Official Publication of United University Professions The ...uupinfo.org/voice/mayjune/0708/0508Voice4Web.pdf · Volume 35, Number 9 The VOICE is the official publication of United

Official Publication of United University Professions ■■ The Nation’s Largest Higher Education Union Working For You

VVooiicceeVVooiicceeMay/June 2008May/June 2008

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UUP battles budget freeze— Page 12

UUP battles budget freeze— Page 12

2 ■ THE VOICE May/June 2008

Letters

THE

VoiceVolume 35, Number 9

The VOICE is the official publication of UnitedUniversity Professions (UUP), bargaining agent forthe more than 34,000 academic and professionalemployees of the State University of New York.

Contact UUP at P.O. Box 15143, Albany, NewYork 12212-5143. Telephone (518) 640-6600 ortoll-free at (800) 342-4206. UUP’s Internet site iswww.uupinfo.org. UUP is Local 2190 of theAmerican Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO) andis affiliated with NYSUT and the NationalEducation Association.

UUP STATEWIDE OFFICERS

PHILLIP H. SMITHPresident

JOHN J. MARINOVice Presidentfor Professionals

FREDERICK G. FLOSSVice Presidentfor Academics

EILEEN LANDYSecretary

ROWENA J.BLACKMAN-STROUDTreasurer

EDWARD H. QUINNMembershipDevelopment Officer

UUP COMMUNICATIONS DEPT.DENYCE DUNCAN LACYDirector of Communications

KAREN L. MATTISONPublications Specialist

DONALD FELDSTEINMedia Relations Specialist

MICHAEL LISICommunications Specialist

ANGELL M. LAWCommunications Assistant

KENNETH HOLMANWeb Site Specialist

The VOICE is a member of the American Federationof Teachers Communicators Network and theInternational Labor Communications Association.

To the Editor:As a graduate of the recently completed

NYSUT Leadership Institute (class of ’07), Iwould like to express my heartfelt thanks forthe wonderful effort NYSUT and Cornell putforth on our behalf. The opportunity gave meand my two fellow UUP leaders the ability towork on and further develop our leadershipskills with union activists from all areas andwalks of New York state. The lessons learnedand network of contacts formed will serve theunion well as we take our place with the other

10 years of graduates numbering over 600.It truly shows NYSUT is a union of profession-

als who look to give us the tools and knowledgeto be better leaders in the union movement. Theefforts and continued support of this program byour officers and NYSUT staff is a tribute to thisorganization putting its money where its mouthis, that being education. Thanks again to my fel-low classmates and our instructors for a wonder-ful, eye-opening experience.

— Charlie McAteerStony Brook

Member thanks NYSUT for efforts in Leadership Institute

12 RALLYING FOR SUNY

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UUPers came out en masse to protestthe governor’s freeze of $110 million infunds SUNY collects from students andhospital patients.

What’s inside this issue?

17 Aquatic program swimmingly successful18 Fulbrights go in search of scholarship19 Labor stands firmly behind Clinton20 Judge dismisses charges against bio-artist Kurtz21 UUPer pens the ‘very American story’ of US 2022 UUP, NYSUT showcase benefits23 To the point: Groundhog Day? .... and improving the news

3-7 UUP Spring DA• Delegates elect officers, Executive Board members• 2008-09 spending plan unanimously adopted• Chapters awarded for communications efforts

9-11 NYSUT Representative Assembly• NYSUT is ‘on the move’ for change• UUP makes its presence known• Leaders speak out on labor, education• UUPers share their thoughts on unionism

15-16 Joint NEA-AFT Conference• UUP joins the effort to build alliances• HEA reauthorization nearly complete

s The Voice went topress, the process to imple-ment the pay increases forUUP members negotiated inthe new UUP/New York statecontract was moving forward.UUP has been pushing theprocess along beginning theday the contract was ratified,March 13. The unexpectedchange in gubernatorialadministrations and staffdelayed the progress.

A “pay bill” — legislation thatis required for the release of publicfunds — is sent from thegovernor’s office to the state Legislature.

Once lawmakers approve the paybill and the governor signs it, thenext stop is the state comptroller’soffice. Then the comptroller willissue a pay bulletin that willstipulate when the paycheckswill be issued, including theretroactive pay.

As soon as UUP obtains aconfirmed payroll date, theunion will notify membersthrough official communi-cations. Also, anannouncement will beposted on the home

page of the UUP Website at www.uupinfo.org and chapter

leaders will be notified. — Donald Feldstein

Is my check in the mail?A

May/June 2008 THE VOICE ■ 3

AFFILIATES2008 Spring DA

he UUP Spring Delegate Assemblyis usually a hectic, productive businessmeeting.

This year’s event was all that and thensome.

From rallying at the state Capitol againstthe Division of the Budget plan to freezeSUNY revenues, to approving UUP’s2008-2009 budget, to electing statewideofficers and Executive Board members,UUPers showed they were ready to takeaction and eager to make their voicesheard.

Delegates came from near and far — andreally far — to do so. Ezra Zubrow ofSUNY Buffalo traveled from Australia tobe at the DA. Robert Compton of Oneontareturned from Zimbabwe to attend.

The 2008 Spring DA took place May 2-3in Albany, less than a month after theDivision of the Budget announced it wouldwithhold nearly $110 million in fundsSUNY receives from students and familiesfor tuition, fees for dormitories and otherpayments. Also included in that amount:dollars collected by SUNY’s three hospitalsfrom patients and their private insurers.

That topic was on the minds of UUPersthroughout the DA as they discussed anddrafted resolutions, worked to set policyand planned for future union events,during workshops and in small and largegroup sessions. Lillian Taiz, president ofthe California Faculty Association, was theevent’s featured speaker, sharing herunion’s solidarity success stories andorganizing tips with close to 300 delegates.

FIRED UP

Taiz didn’t need to do much to motivatemembers, who were fresh and still firedup from a noon rally on the steps of thestate Capitol. (See related story, page 12.)UUP members were joined by members ofNYSUT, NYPIRG and students from theUniversity at Albany and SUNY Oneonta,wearing placards, carrying signs, shakingnoisemakers and chanting slogans such as“Save SUNY now!”

UUP President Phillip Smith had strong

words for legislators, demanding thatSUNY rescind its freeze immediately.

“Unless we make all of the parts whole,SUNY won’t be able to keep functioning,and students, parents and the whole NewYork economy will suffer,” Smith said.

Matt Cedar, a 22-year-old SUNYOneonta student, said he drove to Albanyto be at the rally to show his support. “I’ma student in the SUNY system and I havea vested interest in this,” he said.

Taiz, NYSUT Executive Vice PresidentAlan Lubin and state Sen. Neil Breslin(D-Delmar) also spoke at the rally.

During the May 2 plenary session, Smithurged members to send a letter to the gover-nor, calling for him to rescind the fundfreeze. Delegates responded by signingmore than 250 letters.

Smith urged delegates to tell theirmembers, families and friends about thethreat to SUNY’s future, and encouragethem to join in UUP’s efforts. (See how

to send a fax to the governor, page 8.)Smith said he was planning to meet with

several newspaper editorial boards andwas working on other “avenues of attack”to make the union’s voice heard.

BUDGET, ELECTIONS, RESOLUTIONS

Delegates re-elected three statewideofficers and voted five new members ontothe Executive Board. They also approvedUUP’s $8.18 million annual operatingbudget and took action on nearly adozen resolutions and briefly discusseda constitutional amendment to create aRetiree Chapter.

DELEGATE MEETINGS

Delegates also took part in academicand professional delegates meetings.

More than 50 members attended theprofessional delegates meeting, featuringpanel discussions on performanceprograms and evaluations and promotions

see DELEGATES, page 6

Delegates get down to union business at two-day convention

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Below, Atlas Hsie of Utica/Rome,left, raises a point during a meetingof chapter leaders.

“A well-organized plan buildsmember confidence in your

ability to be successful.”— Lillian Taiz, President

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Delegates adopt’08-09 spending plan

elegates to the Spring DAoverwhelmingly approved UUP’sannual spending plan, which includesan operating budget of $8.18 millionfor the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

The budget “reflects our union’spriorities for 2008-2009: implementa-tion of the 2007-2011 collectivebargaining agreement between UUPand New York state; outreach activities;service to the membership; and recruit-ment of new activists,” said statewideTreasurer Rowena Blackman-Stroud.

In her report to union delegates,Blackman-Stroud noted that UUPnegotiated a total of nearly $2 millionin direct support from NYSUT, up bynearly $200,000 from last year.

The union will use a one-time lumpsum NYSUT payment of $125,000 toincrease the coffers for UUP’s outreachadvertising campaign. The total amountallocated for outreach activities is$500,000.

“We recognize the importance of theunion’s advertising campaign, as wellas other statewide and regional legisla-tive activities, in the ongoing battle forincreased higher education funding,”Blackman-Stroud said.

In addition, UUP this year allocatedmore money for training and work-shops, which will cover the costs ofregional trainings to be conducted bythe two statewide vice presidents. Italso includes more money for chapterdevelopment activities, such as internalorganizing projects for academics,professionals and part-timers.

“This budget reflects extensivediscussions and debate at the statewideand chapter levels,” she added. “UUPhas always welcomed and encouragedmember input in the budget process.Delegates approved this budget becauseit puts money where the memberswant it most.”

Blackman-Stroud thanked UUPAudit Committee Chair RaymondGuydosh of Plattsburgh and FinanceCommittee Chair Caroline Bailey ofESF for their guidance in developingthis year’s budget.

— Karen L. Mattison

Delegates elect officers, board;yle Britton of Oneonta has been

waiting a long time to be seated as anOneonta Chapter delegate. He has been anobserver to UUP Delegate Assemblies andwas an alternate delegate to the WinterDA in February. So when his day finallycame, Britton said he was excited to havethe opportunity to vote in union elections.

“This is the type of democracy I’m gladto see,” Britton said of the process to electthree statewide officers and five ExecutiveBoard members. “I think it’s good whenpeople openly go to the microphone tonominate” candidates for office.

