Contract Ratified
Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce that UUP’s 2022-2026 contract has overwhelmingly been ratified!
I would like to thank the Negotiations Team who spent countless hours away from their jobs and families fighting for the historic gains made during this round of negotiations. I am especially grateful to UUP’s Chief Negotiator Bret Benjamin and UUP’s Counsel to the President Elizabeth Hough who worked tirelessly on our behalf.
The final ballot count as provided by MK Election Services:
Total ballots returned: 15,456
14,900 For; 556 Against
96.4% of eligible voters who returned ballots voted to ratify
Member participation in this ratification vote was greater than voter response for the previous four contracts. In fact, this is the highest total vote in recent UUP history. We take this to be a sign both of the important contractual gains achieved in this round, and of the increasing member engagement within UUP.
Highlights of the contract include:
Across-the-board raises, with a 2% raise for 2022 and 3% raises for 2023, 2024 and 2025;
Retention awards that bring on-base salary increases based on length of service to full-time employees who work seven years, and then 12 years;
Per-course minimum increases for adjunct and part-time contingent faculty. Contingents at University centers and health sciences centers will be paid $6,000 per three-credit course by 2026; contingents at comprehensive and technical campuses will receive $5,500;
Living wage increases which raise minimum salaries for UUP’s lowest-paid academic ranks and professional grades;
The addition of the state’s new Paid Parental Leave program, which provides 12 weeks of leave at full pay for birth, adoption or foster placement, taken anytime within seven months of such an event;
No increases in basic health insurance costs, including employee premium shares, co-payments, annual deductibles or co-insurance maximums.
Improved job security for contingent employees.
Increased location adjustment pay for members on Long Island and in New York City.
For members at SUNY’s public teaching hospitals, Holiday pay (or comp time) for all state holidays, on-call pay increases, and salary increases for Medical Residents and Fellows.
The final contract will be printed and made available to members as soon as possible. An electronic copy will be posted on the UUP website. UUP officers and Labor Relations Specialists will work with each chapter to ensure that new contract provisions are understood and appropriately implemented at each campus.
It’s vital that we turn to sharing the important gains in this contract that were won by a committed, unified union exercising its power in collective bargaining with those who have not joined UUP. They will benefit from these gains we’ve won; it’s time for them to know that they need to join us for future battles and because it’s the right thing to do!
In Solidarity,
Fred
Frederick E. Kowal, Ph.D.
President
United University Professions