SUNY Union Leader Rips Call to Forgo 3% Raise

PHILLIP H. SMITH: 'Unfair' and won't save much.

United University Professions President Phillip H. Smith Feb. 4 slammed Governor Paterson's proposal to cancel his members' scheduled salary increases, telling a legislative hearing in Albany that it was "patently unfair" and undermined the collective bargaining process.

As part of his budget proposal, the Governor has moved to deny 3-percent raises for UUP-represented academic and professional faculty at the State University of New York that are supposed to be implemented in July. These would be the third raises in a four-year contract with the state the UUP signed in December 2007.

'Illegal and Unconscionable'

"By unilaterally submitting legislation altering the terms and conditions of our contract, the Governor has breached our formally executed and binding agreements," Mr. Smith told a joint legislative hearing on workforce issues. "In effect, the Governor is asking you to be a party to a process that is illegal, unconscionable and patently unfair."

GOVERNOR PATERSON: Presses unions for giveback.

Mr. Paterson has actually proposed that all state unions voluntarily relinquish this year's wage increases to help deal with the budget gap. Those unions' leaders have refused to do so, and by law he is prohibited from unilaterally withholding the raises.

Mr. Smith also protested several other aspects of the budget, specifically the Governor's proposal of an additional five-day salary deferral; the requirement that retirees and employees over 65 would have to contribute toward their Medicare Part B premiums; and the establishment of a morerestrictive pension plan for newly hired state employees.

"If enacted, these proposals would reduce the annual income of our members by up to 10 percent this coming year and much more in future years," he said.

Threatens Legal Action

In a subsequent phone interview, Mr. Smith said that his union was priming for a legal battle. "We've filed a series of five grievances taking action against the plan," he said. "We will file improper practice charges. If the legislation is passed, we are probably going to file a lawsuit."

He also questioned how much Mr. Paterson would really save by reopening contracts. "[He] is looking for ways of closing the budget gap, and for all the state unions, the 3-percent raises would get him $122 million, the 5-day lag would get $121 million," he said. "It's really not a very large amount, and it strikes me as strange a few weeks ago when the Governor was asked about taking money out of the Rainy-Day Fund, which has about $1.3 billion in it, he said, 'That figure is inconsequential.' If that's inconsequential, I'm trying to think of a word for what a fifth of that would be."

Mr. Smith said he was encouraged by the reaction of the State Legisla- ture to his testimony and the UUP's outreach efforts. "We have lots of allies," he said. "The point that we've been making is that SUNY is unlike any other agency; we're capable of creating a positive economy in a number of ways. We've held a couple of lobbying events, and through fax outreach have sent tens of thousands of faxes. We hope we can get their vote when it all comes down to the end."

Although the Governor was originally hoping for the budget to be passed by March 1, Mr. Smith said that "people have hit the pause button waiting for the Federal stimulus package," which had bought the union a little more time. Like many unions, the UUP has called for income tax hikes on the wealthiest New Yorkers as an alternative to the Governor's plans. But Mr. Smith, in contrast to his City University counterpart, also supports the Governor's proposal to raise tuition at SUNY, with 80 percent of that raise covering state aid cuts being made, and the other 20 percent going directly to the University.