An early February chill greeted nearly 400 unionists who came to rally at the Capitol in Albany, three days after a proposed state budget left them financially out in the cold. They came bearing a strong message designed to heat up the debate over the future of SUNY.

“Think ahead, invest in higher ed,” chanted members of UUP, NYSUT, students and other SUNY supporters at a Feb. 4 rally with a theme that matched the chant.

“We say it is time for the state to think ahead and invest in higher ed. It’s time to invest in SUNY,” UUP President Phil Smith said in his address to the rally to the cheers of those assembled. “It’s time to invest in the future stability of New York and the financial well-being of future generations of New Yorkers.”

Smith’s appeal came as the ink on the governor’s proposed Executive Budget was barely dry, a budget that—if enacted —threatens to send SUNY further into the fiscal abyss. The budget would cut SUNY’s operating budget by $100 million. Coupled with $585 million in previous budget slashes to the University during the past three years, SUNY is facing the loss of no less than one-third of its total operating budget.

“We say these draconian cuts have gone too far,” Smith told the demonstrators. “Can SUNY take any more cuts? We say enough is enough.”  

He warned that the problems created by earlier budget cuts—overcrowded classrooms, course cancellations and delayed graduations—would only grow. Smith emphasized the future of SUNY has an impact on all New Yorkers.

“SUNY affects all of us, not just those of us who teach there or who attend classes,” he said. “The future of SUNY affects the hundreds of thousands of New York families who are counting on a public college or university to educate their children.”

HOSPITALS HIT HARD

Smith said the proposed budget undermines the future of SUNY’s three teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse. The governor’s budget eliminates the entire $154 million state subsidy for the hospitals. It also cuts $3 billion from Medicaid funding statewide, which would severely impact the hospitals.

“What is going to happen to patient care in this state, especially for people who are unemployed, uninsured or underinsured?” Smith asked. “Where will they go for health care? This has got to be turned back.”  

SUPPORT FROM NYSUT, LAWMAKER, STUDENTS

NYSUT —UUP’s statewide affiliate—lent its support not just by having some of its members join the rally, but also by having two NYSUT officers address the gathering.

“These budget cuts are horrendous. They are brutal, and we cannot accept them,” NYSUT Executive Vice President Andy Pallotta said. “We cannot accept further decimating the SUNY system.”  

“We’re angry, and we have every right to be angry,” NYSUT Secretary-Treasurer Lee Cutler said. “We cannot afford to let the people not be first. But that’s clearly what this budget does with its priorities, which is so out of whack with what the people of this state need.”

One state lawmaker whose vote will help determine the final budget outcome also addressed the rally. While acknowledging the state’s fiscal plight, Assemblyman Bob Reilly (D-Colonie) said public higher education must remain a priority.

“What we must do as a state and as a people with our university system is preserve the quality of our education, and make sure that education is accessible to all students,” he said.      

Several students were there to hear UUP’s message and were appreciative the union was watching out for their best interests.

“SUNY must be funded. SUNY, the pride of New York, is at risk,” said UAlbany student Matt Annis, who is a legislative intern for UUP. “For my sake as a student and for every student and alumni, keep our legacy intact.”    

FIGHTING FLEXIBILITY

The bad news from the proposed budget goes beyond sharp spending reductions. It also renews the fight over so-called flexibility, a battle that will be waged for the 11th time.

The budget would give SUNY the power to lease campus property, as well as enter into public/private partnerships, both with limited oversight. Additionally, SUNY would be authorized to contract for goods and services without the approval of the attorney general or comptroller. While UUP thinks loosening the red tape on the purchase of goods is a good idea, the opposite is true for services. The union fears it would lead to rampant outsourcing and the loss of unionized positions.

“This latest flexibility plan like the ones before it, is unacceptable and not in the best interests of SUNY students, faculty, taxpayers and the University itself,” Smith said. “SUNY campuses exist to teach students. We cannot sit back and allow campus assets that serve students to be compromised.”

One encouraging note on the flexibility front is the absence of a provision for differential tuition. It was part of the flexibility proposal last year that failed to gain legislative approval.  

ADVOCACY IN ACTION

UUP didn’t wait for the budget’s introduction on Feb. 1 to begin its advocacy press in Albany. Union activists visited the offices of 23 state lawmakers Jan. 25, telling them that SUNY cannot withstand any more cuts to its operating budget.

“Every campus is hurting,” Glenn McNitt of New Paltz told Assemblyman Mike Spano (D-Yonkers), a member of the Assembly Higher Education Committee.

Immediately after the budget was introduced, UUP posted letters on its website for members to send to their respective hometown lawmakers. The letters called on the Legislature to reject the $100 million budget cut for SUNY, restore the $154 million state hospital subsidy, and to oppose flexibility.        

As The Voice went to press, UUP was gearing up for a statewide multimedia campaign designed to build widespread support for holding the line against further spending cuts to the University.

ARMED WITH THE FACTS

UUP is following the lead of its national affiliate, the AFT, in strengthening its coalition of supporters of public education and public employees. At the national level, friends of working people are helping UUP and other unions push back against the attacks. For instance, a Huffington Post blog by former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich defends public employees, noting that public servants are convenient scapegoats.

“It’s far more convenient to go after people who are doing the public’s work, to call them ‘faceless bureaucrats’ and portray them as hooligans who are making off with your money and crippling federal and state budgets,” Reich writes.          

AFT is offering members and supporters the tools they need to fight back against unfair and inaccurate portrayals of public employees. The federation is posting on the Internet the facts that shoot down the misinformation making the political rounds. For example, the AFT points to research that debunks the myth that public employees earn more than their private counterparts.  

ARMED AND READY

Smith provided UUP members at the Capitol rally with the verbal ammunition to speak up for SUNY and students in the face of massive spending cuts.

“Just contact your state lawmakers. Tell them that SUNY cannot lose any more of its operating funds. Ask them to invest in students and in SUNY. Tell them that investing in SUNY is the best way to ensure a brighter future for the family of New York.”

He closed the rally with a call to action.

“Can we do it?” Smith asked, as the crowd enthusiastically responded, “Yes we can.”

“Then let’s go do it!” Smith urged.

— Donald Feldstein