He said he was pleasantly surprised thatballots were tallied and results announcedwhile the delegates waited. “This is differ-ent than what I’m used to in the national

election,” Britton said.And when all was said and done,

Britton and the nearly 300 other delegatesin attendance re-elected three statewideofficers and put five new members onthe Executive Board. All terms are fortwo years and begin June 1.

Incumbent Vice President for AcademicsFrederick Floss was re-elected to a thirdterm in a contested race against challengerWilliam Simons of Oneonta, 172-117.Floss is a professor of economics andfinance at Buffalo State.

John Marino, an associate directorof radiology at Stony Brook HSC, wasre-elected to a fifth term as vice presidentfor professionals. He ran unopposed.

Rowena Blackman-Stroud, an associatedirector of nuclear medicine at Brooklyn

HSC, was re-elected to an eighthterm as union treasurer. She defeat-ed challenger Paul Zarembka ofSUNY Buffalo, 188-96.

All but one of the five races forExecutive Board were contested.

Running unopposed was Raul

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Delegate Edison Bond of Brooklyn HSCsteps to the microphone to nominatehis candidate for the statewideExecutive Board.

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adopt resolutionsHuerta, an academic advisor/counselor atMorrisville, who was elected to representthe technical colleges. Also elected were J.Philippe Abraham of Albany, Peter D.G.Brown of New Paltz, Jamie Dangler ofCortland and Carolyn Kube of StonyBrook HSC.

Dangler, an associate professor of sociol-ogy at Cortland, unseated incumbent LornaArrington of SUNY Buffalo, 154-112.

Brown, a distinguished service professorof foreign languages at New Paltz, battled itout with Jacqualine Berger of Empire StateCollege in two separate ballots beforewinning the election, 127-115.

Abraham, a senior academic advisor,won against incumbent Candelario “Kiko”Franco of Old Westbury, 133-104.

Kube, a clinical lab technologist atStony Brook HSC, defeated incumbentRaymond Dannenhoffer of Buffalo HSC,132-88.

MAKING POLICY; TAKING ACTION

Delegates acted on nearly a dozen reso-lutions and one proposed constitutionalamendment during the DA. The issuesranged from support for fair pay, veteranand single-payer health care bills, to soli-darity for hotel workers, to a proposal tocreate a Retiree Chapter.

Delegates took the following actions:

• thanked by acclamation those leavingthe Executive Board: Arrington, Dannen-hoffer, James Fort of Cobleskill, Franco,and Donald Pisani of Stony Brook HSC.

• referred to the Executive Board a con-stitutional amendment to create a RetireeChapter. Judith Wishnia of Stony Brook,chair of the statewide Committee onActive Retired Membership, supported themotion to refer, stating there was notenough time to properly debate theamendment;

• called on UUP to work with lawmak-

ers, affiliates and the media to push forpassage of fair pay legislation;

• urged support of an updated GI Billthat would give veterans sufficient fundsto attend college at public institutions.“The human cost of this war is beingborne by hard-working people and theyare the ones who need money for college,”said delegate James Collins of Albany;

• congratulated The Saratoga hotelworkers of UNITE Local 471 on theirrecent organizing win, and commended the

see IN ACTION, page 6

Above, Optometry Chapter President John Picarelli discusses the disastrous toll SUNYfunding cuts are taking on the state university, as Idalia Torres of Fredonia, right, and otherdelegates and leaders listen in.

Left, delegate George Kahn ofPotsdam drops his ballot in thebox during one of the manycontested elections duringUUP’s Spring DA in Albany.Looking on is Elections andCredentials Committee memberRay Guydosh of Plattsburgh.

Below, delegate Jim Friel ofFarmingdale asks a question, asDeborah McDuffie of Buffalo HSClistens to the discussion.

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(continued from page 5)workers and management for negotiatingin good faith;

• commended the union’s Elections andCredentials Committee for its excellentwork in conducting the elections. Theresolution also asked the Executive Boardto charge the committee with makingrecommendations to the Fall DA on howbest to expedite the election process; and

• reaffirmed their support for the troopsserving in Iraq by calling for their imme-diate and safe withdrawal, and to go onthe record opposing any further fundingfor the war except that needed for thecomplete withdrawal of troops or forveterans’ needs on their return.

Delegates also adopted six resolutions for

consideration during the AFT Conventionin July. The resolutions call on AFT to:

• fight to protect and strengthenTitle IX, the comprehensive federal lawthat prohibits sex discrimination againststudents and employees of educationalinstitutions;

• support United Federation of TeachersPresident Randi Weingarten in her bid forAFT president;

• support justice for workers atSmithfield Packing in their efforts toorganize, and to urge management at theNorth Carolina plant to stop all forms ofabuse, intimidation and violence againstworkers;

• express outrage at the actions of theRensselaer Polytechnic Institute president,

provost and Board of Trustees forsuspending the college’s Faculty Senatefollowing an election of senate leadershipcritical of the campus president;

• call on AFT delegates (and the stateAFL-CIO) to join hundreds of otherunions, federations and labor councils inendorsing HR 676, a federal single payerhealth care bill; and

• urge AFT to reaffirm its opposition tothe war and occupation in Iraq, and to joinUS Labor Against the War to strengthenthe organizational capacity of the labormovement to succeed in this effort.

A similar resolution for the stateAFL-CIO convention in August wasadopted by delegates.


In action ...

(continued from page 3)and salary increases.

Performance program panelistsdiscussed the importance of having aworking performance program and evalua-tions mechanism on campus. Performanceprograms can make a difference when itcomes to getting promotions and payraises, they said. “It is the pathway to payincreases and promotions,” said panelistDavid Ramsey of Cobleskill.

Panelists discussed the success ofperformance programs in place on theircampuses, adding that engaging thecampus’ human resources department inthe process is key.

The Promotions and Salary Increasespanel discussed how promotions andraises were handled on their campuses andthe problems some members have facedin getting them. The UUP contract statesthat professionals can request raises orpromotions at any time, said panelistRaymond Gleason of Alfred.

Vice President for Professionals JohnMarino said he’s planning a series ofregional panels on similar topics to beheld during the academic year.

Meanwhile, academic delegatesdiscussed the major role UUP played inhelping to establish SUNY’s Office ofDiversity and Educational Equity.

Raul Huerta of Morrisville said heenlisted the support of Assemblyman PeterRivera (D-Bronx), who brought Huerta’splan to meet the needs of Hispanicstudents on his campus to SUNY. UUP’ssupport and strength helped make the

program meaningful. Vice President for Academics Frederick

Floss said the diversity drive gave UUP aunique opportunity to work with state law-makers from the New York City delegation,among others.

“Their attention had not been centeredon SUNY,” he said. “We told them wewanted to help students from their districtswho attended SUNY schools, and thatmessage produced results.”

Delegates also heard from MarthaLivingston of Old Westbury, who led adiscussion on the National HealthInsurance Act, a bill proposed by U.S.Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan).

The legislation would provide asingle-payer national health careprogram that Livingston urged membersto support.

SUPPORTING SCHOLARSHIPS

The late Katherine Carter, the wife oflongtime SUNY Oswego professor RobertCarter, made a combined donation of$350,000 to the UUP College ScholarshipFund. Union leaders announced theywould use $50,000 of that to create ascholarship fund for graduate studentsnamed for former UUP President WilliamScheuerman.

Delegates have long supported thescholarship fund, and kept up the givingspirit by donating and bidding on dozensof homemade gift baskets. The effortraised more than $2,100.

UUP President Phillip Smith praisedGertrude Butera of Alfred, a scholarshipfund honorary trustee, as well as theScholarship Development Committee fortheir fund-raising successes.

— Michael Lisi

Delegates ...

Linda Panter of Alfred, right, discusses the concerns of nurses during the Nursing ProfessionsWork Group meeting at the Spring DA in Albany. Joining in was Patricia Strempel of Upstate.

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even chapters were recognized fortheir outstanding communications effortsduring the ninth annual UUP ChapterJournalism Contest.

The competition is supervised by theUUP CommunicationsDepartment and is judged by pro-fessional journalists from theCapital District.

“Our chapters do an outstand-ing job of communicating withmembers,” UUP President PhillipSmith said. “I am proud torecognize their selfless dedicationto the union, the University andtheir colleagues.”

Chapter newsletters, Web sites andmembers earning this year’s awards were:

GENERAL EXCELLENCE

Best in Class: The Cortland Cause, editedby Karla Alwes; Award of Merit (tie):Binghamton Connection, edited by GeorgeMcKee, and Stony Brook Insight, co-editedby Diane Rodriguez and Dawn Svoboda-Pappas; and Honorable Mention: Oswego,In Touch, edited by Donald Masterson.

Judges said The Cortland Cause was a“very well-written newsletter (with) a nice

mix of articles. A lot of work has gone intoimproving this product. Excellent work.”

BEST FEATURE STORY

Best in Class: The Cortland Cause, “TheScholar Rhodes,” by Alwes; and Award ofMerit: Stony Brook Insight, “Back to busi-

ness in the Big Easy,” by Joan Dickinson.“Good, solid, thorough article on a great

professor and his achievements,” the judgessaid about the winning feature story byAlwes. “Very well written.”

BEST EDITORIAL OR COLUMN

Best in Class: Oneonta Sentinel, “Collegeupon a hill,” by William Simons; andAward of Merit: The Cortland Cause,“Voting on a new contract,” by LawrenceAshley.

Judges said Simons’ editorial presented “a

very well-constructed argument on a strug-gling region of the state. Other campusesshould pay heed.”

BEST ART/PHOTO

Best in Class: The Cortland Cause, “UUPCortland at the State Fair,” courtesy of

Brian Tappen of Upstate MedicalUniversity; and Award of Merit:Stony Brook Insight, “Scenes fromthe 2007 Annual Dinner Dance.”

