Potsdam Chapter of UUP

Discretionary Salary Increase 2011

uupprez — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:31:30 +0000

Please find below the DSI list for the 2011 award. The amount listed may include promotion salary increases as well as merit increases. The list is alphabetical by employee last name.

DSI_Potsdam_2011

Chapter Newsletter for November 2011

uupprez — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:34:57 +0000

Please click on the document below to download the latest chapter news about contract negotiations and an area representative listing.

Potsdam November newsletter

UUP Contract Negotiations Update

uupprez — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:38:54 +0000

UUP will begin contract talks with state officials Aug. 25. UUP’s 16-member Negotiations Team will meet with the state to negotiate a new contract to replace the 2007-2011 Agreement between the State of New York and UUP, which expired July 1, 2011. An official exchange of contract proposals will be among the first steps taken at the start of contract talks. Once the state has received UUP’s proposals, they will be published in The Voice and posted on the UUP website. As negotiations proceed, provisions in the 2007-11 Agreement will remain in effect. Under the Triborough Amendment to the Public Employees Fair Employment Act (the “Taylor Law”), all contract articles in the expired agreement continue until a new agreement is negotiated, except for provisions that end (“sunset”) upon expiration of the contract. Members will continue to receive their current salaries. There will be no across across-the-board salary increases until there is a new contract, but another round of Discretionary Salary Increases (DSI) will be distributed by Dec. 31, 2011. Existing health, vision and dental benefits will continue at their current levels.

As negotiations proceed, UUP members will be kept informed through regular website postings, mailings from President Phil Smith, and articles in The Voice. Periodic updates and other information will be sent to chapter presidents for distribution via chapter websites, newsletters, fliers, and meetings. Members are encouraged to periodically check the UUP website (www.uupinfo.org) for postings at the “2011 Negotiations Information” link under Latest Information on the right hand side of the home page. Feel free to contact UUP Chief Negotiator Jamie Dangler at contract@uupmail.org for further information or to submit questions or comments.

Budget Cuts Update

uupprez — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:55:14 +0000

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

UUP Positions on Retrenchment

2010-11 Discretionary Salary Increases

uupprez — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:52:06 +0000

The excel spreadsheet attached below provides the 2010-2011 discretionary salary increases. These values include promotions as well as “merit” increases. Please remember that DSI was contractually negotiated, but the amounts and who receives them are awarded by Management not UUP.

2010-11 DSI