UUP’s Negotiations Team has the union’s contract proposal to the state in hand, capping months of thorough work and painstaking detail.
Union Delegate Lee Bickmore of Suny Albany asks a question about how the union prepares its contract proposals, during last month's 2007 Winter Delegate Assembly in Albany. Nearly 75 UUP delegates, committee members and observers attended the special Negotiations Hearing.
On Feb. 2, the Negotiations Committee unanimously approved the proposal from the Negotiations Team. That approval came just two weeks after the Negotia-tions Team assembled the proposal.
The committee’s endorsement came after the two groups met in December for an intensive three-day workshop at Bolton Landing. During that workshop, the Team and the Committee reviewed the input from thousands of UUP members about the negotiations process and special areas of concern to the membership for the upcoming contract.
That hard work resulted in a proposal matching the concerns and wishes expressed by the membership, a fact that was noted by Negotiations Committee members.
“We could see the direct connection between what we heard and read from the membership, and what ended up in the proposal,” Negotiations Committee member Jay Gilbert said during that group’s review and approval Feb. 2. “It’s easy to see why this was a unanimous vote by the Committee, because this proposal really does reflect the voice of the UUP membership as a whole.”
Now, UUP is awaiting word from the Spitzer administration on when the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) will be ready to exchange proposals. That exchange cannot be scheduled until Gov. Spitzer appoints a new director of GOER.
“We knew that this negotiations process would have some extraordinary circumstances, because of the change of administration,” UUP Vice President for Academics and Chief Negotiator Frederick Floss said. “The governor has just taken office and we are confident that he understands the priorities ahead for the state, and we’re equally confident that he’ll address the GOER vacancy expeditiously. When he does, we will be ready and eager to exchange proposals with the state.”
UUP well prepared
It’s worth remembering, Floss added, that the contracts of at least two other major state unions — the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and the Public Employees Federation (PEF) — will expire March 31, three months before UUP’s contract.
“We don’t know yet how quickly the state will start negotiations with all of its unions. Reason and experience tell us that the unions whose contracts expire first will be sitting at the table first,” Floss said. “What I can tell you is that when the time comes for us to begin negotiations with the state, we will be presenting a package that best represents the broad interests of our membership as a whole. We achieved that package through a very democratic, inclusive process, and it’s the product of a lot of hard work and many hours of careful thought.”
UUP members continue to make their voices heard in the negotiations process. More than 200 members attended a negotiations briefing Feb. 10 at the Winter Delegate Assembly, where members of the Negotiations Team updated them on the process so far.
Floss and Negotiations Vice Chair Michael Smiles of SUNY Farmingdale both reminded the membership that all articles of the current contract that do not have a “sunset” date will continue past the expiration date of the contract. Chapter leadership should be vigilant to make sure that managers are not ignoring the contract, which is still in effect, Smiles added.
“It’s up to you to tell them if managers are incorrect,” Smiles said. “Be confident and strong and tell them, ‘That’s wrong.’ The contract continues, and that’s one of the main principles for negotiating with the state.”
— Darryl McGrath