BEST WEB SITE

Best in class: Purchase,www.uuphost.org/purchase, web-master Ryan Nassisi; Award ofMerit: Cortland,www.uuphost.org/cortland, webmaster Boodie McGinnis; and

Honorable Mention: Stony Brook HSC,www.uuphost.org/stonybrookhsc, webmas-ter Bruce Kube.

“Someone is doing a lot of work to keepthis site up and running” the judges said ofPurchase’s Web site.

Judges were Karen Nelis, a formerAlbany Times Union reporter/editor; MarkSharer, NYSUT graphic artist; and KevinMattison, editor, The Recorder inAmsterdam, N.Y.


Chapter newsletters, Web sites earn awards

“Our chapters doan outstanding job of

communicating with members.”— UUP President

Phil Smith

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UUP members from several chapters receive awards for newsletterand Web site excellence in the annual UUP Journalism Contest runby the union’s communications department. Awarded were, from left:Bruce Kube, Stony Brook HSC; Richard Nassisi and John Delate, both

of Purchase; John Schmidt, SUNY Stony Brook; Brian Tappen, UpstateMedical University; UUP President Phil Smith, who handed out theawards; Karla Alwes, Cortland; Darryl Wood, Binghamton; DonaldMasterson, Oswego; Bill Simons, Oneonta; and Larry Ashley, Cortland.

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nticipating the strong possibilityof a late state budget, UUP mounted amajor advocacy effort in Albany April1, the day after a new budget was offi-cially due. More than 50 UUPers cameto Albany for Western NewYork/Southern Tier/Central New YorkAdvocacy Day. Such a healthy turnoutallowed for visits to the offices of 46state lawmakers.

Several members of the UpstateMedical University Chapter made thetrip from Syracuse, with the unionadvocates concentrated on the urgentneed for more funding for SUNY’sthree public hospitals. The ExecutiveBudget called for only a $7.8 millionincrease in the state subsidy for thehospitals. UUP sought an increase of$35 million.

“We’ve been underfunded for years,”Upstate’s Mike Lyon told a stafferfor Assemblyman William Magee(D-Nelson).

Fellow Upstate Chapter memberGregory Threatte portrayed the urgentneed for additional funding to properlycare for the patients in the wide area thehospital serves.

“A neighboring hospital in a costpinch shifted some patients to us,”Threatte told Assemblyman WilliamMagnarelli (D-Syracuse). “We had351 patients one night. We don’thave 351 beds.”

Beyond the needs of SUNY hospitals,

the UUP advocates pressed the necessityof providing funds to hire more facultyto not only make up for years of under-funding, but also to cope with steadyenrollment growth.

“Seven thousand more students arrivedat SUNY this year but no more faculty,”UUPer Mike Formato of Buffalo Centertold a staffer for AssemblywomanCrystal Peoples (D-Buffalo). “That’s likehaving another campus with no faculty.”

The UUPers also called for therestoration of $34.2 million trimmedfrom the Executive Budget for operatingaid to SUNY. Duke Piroha of Delhirelated how state aid to SUNY hasdecreased over the years.

“In 1970 when I started, 80 percent ofSUNY support came from the state,”Piroha told Assemblyman CliffordCrouch (R-Guilford). “Now it’s down to40 percent.”

Lawmakers received reminders of theeconomic jolt that SUNY provides.

“SUNY is the fuel that drives thestate’s economic engine,” MorrisvilleChapter President James Engle saidduring several legislative visits. Heemphasized how SUNY — where 80percent of graduates remain to live andwork in New York state — provides theworkforce that will attract business.

— Donald Feldstein

UUP members push priorities past budget deadlineA

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UP delegates to the 2008 SpringDelegate Assembly in Albany took time tofax hundreds of letters to lawmakers. Anadditional 250 signed letters were alsocollected during the DA and later mailed toGov. David Paterson.

The faxes and letters call on the governorto rescind his Division of the Budget direc-tive to freeze nearly $110 million in SUNYrevenue that the University collects fromstudents and hospital patients. (See relatedstory and UUP’s response, page 12.)

All UUPers are being urged to sendfaxes. Go to UUP’s homepage atwww.uupinfo.org. Under “Call to Action”

on the right side of the pageare two links to fax the gover-nor. Both connect to theNYSUT Web site.

Once there, follow thesesteps:

• Click SELECT THIS LETTER

on the middle of the page;• Click SEND FAXES on the

right side of this page;• Enter your zip code in the

box provided and click onthe arrow next to LOOK UP

REPRESENTATIVES; and• Fill out the information and click

SEND FAXES in the middle of the page.— Karen L. Mattison

Save SUNY: Fax the governor now

Delhi Chapter President John Taylor, left, and Duke Piroha of Delhi speak with AssemblymanClifford Crouch, center, about the need for more full-time faculty at SUNY.

Union delegate Lisa Monpere of SUNYBuffalo faxes the governor with a little helpfrom UUP Outreach Committee Co-chairTom Tucker.

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NYSUT’s ‘on the move’ for political, social, economic change

On the moveaking a page out of Martin Luther

King Jr.’s repertoire of inspirational andmotivational speeches, NYSUT leadersthroughout the 36th annual RepresentativeAssembly (RA) in April told delegatestheir union is “on the move” towardactivating members to fight for issuesthat are paramount to labor unions.

“I am proud to be a force for workingpeople and for social justice,” NYSUTPresident Richard Iannuzzi said during thethree-day convention in Manhattan.

NYSUT honored the great civil rightsleader on the 40th anniversary of hisassassination in Memphis, Tenn., with aprestigious photo exhibit on loan from theWayne State University Library. King firsttrumpeted, “We’re on the move” during thehistoric 1965 march for freedom fromSelma to Montgomery, Ala.

Iannuzzi said King had begun to take hisfight for justice and freedom beyond civilrights, by making the connection betweenracial injustice and economic oppression.The day before his assassination, King wasspeaking out for 1,300 striking sanitationworkers in Memphis, Tenn.

As King once proclaimed: “Americans ofgoodwill have never connected bigotrywith economic exploitation. They havedeplored prejudice but tolerated or ignoredeconomic injustice. But … these two evilshave a malignant kinship.”

CALL TO ACTION

Other speakers also referenced King, butnone more personally than the Rev. JosephLowery. As co-founder of the SouthernChristian Leadership Conference, Lowerymarched alongside King in Alabama andelsewhere.

“‘On the move’ means higher and hardertoward goals of justice and equity,”Lowery said. “We do together what noneof us can do individually.”

He called on RA delegates to “take ourcountry back.”

“This is a government of capitalism, andall we’ve got is the ‘ism’ and they’ve got all

the ‘capital,’” Lowery said.“There’s something wrong withthe system when a few havemore than they’ll ever need andthe masses have less than theyalways need.”

Lowery’s keynote speech drewrousing applause from delegates.NYSUT honored him with thisyear’s Albert Shanker Award forDistinguished Service, theunion’s highest honor.

Iannuzzi said he is hopingKing’s words will continue toresonate with unionists andinspire them to take a leadingrole in their union. The goal, hesaid, is to level the educational playingfield by attacking the education gap’sroot cause: poverty.

“There seems to be no outrage” over thegrowing disparity between the affluent andthe poor, said NYSUT Executive VicePresident Alan Lubin. He told delegatestheir union is pushing for a progressive taxstructure that will “close the wealth gapeconomically.”

“Complacency among members isunacceptable,” Lubin added. “Workingtoward social justice is not extracurricularactivity. … We need to move this country

and this union forward. Let’s get on themove. Let’s get it done.”

Vice President Maria Neira didn’t miss abeat, calling on delegates to “rock the boat,”by being at the “center of change” fordecisions that affect the workplace.

“We’ve heard a lot about how weshould do our jobs from CEOs, lawyers,foundations, corporate-funded think tanksand, of course, the federal government,”Neira said. “Well, I have a message for allthe so-called experts who have never

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Clockwise from left are RA delegates Philippe Abraham of Albany,Raul Huerta of Morrisville, Jack Termine of Brooklyn HSC, DavidRitchie of Cortland, Jacqui Berger of Empire State and CandyMerbler of Albany. The UUPers were discussing UUP resolutionsprior to the College and University Committee meeting.

Below, from left, Michael Zweig of Stony Brook,Martha Livingston of Old Westbury, and Carolyn Kube,Ben Williams and Bruce Kube, all of Stony Brook HSC,listen to speakers at the RA.

RA stories, photos by Karen L. Mattison


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Karen Volkman of Plattsburgh hands a ballot to fellow UUPer MargaretTaylor of Brooklyn HSC. More than 100 UUP delegates cast their ballotsfor NYSUT officers and for four UUPers to the NYSUT Board of Directors.

“I want to make college affordable andmake sure that we supply the resourcesstudents need. ... I believe in you and I willfight for your issues as your president.”

— via phone

NYS GOV. DAVID PATERSON

NYS SENATE MAJORITY LEADER JOE BRUNO

U.S. SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER

NYS ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SHELDON SILVER

NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL ANDREW CUOMO

NYS COMPTROLLER THOMAS DINAPOLI

U.S. SEN. HILLARY CLINTON

NYS AFL-CIO PRESIDENT DENIS HUGHES

“I have labor in my corner. That’s how I gotelected and I won’t forget it. ... We can,we will, we must take back America.”

“SUNY and CUNY saw budget cuts becausehigher education is connected to other stateagencies ... We made education a prioritythis year and we need to extend that samepriority to higher education next year.”

“The state budget is truly a victory for everystudent, teacher, parent and taxpayer in NewYork. It ensures that the state’s resourcesare sent directly into the classroom.”

— via phone

“We need to pay professors (a decentwage) if we hope to attract and retain thebest. ... We need more full-time faculty inSUNY and CUNY. Period.”

“We have a moral obligation to provide ourchildren with an education, regardless ofpolitics or the economic cycle.”

“Support for education is fundamental tocommunities; don’t let up on the importantrole you play. ... We have a shared interestin investing in education dollars. ... I am anoptimist. We’ll get through the tough times.”

“NYSUT has the best political operation inthis state and perhaps the country.”

worked a day in a school, at acollege or in health care:NYSUT is in the business ofrocking boats.”

