An upbeat attitude and an optimistic sense of purpose set the tone April 19 when UUP and the state met to exchange contract proposals.
“We need a bigger room,” UUP President William Scheuerman joked as he surveyed the standing-room-only meeting of the two sides at UUP headquarters in Albany.
The cordial atmosphere continued as Scheuerman turned to the business at hand.
“Let me welcome you all,” he told the state’s negotiators. “We’re looking forward to another round of negotiating. We’re responsible — when we make a commitment, we keep it. And we’re very pragmatic.”
Gary Johnson, the new director of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, is a familiar face to UUP.
He comes to GOER from UUP’s statewide affiliate, NYSUT, where he had been an associate counsel since 2004. Prior to NYSUT, Johnson had worked with the New York State Public Employment Relations Board and had also been an assistant counsel at GOER in the 1990s.
Johnson invoked the history of rigorous but respectful negotiations between UUP and the state in a brief response to Scheuerman.
“I honor your remarks regarding our obligation to negotiate together,” he said. “I’m sure that’s the way it will be this time.”
The two proposals are included as an insert in this issue of The Voice.
Scheuerman carried the theme of a fresh start with the new administration into UUP’s Spring Delegate Assembly, when he told nearly 300 delegates that Johnson is“a consummate professional” with whom UUP enjoys a “terrific relationship.”
“We are now at the table, and we’re not in bad shape,” Scheuerman said. “The stars seem aligned for negotiations. We don’t know how the money will work out, but we’re there now, and we should be able to deliver you a good package.”
Delegates also had a chance to hear a more detailed explanation of the proposals and pose questions to the Negotiations Team members during a Negotiations Briefing Saturday morning at the DA. The briefing was standing room only, as UUP Vice President for Academics and Chief Negotiator Frederick Floss reminded delegates that the union’s proposal is a reflection of the membership at large.
“We’ve taken almost a year to put together our package and take all of your concerns, so we could put them together in our proposal,” Floss said. “This isn’t Bill’s proposal and this isn’t my proposal — this is the members’ proposal.”
Floss cautioned the delegates, however, that it’s impossible to predict when UUP will have a new contract. The current contract expires July 1.
“Initially, the state may say “Yes” to something, and we may change it later,” he said. “There’s really no way to say, ‘Yes, we’ve got something,’ until Bill and Gary Johnson shake hands on it and we tell you we’ve got an agreement.”
Although the current contract expires July 1, all of its provisions continue until a new agreement is reached, with the exception of those contract articles containing specific “sunset” dates.
— Darryl McGrath