then the burden of paying for an additional year of college education will fall on the shoulders of working families.”
Smith, one of about a dozen speakers, stressed that SUNY needs state budget support now more than ever to help retrain New Yorkers who have lost or will lose their jobs.
The news conference preceded a coalition rally that took place six days later (see related story, page 4).
— Donald Feldstein