She said NYSUT and AFTcontinue to “make waves” on theill-conceived No Child LeftBehind (NCLB) Act, and areencouraged to know AFT-endorsed presidential candidate— U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton —has pledged to end NCLB.

“I’m in this race for you and forall our children,” Clinton said viaphone from the campaign trail inPennsylvania. “I intend to takeyour needs to the White House.”

Lubin urged members tovolunteer for Clinton in door-to-

door or phone campaigns and tocontribute to the union’s politicalaction fund “like your futuredepends on it — because it does.”

Vice President KathleenDonahue encouraged membersfrom all NYSUT constituencygroups to come together tostrengthen schools and hospitals,and work to achieve socialjustice and to improve theprofessional, economic andpersonal lives of members.

NYSUT members need to“reach out, strengthen ourconnections and stay unitedfor our common good,”Donahue said.

Their pro-union, pro-justice

Precious moments

A delegates passed thehat on two separate occasions,raising more than $11,000 tobenefit two diverse causes.

NYSUT ExemplaryCommunity Service Awardrecipient ChristopherPendergast roused the giving

spirit in delegates when hespoke honestly and eloquentlyabout his 15-year battle withAmyotrophic LateralSclerosis (ALS), also knownas Lou Gehrig’s disease afterthe legendary Yankee hero.Pendergast, a former NYSUTmember stricken with the

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Leaders speak out on labor,public higher education


AFFILIATES

UP members made their presence felt during the36th annual NYSUT Representative Assembly (RA) inApril in New York City. The largest delegation ofUUPers to ever attend an RA — more than 110 in all —debated nearly 70 resolutions, shared opinions on myriadissues, and elected four of their colleagues to theNYSUT Board of Directors.

UUP President Phillip Smith was elected as the union’sat-large member of the NYSUT board. And in the solecontested race for board seats from NYSUT ElectionDistricts, UUP delegates re-elected Rowena Blackman-Stroud of Brooklyn HSC, Patricia Bentley of Plattsburghand Thomas Matthews of Geneseo. Glenn McNitt ofNew Paltz, chair of the statewide UUP OutreachCommittee, challenged the incumbent board members.

UUP RESOLUTIONS PASS

The UUP delegation then split among the nineresolution committees — ranging from college anduniversity, to civil and human rights, to political action,to health care, to retirement — to lend their voices to thedebate and to urge their NYSUT colleagues to supporthigher education initiatives.

Key among them: A UUP resolution asking NYSUT tomonitor the continued work of the state’s Commission onHigher Education as it prepares its final report, and toensure that any public policy stemming from the report“have a positive effect on our state’s public highereducation institutions.” RA delegates adopted theresolution.

UUP President Smith served as recorder during thecommittee meeting, which was co-chaired by UUPerCandelario “Kiko” Franco of Old Westbury.

The other UUP resolutions that were adopted askNYSUT to:

• call on the state’s purchasing officers to implementthe intent of New York’s sweatfree legislation bycontracting with responsible, sweatfree vendors (thosewho do not employ children or violate workers’ rights);

• express outrage at the actions of the RensselaerPolytechnic Institute president, provost and Board ofTrustees for suspending the college’s Faculty Senatefollowing an election of senate leadership critical of thecampus president;

• oppose the interference of politicians in medicaldecisions and to support a woman’s right to control herreproductive rights;

• condemn the acts of censorship and restrictions onintellectual freedom on the people of Burma by thatgovernment’s restricting access to information networksand the Internet;

• support justice for workers at Smithfield Packing intheir efforts to organize, and to urge management at the

see UUP IN ACTION, page 14

UUP directors elected;resolutions adopted;newsletters awarded

Above, NYSUT President DickIannuzzi, right, prepares to gavelthrough a resolution put before theRA by College and UniversityCommittee Vice Chair Kiko Francoof Old Westbury.

Right, Larry Ashley of Cortlanddiscusses one of seven UUPresolutions put before the RA .Behind, left, is UUPer CharlieMcAteer of Stony Brook. All UUPresolutions were adopted.

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message didn’t fall on deaf ears.“The neat thing about the RA is

there’s a sense of connectednesswith members of a variety ofunions,” said UUPer KarenVolkman of Plattsburgh. “Itenhances the state of solidarity —that we’re all in this together.”

Edward Drummond of StonyBrook HSC added, “People arerealizing that we’re in a bad situa-tion economically. The fact is,unions can make a difference.”

OFFICERS, BOARD ELECTED

Delegates re-elected fourNYSUT officers and elected anew secretary-treasurer.

Re-elected to three-year terms

were NYSUT President Iannuzzi,Executive Vice President Lubin,Vice President Niera and VicePresident Donahue. Vice PresidentRobin Rapaport, former presidentof NEA/NY, continues in officeuntil July.

Lee Cutler, a former middleschool English/language artsteacher for more than 24 years inWestchester, Ulster and Rocklandcounties, was elected to his firstterm as secretary-treasurer. Hesucceeds Ivan Tiger, who is retiring.

Delegates also elected at-largesee NYSUT RA, page 16

disease at age 44, foundedRide for Life Inc., to raiseresearch funds in search of acure for the fatal disease.

Although he is unable towalk or move his arms andmust eat through a feedingtube and use a ventilator at

see MOMENTS, page 16

With the assistance of his wife,Pendergast talks about his questto raise money for ALS research.


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March onUUP, sister union rally to saveSUNY from spending freeze

early 400 union members and advo-cates came to Albany on an unseasonablycool May afternoon to protest a move thatwould clearly leave SUNY out in thecold — a spending freeze that preventsthe university from spending nearly$110 million it collects from students andhospital patients to run its operations.

UUP President Phillip Smith led thenoon hour rally outside the state Capitol,with strong support from UUP’s stateaffiliate, NYSUT, and other advocates.

“Without a doubt, this is the mostdevastating financial crisis SUNYhas ever faced,” Smith said. “Unlessthese cuts are restored, SUNY will beeffectively dismantled.”

ACCESS, QUALITY AT STAKE

As if the nearly $110 million spendingfreeze wasn’t bad enough, Smith notedthat this year’s state budget had alreadyslashed SUNY’s operating funds by$38 million. In addition, Smith said thestate’s failure to authorize payment of$36 million in contractual raises forworkers at its three public hospitals leavesSUNY with a total financial shortfall of$180 million.

Smith warned that unless the stateDivision of the Budget releases the funds,access to SUNY will be curtailed, courseswill be canceled, class sizes will balloon,and the quality of SUNY’s academicprograms and hospital care will erode.

The UUP president also noted this is amatter of simple fairness.

“We are not talking about taxpayers’money — the state is freezing money thatSUNY students and their families havepaid for tuition, room and board, andother fees,” Smith said. “This is moneySUNY hospital patients have paid forhealth care. Is that fair?”

The crowd responded with a resounding

“no,” and began chanting “Save SUNYnow.”

NYSUT SHOWS SOLIDARITY

NYSUT Executive Vice President AlanLubin lent his sense of outrage to therally, saying the budget division had“stuck a knife in SUNY’s throat.” Heurged the demonstrators to call theirstate legislators and ask them to use theirinfluence on the governor to stop theattack on SUNY.

“Tell them you are not going to destroyour University, you are not going todestroy our upstate economy, when every-body is looking to bring jobs and bring

work to the Upstate area,” Lubin said.“We educate the kids, and we provide thejobs for the work they bring in, you can’tbring them in if the University is folding.

“We will stand by your side until thishorror is over,” Lubin promised.

“In tough economic times, the stateshould be investing more in SUNY andin students who will ultimately fill thehigh-quality jobs created by businesshere in New York state,” NYSUTPresident Richard Iannuzzi said in astatement of support.

Smith also stressed the negativeeconomic consequences of the statebudget cuts and spending freeze.

Hundreds of UUP membersand other activists rally atthe state Capitol in protestof the governor’s action tofreeze $110 million in SUNYrevenue. Protesters chanted,“Hey, hey, ho, ho, SUNY cutshave got to go.”

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“SUNY is the economic engine thatprovides the skills for the workforce thatemployers need to remain or relocate toNew York in the 21st century,” Smithsaid. “But combining this year’s budgetcuts with the SUNY spending freeze, thisengine will burn out, and our state’seconomy will decline.”

Smith called upon Gov. David Patersonto “rescue SUNY by providing more stateaid and unlocking the funds the Universityhas already collected.”

LIFT YOUR VOICES

UUP drew support at the rally fromother sources, including state Sen. Neil

Breslin (D-Delmar), who asked the union-ists to lift their voices.

“This is a very compassionate governorwho listens,” Breslin said.

“If you keep your voices risen, if youkeep them high, we will succeed,” he said.

California Faculty Association PresidentLillian Taiz fired up the crowd with aspirited address.

“I bring a message of solidarity from the24,000 faculty of the California StateUniversity system,” she boomed.

“The question we must ask our stateleaders is, what kind of state will we be asthe 21st century proceeds? Are we statesthat will hamstring our children by taking

away the key to their prosperity andthat of the state, or will we invest inthem and in our own future?”

“Fight on,” she urged.More than 200,000 SUNYstudents are affected by the freeze.

Two of them, Chelsea Cawley andJessica Reid of UAlbany, addressed therally. Cawley summed up their concerns.

“The money we pay in tuition and dormfees is not just our money, it is moneywe’re borrowing to pay (for SUNY). Iexpect this money to stay in the SUNYsystem, because it’s the students’ money,”Cawley said.

NYPIRG Chair Cheryl Lynch, a studentat Stony Brook University, also sent astatement of support.

“When students pay tuition and dormfees, we expect those dollars to be used torun the University,” she said.

— Denyce Duncan Lacyand Donald Feldstein

Top, NYSUT Executive VP Alan Lubin addressesthe crowd of protesters.

Above, Sen. Neil Breslin joins the pro-SUNYprotesters in their march at the state Capitol.

Left, Oneonta students show their support forSUNY and UUP.

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After attending this RA, how do you view the state of unionism?

