“Who are we? UUP!”

“Union strong, union proud! Everyone say it loud!”

A demonstration on behalf of the United University Professors (UUP) union was held on April 25 at SUNY Oswego to show support for a new contract between union members and New York state.

The protest began at 12:30 p.m. on the Hewitt Quad, with more than 50 UUP members and supporters holding signs, taking turns speaking and chanting together. Later, the group marched around campus to Culkin Hall, where more speeches were made.

“United we bargain, but divided we beg,” Elizabeth Schmitt, a SUNY Oswego professor, said. “Any social movement and gains for working people didn’t come because they asked nicely.”

According to Alissa  Karl, the vice president of academics for UUP, the previous contract ended on July 1, 2022 and the new draft has been in limbo since. While the contract is being considered, pay increases and other issues cannot be addressed. 

“Our contract expired last summer and we want to send a message to the state and to SUNY that we want a good, solid, fair contract as soon as possible,” Karl said. “Under state law, if a public sector contract expires it stays in effect until we get a new one.”

Karl said that the contract would affect faculty at all 29 public universities in New York and the three SUNY teaching hospitals. During her speech, Karl listed some of the key demands of the contract, including longevity pay and increased compensation for adjunct faculty. 

“We’re at the bargaining table, we have been for over a year,” Karl said. “We negotiate SUNYwith the state and with SUNY, the contract comes from the governor.”

The protest on campus was one of many throughout the week at varying SUNY schools as part of call to action week that has been in planning since January of this year. SUNY Oswego was joined by other campuses, including SUNY Albany, SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY Binghamton, who rallied in support of the contract. 

One of the reasons for the demonstration, Karl said, is because the New York State legislature goes on break on June 1 and if the new contract is not signed by then, it will be pushed back again. 

“It looks like they are dragging it out so the legislature will go home before approving a new contract and we’ll be without a cost of living raise again,” Eileen Gilligan, a SUNY Oswego professor, said. “We get it retroactively but it doesn’t help the prices going up at the grocery store.”

During the protests, many UUP members spoke about the importance of unions and why their demands deserve to be met. 

“We’re going to be at the open house with our swag and talk about how great Oswego is, and it is,” Schmitt said. “But we are doing it knowing there are voices telling us we don’t matter.”

Karl encouraged everyone in attendance to send a letter to SUNY Chancellor John King to ask him to push the contract forward. QR codes with a link to King’s email were distributed at the event along with other informational flyers. 

“We want to keep our message positive,” Karl said. “We want to do a great job and we need a good contract so we can keep doing that.” 

For more information about UUP and the proposed contract, visit https://uupinfo.org/. 

Photo by: Lauren Royce