What Happens Now That UUP’s Contract Expired on July 1?
The 2007-2011 collective bargaining agreement between the State of New York and UUP expired on July 1, 2011. 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 the expiration of the contract. Here is some information on currently asked questions.

What will be my salary?
Members will continue to receive their current salaries. There will be no across-the-board salary increases until there is a new contract, but another round of Discretionary Salary Increases (DSI) will be distributed by December 31, 2011.

What happens to my benefits?
Existing health, vision, and dental benefits will continue at their current levels.

Will there be changes in terms and conditions of employment?
There are no changes in the terms and conditions of employment included in the expired contract unless and until they are negotiated as part of a new collective bargaining agreement.

When will UUP begin contract talks with the state?
No date has been set for an official exchange of contract proposals with the state. We expect to begin meeting with the state in the near future and will inform members as soon as talks begin.

When will UUP's contract proposals be made public?
UUP will make its basic contract proposals public shortly after an official exchange of proposals with the state. The proposals will be published in The VOICE.

What is the relationship between UUP’s contract negotiations and contract negotiations for Council 82, CSEA and PEF?
Each state employee union negotiates its contract with the state separately. Other state employee bargaining units had contracts that expired before UUP’s. The CSEA and PEF contracts expired on April 1, 2011. Council 82 members had been working without a current contract for many years. Through a ratification vote Council 82 members recently rejected a tentative agreement its leadership reached with the state. CSEA reached a tentative agreement with the state in June and is in the process of conducting a ratification vote. As of this printing, PEF had not reached a tentative agreement with the state. While there have been many press reports about Council 82, CSEA, and PEF contract negotiations, UUP will not negotiate in the press. We will, however, keep our members informed as our negotiations process proceeds.

How can UUP members keep informed about contract negotiations?
In addition to providing chapter leaders with information for distribution to members, updates will be regularly posted on the UUP website (www.uupinfo.org) from our “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 (contract@uupmail.org) at contract@uupmail.org for further information or to submit questions or comments.