Frank MaravigliaESF

“I see a future forunionism. ... In manyways, we’re in thesame situation aswhen unions cameinto power — we’re atthat place now. We’reon the cusp of thatkind of growth.”

Khalid SiddiquiFredonia

“I believe unionismis getting strongerand there is growingsupport for it. Thingsare not as gloomy asthey were in the past.”

Llewellyn HerodBrooklyn HSC

“The union is the onlytool the worker has tofight for better workingconditions. Beingtogether here showswe have the power ofnumbers. We hopethe number of unionmembers will pick upvery soon.”

Joan LevinsonEmpire State College

“If more unions aroundthe country could thinkand work like UUP andNYSUT, then perhapswe would be able tofight attacks on unionsand public educationeven more effectively.”

Rafael RomeroUtica/Rome

“It's alive, enthusiasticand energetic. But ifyou see statistics andthe way unions areportrayed in the media,it seems like they'refrom another era andare entirely selfish,which is a totalmisconception.”

(continued from page 11)North Carolina plant to stop all forms ofabuse, intimidation and violence againstworkers; and

• publicly declare support for thefederal Employee Free Choice Act, whichwould give employees the right to chooseunion representation.

Following a non-concurrence recommen-dation from the Constitutional Amend-ments and Bylaws Committee, delegatesvoted down an amendment that would havemade additions to the NYSUT membershipbill of rights in the constitution.

In a separate vote, RA delegates over-whelmingly endorsed United Federationof Teachers President Randi Weingartenfor president of the American Federationof Teachers (AFT), to take over for retir-ing President Edward McElroy. The elec-tion will be held during the AFT’s Julyconvention in Chicago.

UUP NEWSLETTERS WIN BIG

One UUP chapter newsletter and theunion’s retiree publication earned high

honors in the annual NYSUTJournalism Contest run byNew York Teacher.

The Active Retiree, UUP’s newsletterfor its more than 3,300 retiree mem-bers, earned two first-place awards,while Unifier,the Farmingdale Chapternewsletter, picked up threesecond-place awards.

Unifier — edited by FarmingdaleUUPer Yolanda Pauze — won Awards ofMerit for General Excellence and BestFront Page. An editorial on salary dispar-ities by UUPer Robert Reganse earnedthe chapter an additional Award of Merit.

“Content is rich and well focused onlocal issues and activities,” the judgeswrote. “Nice clean look and gooduse of graphics.”

The retiree newsletter won top honorsfor General Excellence for publicationswith a circulation of more than 1,000.The award recognizes outstandingwriting, photography and design.

The Active Retiree offers “nice, cleanlayout with good use of color and photos,”according to contest judges. “Broad-based, excellent content.”

Another first-place award went toSUNY Albany retiree Donald Cohenfor Best News Story. Judges hailed thearticle, “SUNY Albany opens emerituscenter,” as a “most comprehensive andwell-written look at the emeritus center”and “a good, clean report of the event.”

Committee on Active RetiredMembership Chair Judith Wishnia ofSUNY Stony Brook was on hand toaccept the awards from NYSUTPresident Richard Iannuzzi.

COARM Chair Judy Wishniaaccepts two 2008 journalismawards from NYSUT PresidentDick Iannuzzi.

UUP in action ...

Interviews and photos by Donald Feldstein,Michael Lisi and Karen L. Mattison

AFFILIATES


UUP leaders listen to the issues during the annualNEA-AFT higher education conference in Chicago.

UP representatives joined morethan 750 faculty members from across the nation at the NEA-AFT HigherEducation Joint Conference March 28-30in Washington, D.C. The theme of theconference, Building Alliances forHigher Education and the Public Good,reflected ambitious goals.

The three-day session covered a widevariety of issues, with a series of work-shops and two major guest speakers.AFT President Edward McElroy setthe tone when he addressed what heacknowledged to be the largest everNEA-AFT higher education conference.

THE NEED TO ORGANIZE

McElroy reflected that during the lastdecade, most of AFT’s time had been spenttrying to stop the erosion of benefits wonyears ago, especially in health care and pen-sions. Noting that some unionized pilotsand auto workers had lost their pensionbenefits, McElroy warned, “We’re in dan-ger of facing the same thing. It’s a lesson toall of us that we’re all in this together.”

To overcome this challenge, McElroysaid union members must be willing toorganize and participate.

“We need to spend time organizing thepeople who are already in the union to getthem involved,” he said.

McElroy also reinforced AFT’s endorse-ment of Sen. Hillary Clinton for president,saying it took seven months of carefulconsideration to come to that decision. Buthe said they need to defeat anyone wholooks like President Bush in the next elec-tion. “If (Barack) Obama wins (theDemocratic Party nomination), we’ll workour tails off to get him elected as president.”

McElroy also told participants he will be

retiring as AFT president after the union’snational conference in July.

SPEAKERS STRESS EDUCATION

John Podesta, chief of staff for formerPresident Bill Clinton, delivered thekeynote address.

“To reverse the economic downturn, weneed a new president, a president thatinvests in human capital,” Podesta told anagreeable audience.

He warned the U.S. is falling behind inpreparing students for the global economy.

“Other economies are moving ahead.We’ve got to move with them,” Podestasaid. “Our nation needs more engineersand scientists. We need a national highereducation policy to address these goals.”

Access to a quality education regardlessof race was discussed by HarvardUniversity law professor Charles Ogletree.Despite decades of struggle, the nation isstill a long way from achieving racialequality, he said.

“Schools today are more segregated thansee NEA-AFT, page 16

Annual NEA-AFTconferencetackles issues

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Federal legislation

HEA reauthorizationnears completion

en years after it was lastrenewed, the federal Higher Educa-tion Act is close to final passage.Panelists at the closing plenary of theNEA-AFT conference believeCongress will pass a reauthorizationbill by early summer.

A joint conference committee hasbeen hammering outthe differencesbetween the Houseversion of the billapproved inFebruary, and theU.S. Senate’s versionpassed last July. Thelegislation governsmost federal student-aid programs.

“We have a very powerful piece oflegislation that will help students andtheir families pay the costs of highereducation,” said J.D. LaRock, thesenior education adviser on the SenateHealth, Education, Labor andPensions Committee.

Julie Radocchia, an education policyadviser in the House, said lawmakersare looking beyond the traditionalcollege student to make sure federalaid is available to them.

“We recognize that higher educationis not just 18-year-olds starting out in

see HEA, page 20

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AFT President Ed McElroy told the 750 higher edunionists that members must be mobilized to act.


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Moments ...(continued from page 11)night, Pendergast said he refus-es to give up and remains hope-ful a cure will be found.

“I choose to fight and diepublicly and not let ALS kill meor my spirit,” Pendergast said.“The only doubt medical sciencehas is ‘when’ a cure will be found.Knowing we may be close hasmade my struggle worthwhile. ...‘I am a lucky man.’”

For more on the fight for acure, go to www.rideforlife.com.

MUSIC TO THE EARS

An inspired performance by theCentral Islip High SchoolConcert Choir, and a hint of theirfund-raising woes, was all it tookto get a collection started.

The choir, under the directionof NYSUT member JohnAnthony, is hoping to raiseenough money to tour Italy,including a once-in-a-lifetimeperformance at the Vatican.

Further donations can be sentto Central Islip HS ConcertChoir, Attn. Director JohnAnthony, 85 Wheeler Road,Central Islip, NY 11722.

Make checks payable to theCIHS Choir.

(continued from page 13)they were before Brown in 1954,” he said,referring to Brown vs. Board of Education,the landmark U.S. Supreme Court deci-sion that barred segregated public schools.“Every child deserves an education and agood job. Make ‘one nation under Godwith liberty and justice’ for everyone.”

Ogletree said racial division is olderthan this nation, beginning when the firstslaves arrived in the colony of Jamestown.Today, he stressed that diversity is notsomething American society can ignore.

UUP ACTIVE IN WORKSHOPS

UUPers played an active role in the con-ference’s workshops. Union PresidentPhillip Smith moderated a discussion onhow to best use visual information. DavidDuBois of Empire State College took partin a workshop on promoting faculty diver-

sity. Ora Bouey of Stony Brook HSCmoderated a workshop on effectiveaccountability and assessment practices.

UUP Vice President for AcademicsFrederick Floss participated in a panel onliberal education. He observed that theinflux of college students marked by thepassage of the GI bill after World War IIcreated larger classes, eliminating theopportunity for philosophical discussionsbetween teachers and students.

“It changed the approach on how weteach our students,” Floss said.

He said the overall decline of unions haspushed apprenticeship programs, formerlyrun by unions, into the realm of higher edu-cation. Floss explained that further under-mines the mission of liberal education.

“We have students going to college asan individual pursuit rather than a collec-tive one,” he said.

During a workshop exploring the pro-motion process for professionals, ThomasMatthews of Geneseo walked participantsthrough UUP’s history of representingprofessionals in SUNY. He said moreoften than not, professionals get promo-tions because “individual and enlightenedsupervisors take the initiative.”

Purchase Chapter President John Delateaddressed a familiar issue — how unionscan help and involve new faculty — as partof a panel discussion. He said the key is tomake the union more relevant to the livesof its members by establishing a broaderapproach toward participation. Delate bor-rowed a phrase made famous by PresidentJohn F. Kennedy to get his point across:

“Ask not what faculty and staff can dofor SUNY and UUP, but rather ask whatUUP and SUNY can do for the employee.”


NEA-AFT ...

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UUP president comments on tenure, unionismUUP President Phil Smith participates in avideotaped interview on unionism and academicfreedom during the NEA-AFT Higher EducationConference in Washington, D.C. Smith, a cellbiologist, noted that continued attacks onacademic freedom have left it in a less-than-

healthy state. “If academic freedom were apatient, I would say, ‘the prognosis is good butthe condition is guarded.’” Smith was amongseveral union leaders to be featured in a videothat AFT will present at the federation’s nationalconvention in July.

