Dear UUP member:
You have probably all read the President’s Notes this week and learned that the campus faces another devastating cut to state support in our budget. I encourage all of you to ask the president questions about the financial priorities of the administration and what he is doing to advocate our campus to SUNY as well as the legislature.
You can still visit the UUP website (http://www.uupinfo.org)and let our legislators know of our concerns. Students and friends can go to http://savesuny.org/
The campus gets its allocation of state support through SUNY Board of Trustees/Chancellor Zimpher. SUNY gets its state allocation from the legislature. Tuition never goes into the general fund. It is collected and held in an account (SUTRA) that only SUNY Potsdam can spend from. The notion that the legislature can take that money out is not true. What the legislature can do is lower state support (which they did) or the governor can take back the state allocation once it is in the executive branch’s hands (which has happened in the past). Cold comfort, but the truth is that the tuition itself is not a piggy bank to grab from. So, the pushback has to be on the legislative branch because they control the size of the allocation, and they can supplement if state revenues come back better than budgeted.
I also wanted to remind everyone that Management is ultimately responsible for the campus budget and how it is implemented. Please do not fall into the trap of pointing at colleagues within other departments or programs and saying “but if they cut THAT position or program, then we would be okay here”. I have attached some of the principles of the union with regard to retrenchments or “campus prioritization committees” and I would suggest that you share these widely with your colleagues. Management must be held responsible for any cuts or workload issues; don’t help them by sacrificing others.
Thank you.
In solidarity,
Laura Rhoads
Potsdam UUP
