With state support for the University under attack, UUP has made the protection of public higher education its primary goal of its 2010 Legislative Agenda.

Protecting public higher education and full state funding of SUNY are the agenda’s two main focuses.

“It is critical that we keep the public in public higher education,” said UUP President Phillip Smith, noting that SUNY’s funding had been sliced by $410 million in the last 18 months. “These cuts prevent the University from achieving the goals in its mission statement: to deliver the highest quality education with the broadest possible access.”

The agenda recognizes that SUNY faces a major threat from a form of deregulation.

UUP is deeply concerned about SUNY’s strong support for so-called “flexibility” legislation, which would—in part—have the University rely more on public/private partnerships to raise money.

“It’s very dangerous to suggest that SUNY should become more entrepreneurial,” Smith said.

The new legislative agenda calls on state lawmakers to preserve the Legislature’s oversight of SUNY by spurning moves that would allow campuses to sell or lease state property and institute differential tuition.

The agenda also appeals to the state to safeguard the services provided by SUNY’s hospitals, as well as their public health mission.

Besides protecting SUNY, UUP’s 2010 Legislative Agenda continues to support a variety of social issues, including:

• Reforming the state’s regressive tax structure;
• Supporting paid family medical leave for all New Yorkers;
• Protecting access to SUNY for employees and students with disabilities;
• Supporting fair pay for all New Yorkers; and
• Approving marriage equality legislation.

The agenda will serve as a broad, general listing of legislative goals. Material with more specific legislative targets will be updated to meet the needs of the union’s advocates as developments warrant.

— Donald Feldstein