(continued from page 11)delegates to the NYSUT Board of Directors,including UUPers Phillip Smith, PatriciaBentley, Rowena Blackman-Stroud andThomas Matthews.

CHARTING A COURSE

Delegates throughout the RA adopted anumber of resolutions that will chart theunion’s course over the next year. The resolu-

tions, including seven submitted by UUP,range from federal education mandates andretiree benefits to the environment and humanrights.

The delegation also threw its collectiveweight behind United Federation of TeachersPresident Randi Weingarten for AFTpresident. Current AFT President EdwardMcElroy will step down in July during the fed-eration’s biennial convention.

NYSUT RA ...

Going for their goldStony Brook’s Adapted Aquatics program is swimmingly successful


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our-year-old Khrysti Wolfskill was atiny dynamo, her hands instinctively tappinga beat on the steps of a toy water slide thatemptied into the deep end of the pool atSUNY Stony Brook’s Sports Complex.

Blind and born with a growth deficiencythat gives her a toddler’s appearance,Khrysti giggled as she climbed to the top ofthe slide. Her grandmother, UUP memberPamela Wolfskill, watched a few feet away,a mix of delight and concern in her eyes.

The girl sat for a moment and let go,making a kid-sized splash into the waitingarms of Stony Brook sophomore MarrianneMullarkey. Behind them, two dozen adultsand kids with myriad disabilities swam withstudents, smiling as their maladies receded,leveled by the water’s buoyancy.

Welcome to Stony Brook’s AdaptedAquatics swim program, one of the bestkept secrets on campus. On Thursday nightsthroughout the academic year, people fromthe Long Island area — with disabilitiesranging from muscular dystrophy andmultiple sclerosis to spinal injuries —come for two hours of fun and therapy,free of charge.

As many as 70 students, enrolled in theuniversity’s Adapted Aquatics program,shelve their social lives to help the swim-mers exercise, gain mobility and feel whole.The Thursday sessions serve as the pro-gram’s clinical portion, giving studentshands-on therapeutic experience.

“Just seeing the joy of everyone in thepool is amazing,” said Wolfskill, who hasbrought Khrysti to the program sinceFebruary. “It’s incredible how the studentsand the kids bond.”

“You have to see this to believe it,” saidStony Brook UUPer Arthur Shertzer, alongtime supporter of the program.

He wasn’t kidding. Amy Dias, 26, whosuffered brain damage in a car accident,jumped off a diving board with the aid oftwo students. At poolside, a wave of relax-ation washed over Joseph Lynch’s face asthree students eased the quadriplegic maninto a large tub filled with hot water.

Peter Angelo, a UUP member since 1984,

is the director and guiding light of AdaptedAquatics. A former competitive swimmerwith a doctorate in English literature,Angelo has poured his heart and soul intothe program since its 1966 inception; he’smissed just one session in nearly 40 years,due to stomach surgery.

“We try to be human in here,” Angelosaid. “It makes our students more human; ittaps into their empathy, their compassion.”

He runs Adapted Aquatics — 700 stu-dents in 12 courses — on an ever-shrinkingshoestring budget; this year, he got $25,000for the entire field of study. Since the uni-versity’s allotment is too small to fully fundthe Thursday clinical sessions, he and hisstudents are forced to scrape up extra dol-lars through fundraisers and poolside salesof aspirin, bottled water, towels and copiesof an Adapted Aquatics DVD produced byAngelo. Each May, Angelo throws a ban-quet for students and Thursday session par-ticipants at no cost to them.

“We’re helping the (less fortunate) andsometimes there’s an irony to that,” Angelosaid. “We try to accommodate anybody.”

That’s what happened on a recentThursday night, when the parent of a boywith a degenerative nerve disease arrived

unannounced and asked Angelo to accepthim in the program. Angelo was torn; thekid needed help, but budget constraints havestretched the swim program to its limit.

“I realized we could make a difference inhis life, so I said ‘yes,’” Angelo said.

UUPer Wolfskill knows just how much ofa difference Angelo and the swim programhave made in her granddaughter’s life. Notonly is Khrysti able to exercise, the pro-gram has improved her social skills andgave her a love for swimming.

Said Wolfskill: “The students who helpthese participants are all angels, but the pro-gram wouldn’t happen without the biggestone, Peter Angelo. He’s an angel. Just leaveoff the ‘o.’”

— Michael Lisi

Above, blind 4-year-old Khrysti Wolfskillswims with student Marrianne Mullarkey inStony Brook’s Adapted Aquatics program.Right, Director Peter Angelo, right, instructs astudent as he swims with a disabled man, left.

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Scholarly pursuitsOneonta’s Compton is ourFulbright man in Zimbabwe

t’s a nation with an inflation rate of over15,000 percent, where political repression iscommon, the unemployment rate is 80 per-cent, and where food supplies continue todwindle. A primary travel destination— not — but it is where UUP memberRobert Compton of Oneonta wanted to goas a Fulbright Scholar.

The Fulbright Scholar program’smission is to build mutual understandingbetween the citizens of the United Statesand other nations.

“I wanted to highlight the importance offaculty being engaged on an internationalfront so that SUNY and UUP could havean impact on our world,” Compton said inexplaining why he sought a Fulbrightscholarship. He had made several prior

trips to Zimbabwe and South Africa tostudy politics in those countries, wherehe established links with civil societyorganizations and key staffers inParliament. He said those qualifica-tions, plus his proposal to study theeffectiveness of civil society organiza-tions, earned him a Fulbright.

A TIME OF TURMOIL

Compton arrived in Zimbabwe inJanuary, the timing he wanted so he couldobserve the activity surrounding the long

anticipated election in March. That’s whenPresident Robert Mugabe, in office since1980 who rules the African nation with aniron fist, was being challenged.

In the weeks leading up to the election,Compton eye witnessed the politicalrepression, with an armed police presence.

“I saw a man who was distributing liter-ature for two anti-government civil societygroups beaten to a pulp by a truckload ofZimbabwe police,” Compton said. “Abouta hundred people stood by in dismay andjust watched. They never stopped, andeven when they dragged him in the truck,the police kept kicking and hitting him.”

Compton’s research

centered onevaluating theimpact of suchcivil societyorganizations(CSOs) onthe legislativeprocess inZimbabwe.

“CSOs areindependent ofgovernment and the courageouspeople who risk their lives agitating forjustice are the foundation for a better lifefor Zimbabweans,” Compton said.

UNBELIEVABLE CONDITIONS

In addition to conducting his research,Compton taught two courses at theUniversity of Zimbabwe. To say thatworking conditions there are way belowmarginal is the height of understatement.

“There are 18-hour brownouts, no wateron campus, no textbooks, no functioningtechnology, and an environment wherestudents struggle to obtain food,”Compton explained.

Compton suffered through 13 days with-out drinking water after the fuel supply tooperate the pump ran out. He also copedwith the astronomical inflation.

“Prices go up every day. When I arrivedin January, it cost $800,000 to ride thelocal transport into the city. Less than twomonths later, it cost $5 million,” he said.

Despite the deplorable conditions, thestudents valued Compton’s classes. Hedescribes the students as very dedicatedand serious and very distraught about thecircumstances in which they live.

“Students know there is no futurewithout education,” he said.

EMPHASIS ON UNIONISM

Sharing enthusiasm for the role ofunions also occupied Compton’s activities.He visited neighboring Botswana to meetwith the faculty and staff unions of theUniversity of Botswana and the Botswana

Fredonia Fulbright:

Artist returnsto Germany

t may have taken 15 years, but aSUNY Fredonia assistant professor ofart returned to Germany on a secondFulbright scholarship, this time to teachstudio art courses at the UniversitatOsnabrück.

“It was an amazingly rewarding andenriching experience to return toOsnabrück as a Senior FulbrightLecturer,” said UUPer Timothy Frerichs,whose first Fulbright to Germany came in1991-92 when he finished his Master ofFine Arts at the University of Iowa. “Ifound my German students to be veryresponsive and had a great studio courseroom experience.”

Frerichs was in Germany for onesemester from March 16 to July 16, 2007.He lived in the Visiting Faculty/InternationalGuest House.

While there, Frerichs put together anexhibit “The River Hase Walk,” whichwas on display through April 12, 2008, inthe Osnabrück City Gallery.

“The project is an examination of theriver Hase as it flows through Osnabrückand the surrounding area,” Frerichs said.“The resulting artworks consist ofdocumented river walks, video, collages,monoprints and some sculptures.”

Frerichs is currently working on bringingthe exhibit to the United States.

“I found the project very engagingand will continue pursuing furtherprojects similar in scope,” he added.“This Fulbright was rewarding forme professionally and particularlyas a teacher.”


FRERICHS AT THE DOKUMENTA 12 ART EXHIBIT

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Rob Compton of Oneonta posesin front of the University of Zimbabwe.

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The Fulbright Program was foundedafter World War II by the late Sen.William Fulbright, with the goal offostering better understandingbetween the U.S. and other countries.

Approximately 6,000 grants wereawarded in 2007, at a cost of morethan $262 million, to U.S. students,teachers, professionals and scholarsto study, teach, lecture and conductresearch in more than 155 countries,and to their foreign counterparts toengage in similar activities in the U.S.

About Fulbrights

Labor helps Clinton win in PAillary Clinton may be down

in the race for the Democraticpresidential nomination,but she’s not out.

Not by a long shot. Clinton won the

Pennsylvania primaryApril 22, beating IllinoisSen. Barack Obama bya decisive 10 percentmargin. The winbreathed new life into hercampaign, which politicalpundits predicted wouldend with a defeat or aslim victory.

“You know, some peoplecounted me out and said todrop out,” Clinton told theAssociated Press afterwinning the primary. “Butthe American people don’tquit and they deserve a president whodoesn’t quit either.”

New York’s junior senator has thebacking of UUP’s statewide and nationalaffiliates, NYSUT and the AmericanFederation of Teachers (AFT). A busloadof AFT and NYSUT members traveled toPennsylvania just days before the primaryto help the Clinton camp get the vote outfor the all-important primary.

