The Voice

Bill Buxton of Cortland outlines the union's legislative agenda to Assemblyman William Magee (D-Nelson), right.

“Our job is to ensure that UUP’s message is delivered.”

That directive to UUP advocates came from UUP Outreach Committee Co-chair Glenn McNitt prior to their descent on the state Capitol for NYSUT Higher Ed Lobby Day Feb. 26.

Fresh from a visit with state legislative leaders and a top aide to the governor, UUP President Phillip Smith told the UUPers, “We’re all singing the same song,” referring to a consensus that improving higher education is a top priority. But to achieve the union’s legislative agenda, Smith added, “We have to sing it again.”

UUP Statewide VP for Academics and Chief Negotiator Fred Floss, Standing, discusses details of the tentative contract with dozens of bargaining unit members at Stony Brook University.

UUP’s efforts to secure competitive pay raises and to hold the line on benefits are two key reasons union members overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract with New York state.

The agreement was ratified in mid-March, with 97.5 percent of the members who cast ballots approving the contract. That set a record for the highest approval rate in UUP history, besting the 96.6 percent approval rate for the union’s previous contract in 2004. The American Arbitration Association conducted and tallied the ratification vote.

Jim Dix of Binghamton and Elena Eritta of Farmingdale raise their hands in response to a question during the Communications 401 workshop.

Vance Blackburn attended the 2008 New Leadership Workshops and learned a valuable lesson about creating an online newsletter: He doesn’t have to do it alone.

Blackburn, of SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, attended the Communications 401 workshop and said he never realized that help was available from the UUP Communications Department simply for the asking. From easy-to-use computer templates to personalized aid that’s just a phone call away, Blackburn was surprised, delighted and motivated to start a newsletter at his campus.

Jill Hanifan of Albany, left, talks about issues affecting contingent employees, while Ross Borden of Cortland listens.

Less than a month after taking office, UUP President Phillip Smith met with members in March to listen and to talk about issues important to part-time and contingent faculty.

Smith and UUP officers John Marino, Eileen Landy and Rowena Blackman-Stroud were at the three-hour meeting, held on March 12 at the UUP Administrative Office.

Seven UUPers — SUNY Cortland Chapter President Lawrence Ashley; Ross Borden and Anne Wiegard of SUNY Cortland; Peter Brown and Yvonne Aspengren of SUNY New Paltz; Jill Hanifan of SUNY Albany; and Stephen Street of Buffalo State — attended the meeting.

“One of my campaign themes was everybody gets a chance to be heard,” said Smith.

Student Allison Terranera works on classmate Patrick Jones. Students, faculty and staff get free dental care at the center.

Sophomore Allison Castro smiled as she looked through the tiny dental loupes attached to her protective glasses, allowing a magnified look at Jim Foby’s teeth as he lay on an examination chair in SUNY Farmingdale’s new Dental Hygiene Care Center.

Inserting a wand-like device called an intraoral camera into his mouth, she pushed a button, snapping several digital photos. Instantaneously, the images appeared on a large computer screen a few feet away. She pointed out small signs of plaque on Foby’s teeth, which were fine.

“That’s amazing,” Foby said, staring up at the screen.

As The Voice went to press, AFT-endorsed Hillary Clinton had won presidential primaries in Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas. The victories helped to close the gap between Clinton and her opponent, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who had won 11 straight races and appeared to be pulling away.

Exit polls showed that Clinton received an overwhelming majority of the Hispanic vote in Texas, and easily took Ohio thanks in large part to her tough talk on the economy.

It was believed that Clinton would have pulled out of the race if Obama had decisive wins in the Texas or Ohio races.

The Clinton campaign said otherwise, noting that former President Bill Clinton didn’t sew up the Democratic nomination for president until June.

Political insiders claim Hillary Clinton’s strategy of calling attention to Obama’s lack of experience is paying off.

“Voters recognize that Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to lead our nation,” said AFT President Edward McElroy. “Voters respond enthusiastically to Clinton because they know she is ready to turn the economy around.”

UUPers Shaun Irlam of SUNY Buffalo, left, and David Reed of Upstate Medical University in Syracuse pose outside the Ministry of Defense in Rwanda

What happens when two UUP members who don’t know each other unexpectedly meet while on sabbatical in Rwanda?

They become friends.

That’s what happened with David Reed and Shaun Irlam, who crossed paths on the street in Kigali, Rwanda, last November. The professors were there doing research on aspects of the war-torn African country.

Reed is an associate professor of emergency medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse; Irlam is an associate professor of comparative literature at SUNY Buffalo.

Exploring the effects of immigration and immigration policy on the jobs, wages and working conditions of wage earners in New York and across the country is the focus of a New York State AFL-CIO forum.

The event — scheduled for Thursday, May 1, at the United Federation of Teachers headquarters in New York City — will include a briefing on immigration, jobs and the economy by the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies at Empire State College. The program also features presentations from representatives of the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, as well as an interactive audience discussion about the labor movement’s interests in the current debate over immigration and immigration reform.

“For the past several years, immigration policy has been a much discussed, hot-button issue within the labor movement and throughout the country,” said state AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes. “In particular, the economic impact immigration policy has on individual workers, and the workforce in general, has historically been an issue of great concern and importance to the organized labor movement and its members.”

In accordance with Article XIII of the UUP Constitution, UUP bargaining unit members are hereby notified that the following constitutional amendment to establish a Retiree Chapter will be on the agenda of the 2008 Spring Delegate Assembly, scheduled for May 2-3 in Albany. Additions are bolded and underlined; [Deletions are bracketed and lined through]

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP. Section 1. Classes of Membership. a. Regular Membership. i. and ii, lines 20 – 23 and b. Special Membership. lines 24 – 26, 37; c. i. line 44:

There shall be the following classes of membership in United University Professions:

a. Regular Membership:

i. Active membership shall be open to employees in the State University of New York and in such other higher education units in the State of New York as shall be determined by the Delegate Assembly;