Anxiety gripped the state’s workforce the afternoon of March 24 when Gov. David Paterson announced that 8,900 state workers would be laid off. But UUP members breathed a collective sigh of relief when additional details revealed that SUNY would not be among the agencies affected because it is not under the governor’s direct control.

The announcement by the governor followed the refusal of UUP and other state employee unions to give up their negotiated 3 percent pay increases for this year. Unions also said “no” to a plan for a five-day payroll deferral. The state’s requests to UUP for those givebacks came during a meeting prior to March 24 with representatives from the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations and the Division of the Budget.

“No promises were offered that indicated that if we accepted, there would not be any nonrenewals,” said UUP President Phillip Smith. “Nor was there any indication that any savings would go toward the benefit of SUNY.”

Even though UUP members are not directly impacted by the governor’s order, the membership is not completely out of the woods. SUNY campuses are reviewing their budgets in light of budget cuts and are taking action to pare spending. For example, New Paltz responded with a $6 million deficit reduction plan that calls for the loss of about 70 positions through retirements, attrition and nonrenewals.

Smith suggests that campuses—especially comprehensive campuses that rely less on state support and more on tuition revenue—tap into the $75 million supplemental operating fund included in the state budget at UUP’s behest to help prevent or minimize losses in academic and professional faculty.

“The purpose of that $75 million fund is to protect faculty and campus positions and preserve student access,” Smith said. “We hope campuses use it to help them meet the needs of students who might see their graduations delayed because there aren’t enough faculty to teach the courses they need to graduate. Students deserve better.”

— Donald Feldstein