At NYSUT’s annual RepresentativeAssembly in April, Clinton calleddelegates from Philadelphia, thankingthem for all their hard work and support.

“I’m in this race for you and all of ourchildren,” she said. “I know many inNew York are on the road, on the phonesand e-mailing on my behalf. There are alot of reports about friends coming across

the border (to help). It is so appreciated.” With her win in Pennsylvania, Clinton

picked up a majority of the KeystoneState’s 158 delegates, leaving her trailing

Obama by more than 135delegates. It takes 2,025delegates to sew up theDemocratic nominationand take on Sen. JohnMcCain (R-Arizona)in the November election.Clinton is also behindObama in the popularvote.

Even with nineprimaries left, manynational political insidersand Obama himselfbelieve the race will bedecided by Democraticsuperdelegates at theparty’s convention inAugust. Superdelegatesare party or elected

Democratic officials who can vote at thenational election and are not compelled tocommit to backing a particular candidatebefore the event.

The onus will be on Clinton topersuade a majority of the party’s 311superdelegates that she is more electableand has a better chance to win thepresidency than Obama, according toreports by the Associated Press and CNN.

Clinton and Obama hit the campaigntrail hard as The Voice went to press,vying for delegates in Guam (May 3),Indiana and North Carolina (May 6),West Virginia (May 13), and Kentuckyand Oregon (May 20). Montana, SouthDakota and Puerto Rico will stage theirprimaries during the first week of June.

— Michael Lisi

H“I know manyin New Yorkare on the

road, on thephones ande-mailing onmy behalf. ...

It is soappreciated.

— Sen. Hillary Clinton

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Institute for Administration and Commerce.He delivered an address about the impor-tance of academic involvement in unions as acritical component in furthering democracy.

Compton credits UUP for paving the wayfor his Fulbright experience.

“The leadership development training pro-vided by UUP and NYSUT gaveme good insight into organizationaloperations and building,” he said. Healso praises what he calls the climate ofexcellence in scholarship built up at UUP’sOneonta chapter. He believes his overallwork in Zimbabwe is in keeping with theunion mission.

“As unionists, we have the responsibility toparticipate in the larger life of thecommunity and to stand and act forjustice,” he said.



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UUPers discuss higher education issues during Black, Puerto Rican conferenceUUP members and leaders participate in the 2008 legislative

conference sponsored by the New York State Association ofBlack and Puerto Rican Legislators. The three-day conferencefeatured several workshops and seminars, including one onpublic higher education.

UUPers Philippe Abraham of SUNY Albany, Raul Huerta ofSUNY Morrisville and Edison Bond of Brooklyn HSC discussed

the union’s legislative and budget priorities during this forum, andexplained UUP’s positions on the governor’s Commission onHigher Education.

From left are NYSUT Assistant Manager for Media RelationsDenyce Duncan Lacy, who moderated the panel; CUNY vicechancellors Garrie Moore and Ernesto Malave; Steve London ofProfessional Staff Congress/CUNY; Abraham; Huerta; and Bond.

HEA ...(continued from page 13)community colleges. Nontraditionalstudents must be taken into account,”she said.

The House bill boosts the maximumPell Grant to $9,000, up from $5,800,and allows students to receive thegrants year-round instead of onlyduring the academic year.

The House bill also eases require-ments for compliance with the “90/10rule.” The rulerequires that highereducation institu-tions receiving fed-eral aid must have atleast 10 percent oftheir income comingfrom nonfederalsources.

The Senatebill contains somelanguage on academic freedom relatingto the so-called “Academic Bill ofRights.” The AFT has been workingto further soften that language tostop government intrusion into theclassroom.


RADOCCHIA

UP member and University ofBuffalo professor of visual arts StevenKurtz has been waiting four years to hearfour words, “This case is dismissed.”

He got his wish April 21, when FederalJudge Richard J. Arcara ruled to dismiss

the indictment that hadbeen hanging overKurtz’s head since June2004, when he wascharged with two countseach of mail fraud andwire fraud. The chargesstemmed from anexchange of $256 worthof harmless bacteria withRobert Ferrell, a profes-sor of human genetics at

the University of Pittsburgh GraduateSchool of Public Health. Kurtz plannedto use the bacteria in an educational artexhibit about biotechnology with hisaward-winning art and theater collective,Critical Art Ensemble.

The charges followed Kurtz’s detentionon suspicion of bioterrorism. Local

authorities contacted the FBI afterresponding to Kurtz’s call that his wifehad died suddenly overnight.

UUP in February passed a resolutionin support of academic freedom andKurtz’s right to free expression. Theresolution, which was adopted during theunion’s 2008 Winter Delegate Assembly,called on the union to “insist that allcharges and legal proceedings againstDr. Steven Kurtz be immediatelydropped.”

UUP also asked its affiliates to takesimilar action on Kurtz’s behalf.

“This is great news for our UBcolleague,” said UUP Vice Presidentfor Academics Frederick Floss ofBuffalo State. “This is a great victoryfor academic freedom.”

Kurtz’s lawyer, Paul Cambria, said hisclient was pleased and relieved that thisordeal may be coming to an end.

The prosecution has the right to appealthis dismissal. If an appeal were under-taken, the case would move to theNew York Second Circuit Court ofAppeals in New York City.


Federal judge dismisses chargesagainst UUP member, bio-artist

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Steve Kurtzis relieved

the ordeal isfinally over.


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King of the roadMac Nelson takes us on a cross-country tour of historic US 20

ven if you’ve never driven a singlestretch of US Route 20, Mac Nelson’spassion, wit and storytelling make youwant to jump in the car and hit the road.

Nelson’s Twenty West: The Great RoadAcross America, released in May by SUNYPress, tells the many tales of America thatoccur along or near the country’s longestroad — a 3,300-mile stretch of pavementthat runs east to west across 12 states fromMassachusetts to Oregon. From justice andfreedom, to gods and mortals, to power andempire, each chapter in Nelson’s narrativetakes the reader on a literary tour ofAmerican history, religion, literature,geography and art.

“Why US 20?” many might question,arguing the route pales in comparison toJack Kerouac’s US 6, or George Stewart’sUS 40, or even Nat King Cole’s Route 66.To that, Nelson says, simply, “Piffle.”

“I know US 20, I live on it, grew upnear it, commute to work on it and haverun on it most mornings for 25 years,”according to Nelson, a distinguishedteaching professor emeritus of English atSUNY Fredonia. “It has become the MainStreet of my life. I am fond of it, and Iwant to tell its very American story.”

And so he does. After all, thesexagenarian admits he has spent alifetime researching this particularmanuscript. From his early days growingup near Route 20 in Chicago, to dozensof treks to Yellowstone National Park, toresiding along The Great Road in Brocton,Nelson not only recounts memories andshares personal opinions along the way, hecaptures Americana — the good, the badand the ugly — along the route that haslong held him spellbound.

A SUNY Press summary captures itsessence: “Twenty West is more than amile-by-mile guidebook. (It) offers aglimpse of a boyish and very Americanfascination with the road that will enticethe traveler in all of us to take the longway home.”

A STYLE ALL HIS OWN

Nelson’s writing is conversational andinviting; informative with a little bit of theabsurd mixed in.

“There is some cockamamie, off-the-wallstuff in here,” Nelson told The Voice. “It isnot a scholarly book. It is breezy and idio-syncratic — it gets ridiculous at times.”

That’s not unusual for Nelson, whoprofesses that most of his literary work ison “offbeat, underserved” subjects. Oneexample: He coauthored (with DianaGeorge Hume) Epitaph and Icon: A FieldGuide to the Old Burying Grounds ofCape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, andNantucket (Parnassus Imprints, 1983).

He isn’t looking for fame or fortune. Sounassuming is Nelson that he refused toallow SUNY Press to print his given name— Malcolm — on the jacket. “Theygrumbled a little, saying I am a ‘distin-guished teaching professor,’” he said. “Isaid ‘I’m Mac.’”

Nelson said he chooses these topicsbecause “they excite me and I like toshare my enthusiasm.”

THE ROAD TO UNIONISM

At no time is his enthusiasm moreevident than at the start of UUPDelegate Assemblies, when heand a handful of other delegateslead members in singing thelabor anthem Solidarity Forever.Nelson moves among theassembled, waving his armsabove his head in his call to jointhe chorus. His enthusiasm isheartfelt — and contagious.

That’s why it comes as nosurprise that Nelson relates theconnection between unionismand The Great Road. Hewrites of the rise and fall ofBrocton native George Pullman, the early

19th century “grand railroad magnate,town founder and union buster.”

Pullman’s “American Utopian experi-ment” — building a rail-car empire and a“model town” for his workers — wouldultimately fail (no one likes to be “aristo-cratically ruled”), Nelson said. Pullmanmade a questionable business decisionwhen he slashed wages without cuttingrents or prices at company-owned stores.

“The workers began organizing, ohhorror, a labor union,” Nelson wrote,adding parenthetically, “I’m a facultyunion leader. A dean once wanted to fireme for union uppittiness. He failed. Heleft. I stayed. ‘Solidarity forever,’ say I.”

When asked if his book about The GreatRoad parallels his life, Nelson pondered,then said: “I suppose so, in that the roadalways beckons to me and so does life,which I’ve had a wonderful trip in. And ifThe Great Road stands for freedom andinquiry and creativity, sure, that’s the roadI’d like to think my life has been on.”


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US 20 “has become the Main Streetof my life. I am fond of it, and I want to tell

its very American story.”— Mac Nelson, Fredonia


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S The whats and whensof negotiated benefits

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am happy to tell you about some of thenew Empire Plan benefits that were negoti-ated as part of the 2007–2011 agreementbetween UUP and the state.

Here are some of the highlights:• Herpes Zoster vaccine (for shingles)

will be added as an adult immunizationeffective July 1. You need to go to aparticipating provider and you will have acopayment.

• Prosthetic wigs are now covered. Thereis a lifetime maximum of $1,500, but thereis no deductible or copayment.

