UUP’s advocacy campaign keeps moving forward—with emphasis on visits to lawmakers in their home districts—and will be kicked up a notch after the governor’s announcement of a $90 million midyear cut to SUNY.

Members from chapters around the state have been meeting this fall with lawmakers to emphasize that SUNY cannot survive another budget cut. That message has never rung more true.

“Our members are reaching out to lawmakers wherever and whenever they can, urging them to keep SUNY affordable and accessible to all New Yorkers,” said UUP Secretary Eileen Landy, who heads up the union’s outreach efforts.

One example comes out of western New York, where UUPers from the Buffalo Center, Buffalo State and Buffalo HSC chapters met with nearly a dozen state lawmakers and local officials.

The members expressed concerns not only on devastating state budget cuts to SUNY, but on the effects A./S.2020 legislation would have if it gained approval.

And at SUNY Cortland, UUP has put its outreach strategy in motion by arming members with the ammunition they need to gain support for SUNY.

In addition to monthly meetings that bring key issues to the fore, the chapter has developed a brochure highlighting Cortland’s economic and intellectual impact on the region.

UUP has created similar handouts for chapters to use when visiting lawmakers. The two-sided cards—stating “the Smart Money is on SUNY”—offer concrete examples of how individual SUNY campuses generate significant revenue for the region and provide vital services to local businesses and communities.

Meanwhile, members of the Stony Brook chapters echoed their colleagues’ concerns about cuts to SUNY, but also used their time to discuss the Tier V pension proposal.

The UUPers urged the legislators to reject Tier V, which would raise the minimum retirement age from 55 to 62 and require new employees to make retirement contributions for their length of New York state employment.

Also, Stony Brook UUPers participating in a recent Walk for Beauty didn’t miss the chance to convince Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) to keep SUNY financially strong. The UUPers spoke with the senator as they marched through the village, raising money for cancer research.

— Karen L. Mattison