UUP President William Scheuerman told the more than 275 delegates to the 2007 Winter Delegate Assembly in Albany that UUP is facing a number of uphill battles, but that it will do everything in its power to keep the union and the University strong.

The issues: threats to privatize SUNY hospitals, the SUNY budget and contract talks with the state — all against the backdrop of a new administration and a looming state budget deficit.

“As veterans, we’ve learned a few things over the years, including how to turn threats and challenges into opportunities that make UUP a stronger union, even more capable of serving our members,” Scheuerman said. “You elected us to deliver the goods to our members, instead of empty rhetoric and false promises. And that’s exactly what we plan to do.”

Oswego Chapter President Charles Spector raises hi ink-covered index Finger to show he has finished faxing a letter to lawmakers and the governor.

Hospitals are threatened

Scheuerman said the union has made it clear to lawmakers — in letters, at rallies and in testimony around the state — that UUP opposes the Berger Commission report, which calls for the privatization of Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and the possible privatization of the SUNY hospitals in Brooklyn and Stony Brook.

“Privatization of the hospitals would undercut health care services to large segments of the state’s indigent and uninsured population, and it would terminate some important tertiary care services, such as burn and trauma units, that are not available elsewhere,” Scheuerman said. “We simply can’t let this happen. We have no choice but to fight this one to the finish.”

Delegates joined the fray by availing themselves of the union’s mobile political action center, where they used e-mail to fax hundreds of letters to lawmakers and the governor.

UUPers previously had sent thousands of letters to senators, assemblymen and the governor. The letter points out that privatization would “jeopardize accountability, put SUNY’s important public health mission at risk, and threaten the quality of medical education in New York state.”

Delegates who took time out of their busy schedules to send faxes dipped their index fingers in red ink, and were later asked to hold them up in a show of solidarity and purpose.

Meanwhile, NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin in his keynote address pledged NYSUT’s support in the fight to defeat the commission’s recommendations.

“I predict we’re going to win this one because we have a mission,” Lubin said. “This fight will not go away until we win it. NYSUT will not run away from this one.”

SUNY budget can be better

Scheuerman and Lubin agree that the governor’s first budget proposal is a good first step for public education. However, both worry that a projected budget deficit of $2.5 billion and the governor’s plan to cut taxes by $6 billion over the next few years could put SUNY, CUNY and the community colleges at risk.

Despite these obstacles, UUP looks to capitalize on the governor’s promise to make New York’s public higher education institutions the best in the country. The union is pressing for additional funding for enrollment growth and new full-time faculty (see related story, page 5.)

In addition, Scheuerman unveiled the union’s annual advertising campaign, showing delegates a 30-second TV spot that stresses how SUNY is vital to the state’s economic recovery. Viewers are encouraged to call (877) 255-9417 and urge lawmakers to hire more full-time faculty.

“It is not an accident that the governor is investing in SUNY,” Lubin said. “It’s the result of a lot of hard work by your union. UUP is the one constant in the University. You are the folks who bring the power of the University to the Capitol. Your advocacy is paying off.”

— Karen L. Mattison