• Effective July 1, there is an annualdiabetic shoe benefit through HCAP. At anin-network provider, the benefit will bepaid in full, up to a $500 annual maximum.

• Office visits, office surgeries andlaboratory and X-ray visits copaymentswill increase to $20 as of July 1, 2009.There will still be a maximum of twocopayments per visit.

• Copays for generic drugs and preferredbrand-name drugs did not increase.

• Copays for nonpreferred brand name

drugs willincrease July 1as follows:

– Retail/MailOrder (30-daysupply), $40;

– Retail (31-90 day supply), $70;– Mail Order (31-90 day supply), $65.• ER visit copayments will increase to

$70 as of Jan. 1, 2010.• Effective Jan. 1, 2010, the outpatient

hospital lab and diagnostic services copaywill increase to $40.

• The hospital outpatient surgery copaywill be $60 effective Jan. 1, 2010.

• The copay for surgery at independentfacilities will be $30 as of July 1.

• The discounted Complementary andAlternate Medicine Program will bediscontinued effective Dec. 31.

The Empire Plan has already maileddetailed information about the benefitchanges.

If you need further assistance, feel freeto call the Benefit Trust Fundat (800) 887-3863.

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argaining unitmembers are encouragedto take advantage of thediscount programsendorsed by NYSUTMember Benefits Trust. For informationabout these programs and how toreceive member-only discounts,contact NYSUT Member Benefits atat www.memberbenefits.nysut.org,at (800) 626-8101 or by e-mail [email protected].

Note: Programs accompanied by anasterisk* require a special discountcode or ID number — contact NYSUTMember Benefits for information.

Bose® — Special pricing on Boseconsumer products, including musicsystems, computer speakers and hometheater systems. Receive the discountby ordering from Bose toll-free at(877) 709-2073.

Dell Computers* —Receive discounts from 2percent to 6 percent whenmaking systempurchases. The discountapplies to new purchases

of select computers and laptops and fromdiscounted bundled selected systems pre-configured by Dell.

Barnes & Noble.com — Discounteditems up to 40 percent. Members receivean additional 5 percent discount onlythrough the NYSUT Member BenefitsTrust Web site. The discount is not avail-able in Barnes & Noble retail stores.

Working Advantage* — Discountedmovie tickets, movie rentals, theme parks,Broadway shows, sporting events, onlineshopping and more.

Lifeline Medical Alert Service — Asimple push of a button gets appropriatehelp in a timely manner to older relativeswho live alone. Receive discounts off theinitial installation fee and monthlymonitoring costs.

Car & Truck Rentals* — Discountedcar rentals from Alamo, Avis, Budget andHertz. Discounted truck rentals fromBudget Truck Rental.

The Buyer’s Edge* — Use thisbuying service to comparison shop foryour best deal on major appliances,furniture, luggage, automobiles and more.

HEAT USA — Substantial discounts onheating oil. Free lifetime 24-hour servicecontract, annual cleaning and more.Available in limited areas in New York,New Jersey and Connecticut. First-yearmembership is $25; receive second-yearmembership free.

For information about contractual expensereimbursement/endorsement arrangementswith providers of endorsed programs, pleasecall NYSUT Member Benefits or refer toyour NYSUT Member Benefits SummaryPlan Description.

Agency fee payers to NYSUT are eligibleto participate in NYSUT Member BenefitsTrust-endorsed programs.

NYSUT offers ways to save money this summerB

Doreen M. Bango, ManagerMember Benefits & Services

UUP Benefit Trust Fund . . . . . . .800/887-3863* Employees must be eligible for enrollment in NYS Health Insurance Prgm

Delta Dental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800/471-7093

Davis Vision (Vision Care) . . . . . .800/999-5431

Laser Vision Correction

(Client Code 7512) . . . . . . . . . . .800/584-2866

Scholarship Program . . . . . . . . . .800/887-3863

Empire Plan (Select menu option) ..877/769-7447Press 1.

United HealthCare (Medical/Surgical)

HCAP (Home Care Advocacy Prgm./Equip./Supplies)

MultiPlan (Basic Medical Provider Discount Program)

MPN (Chiropractic/Physical Therapy Managed Prgm.)

Benefits Mgmt. Prgm. (MRI Pre-certification)

Infertility Treatment (Centers of Excellence)

CAM (Complementary/Alternative Medical Program)

Press 2. Empire BlueCross and BlueShield(Hosp./Inpatient/Nursing/Transplant Pre-certification)

Press 3. ValueOptions(Psych/Sub Abuse Pre-certification)

Press 4. United HealthCare/Medco (Prescription Prgm.)

Press 5. NurseLine (Info/Educ./24-hour Support)

IMPORTANTPHONE NUMBERS

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t’s been approximately threemonths since I was elected UUPpresident. And in reviewing thatrelatively short period of time, I wasstruck with the thought that maybeI’m really living the life of PhilConnors and this is “GroundhogDay.” Remember the 1993 moviestarring Bill Murray? That is, justlike the hapless weatherman forcedto live every day over again, we’refacing our yearly budget crunch withSUNY programs at risk and poten-tially “on the chopping block.”

I’ve been a SUNY faculty memberat Upstate Medical University for30 years. And, quite frankly, I don’trecall a single year where SUNY —in whole or in part — hasn’tsuffered some type of fiscal insult.Indeed, I’m struck by a commentmade by NYSUT Executive VicePresident Alan Lubin that “SUNYhasn’t had a real friend in the gover-nor’s office — someone who under-stands the value of and need for appropriatefunding — since Nelson Rockefeller.”Rockefeller resigned his governorship35 years ago; so that’s a long, long time tobe without a friend!

So where do we find one? In response tothis year’s budget crisis, UUP members andour UUP Outreach Committee have pressedour agenda with legislators at both theirhome locations and in Albany. As UUPpresident, I’ve reached out to the leadershipof both the Senate and Assembly, and I’vemade our “pitch” to former governor EliotSpitzer, in a meeting only a few hours aftermy election. And our NYSUT lobbyistshave corralled, cornered, and cajoled thelegislative leaders as well as the “rank andfile.” All, with whom we met, were friendly— but, as it turns out, not all of them havebeen our friends, either.

So where do you suppose we’ll find ourmissing “friends?” I think I have a clue —and it’s probably not all that surprising. Ithink our “friends” are all around us. Theyare the people we encounter near our cam-puses every day; they are the people whoreach out and accept our money as we payfor fuel, food, services, or whatever. Theyare the people who benefit from ouremployment. And, more importantly, theyare the people who’d suffer most if our

numbers were diminished. Think of it:How would the economy of your home-town fare if SUNY were taken out of thepicture? How many people not directlyemployed by SUNY would be able to con-tinue down the same economic pathsthey’ve followed as a result of dollarsflowing into and out of SUNY?

There’s a well-known concept that everySUNY dollar translates into an approxi-mate six-to eight-fold benefit to the localeconomy. We need to capitalize on somesimilar type of “multiplier” to increase ourpolitical pressure on our governmentalofficials. No doubt our “friends” are thatmultiplier.

My next question is: “How do we acti-vate our ‘friends’ and get them to contactthe governor and legislators to insist thatSUNY gets its fair share?” Think about it.I’m going to ask our Outreach Committeeto consider focusing a campaign on acti-vating our local merchants and businesspeople to help us “grow SUNY to growNew York.” Your ideas and suggestionson how we can engage our “friends” tohelp us would be most welcome. I thinkwe’ll have to focus on local solutions,rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.You know your community better thananyone else, so please do share your

thoughts and ideas.Turning to yet another way you

can help, this is the final issue ofThe Voice for the current publica-tion cycle this academic year.Over the next few months, thecommunications department willbe working hard planning andpreparing for next year’s publica-tion program. Hence, I want toremind you, our reader, we areseeking your input to make this abetter publication — one that youwould like to read and share withyour colleagues. There are severalways that you can help. For exam-ple, if you know of something

unique to your campus, department, col-leagues, or community that would be ofgeneral interest to other UUPers, pleasecontact us to discuss a potential story.Alternatively, you may want to contributesomething in your own “voice” that wouldbe your story of what’s happening at yourcampus, etc. Of course, you’re welcometo submit an article in written form. But,if you’re not inclined to “put pen topaper,” we can send one of our profes-sional staff writers to interview you andyour colleagues to help bring your story tolife. Let me emphasize, I’m really seriousabout improving the content and “read-ability” of our union publication. And wecan’t make these changes without yoursuggestions, help and input.

Please feel free to contact me if you cancontribute any ideas or suggestions assolicited above. I’m easy to reach:(800) 342-4206 or [email protected]

Oh, yes … please enjoy a happy, safeand productive summer! We’ll see youagain in the fall when our publicationcycle resumes.

Groundhog Day? ... and improving the newsUUP President Phil Smith addresses acrowd of more than 300 unionists andother activists rallying in protest to thegovernor’s freeze on nearly $110 millionin SUNY revenue.

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NON-PROFITORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMITNO. 79

UTICA, N.Y.

United University ProfessionsP.O. Box 15143Albany, N.Y. 12212-5143

THE

VoiceSEND US YOUR STUFF

Memorabilia WantedUUP is looking for union

memorabilia to display

during the 2008 Fall

Delegate Assembly,

when the union will host its

35th anniversary celebration.

If you have old UUP hats,

T-shirts, picket signs, trinkets, pins, photos and the like,

send them to us at UUP headquarters.

You may want to call first, to find out which items are

already in our collection. Ask for Publications Specialist

Karen Mattison at (518) 640-6600.

Want your memorabilia back?Please enclose a description

of the items you’ve sent to us,as well as the name and

address to which the itemsshould be returned.

Mail your memorabilia to:

United University ProfessionsP.O. Box 15143

Albany, N.Y. 12212-5143Attn: Karen Mattison

Photos may be e-mailed to:[email protected]

Deadline for submission: Aug. 1, 2008

Documents

Official Publication of United University Professions The ...uupinfo.org/voice/mayjune/0708/0508Voice4Web.pdf · Volume 35, Number 9 The VOICE is the official publication of United