As we consider a reopening of SUNY campuses across the state, we must prioritize the health and safety of our students, our members, and our communities. We have watched the devastating impacts of the coronavirus on our state and nation, and UUP members have been caring for patients on the frontlines of the pandemic at hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook, Syracuse and Buffalo, putting their own health and the health of their families at risk.
The reopening plans being released by campuses do not go far enough to protect our communities and abandon the consistent messaging of Governor Cuomo and Dr. Zucker that we have heard for five months. In order to re-open our campuses, our economy, our way of life, we need four basic systems in place:
- Baseline and Surveillance Testing
- Contact Tracing
- Mandated Mask Wearing & Social Distancing
- Extension of the NYS/UUP Telecommuting Pilot Program
It is time to demand the safety of our students, our members, and our communities. Join us for a virtual rally on August 5 and take action below.
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Send a letter demanding a safe reopening of SUNY! |
Send a letter to Governor Cuomo HERE
Send a letter to your State Legislators HERE
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Other Actions |
Join us in the social media call for a safe reopening of SUNY. Use UUP’s social media toolkit, which includes sample graphics and posts as starting points to invite your social media network to join our fight.
Send a letter to the editor. Sample letters can be found here and here. More information about submitting letters to the editors can be found here
JOIN US FOR A VIRTUAL RALLY ON AUGUST 5 at 12 PM.
UUP members, legislators, students, and community leaders will demand a safe reopening of SUNY that includes testing, contact tracing, mask-wearing, social distancing, and telecommuting. Register here.
Our voices must be heard! Share your message of concern for our SUNY community health & safety!
- Join the crowd: Add your photo and provide a statement on why you plan on attending the Aug 5th virtual rally for a safe reopening of SUNY! Photos will be collected on the rally page, so that you can "meet" people in the virtual crowd and learn why they are participating. Submit photos here.
- Share a video testimonial on why a safe SUNY reopening is important to you and you community. Record a short video and add your voice to the thousands of UUP members calling for testing, contact tracing, mask-wearing, social distancing, and telecommuting. Submit videos here.
Meet the crowd!
Meet fellow rally participants and learn why they are attending the Virtual Rally for a Safe SUNY Reopening.
Bret Benjamin:
UUP Member
Albany
“Every precaution should be taken when people's lives are at risk.”
Anne Wiegard:
UUP Member
Cortland
“I am participating in this virtual rally because I have grown increasingly alarmed by SUNY's re-opening plans. As a veteran Cortland faculty member who knows firsthand how impossible it is to get all undergraduate students to follow instructions, I believe administrators should be erring on the side of caution. From my self-isolated campus office where I worked throughout May during the NY shutdown, I observed many large groups of students gathering and cavorting together on the quad to celebrate their graduation. Not one wore mask.The COVID-19 pandemic is a worsening national crisis. We are not through the first wave yet. As a member of the AFT Higher Education Program and Policy Council, I believe SUNY ought to set a better example for universities across the country. The faculty and staff who serve SUNY students must be allowed to play a bigger role in decision-making for all operations.”
Jennifer Kegler:
UUP Member
Brockport
“I want a safe campus for the Fall 2020 semester. If we do not test students before they return, the dorms will become a petri dish for COVID. I believe we will end up shutting down before the end of the semester due to illness. The surrounding area colleges have mechanisms in place to both test students and help house those student who are arriving from states currently on Governor Cuomo's travel ban.”
John Schumacher:
Retired University Librarian
System Admin
“All SUNY students and staff need a safe place to work and study”
Rachel Hall:
UUP Member
Geneseo
“We need safe campuses for everyone!”
Sara Irizarry:
UUP Member
Geneseo
“I am joining to support safe SUNY Reopening for all employees and students so that they can keep be safe/healthy and keep their families safe/healthy.”
Paul Arras:
UUP Member
Cortland
“Testing is still not perfect right now, but the more we test, the more we can find and quarantine positive cases, and the safer campus will be.”
Michelle Hendley:
UUP Member
Oneonta
“To ensure the safety of our faculty, students, staff, and communities. I also want to ensure the safety of my family. My husband is a SUNY faculty member. My son is a student at FMCC. My daughter is in high school and has asthma. I need to ensure her safety in particular. COVID-19 is contained in New York but it is still with us. If SUNY does not open safely, we could see a resurgence of the virus on our campuses and in our communities. SUNY must not jeopardize New Yorkers' hard work and sacrifices that led to crushing the COVID-19 curve. ”
Jasmine Tang:
SUNY Employee
Geneseo
“Community and students support; we work together as a team. Without their supports we will be back to square one. Thanks ”
Jonathan R. Slater, Ph.D. :
UUP Member
Plattsburgh
“SUNY faculty need to speak with one clear voice in response to the wishful, magical and delusional thinking of campus administrations.”
Susan Udin:
UUP Member
Buffalo HSC
“I'm worried because my University (U. at Buffalo) has no plans for testing of staff or students. ”
Rebecca Bryan:
UUP Member
Cortland
“I'm concerned for the safety of the students, staff and faculty, and community members if we re-open without enough safety precautions in place. And until we can do mass-testing with very fast results, or have a vaccine, I simply do not think it is possible. ”
Robert Blanton:
UUP Member
System Admin
“Pandemic is still raging”
Larry Neuberger:
UUP Member
Alfred
“I do not feel safe and I was denied a telecommute accommodation even with a note from my doctor explaining my susceptibility to respiratory illnesses.”
Bob Wahler:
UUP Member
Buffalo HSC
“The present plan lacks testing. Most campuses have the lab capacity and faculty/staff expertise to open on campus testing facilities. Why not use our internal SUNY expertise to accomplish what the government can't?”
Christine Minck:
UUP Member
Plattsburgh
“Staff, students and faculty are owed an ethically safe reopening plan. I want to do as much as I can to ensure this happens for the well being of those I work for, those I work with and myself.”
Shannon Miranda:
UUP Member
Binghamton
“My Husband is immunocompromised. I am his sole caregiver. I am terrified that I will expose him to Covid. Being able to WFH would be wonderful in lieu of using FMLA (and not being able to work!). Campus is not going to be safe because not EVERYONE is being tested. Only students who live on campus will be tested. It makes no sense. This is a deadly virus. We are in a Pandemic. Safety for ALL is what is needed. Baseline and surveillance testing, contact tracing, mask-wearing and social distancing, and telecommuting.”
Carolyn Kube:
UUP Member
Stony Brook HSC
“It is important to take part of this rally because we all must speak to SUNY with a unified voice! We must demand a safe work environment for all, faculty, staff and students! High risk individuals and members with child care needs, need to know that the university will be flexible with schedules and honor the negotiated telecommunicating policy they have sign on to!”
Mayor Hal McCabe:
Elected Offical
Cortland
“I'm concerned for the safety of the students, staff and faculty, and community members if we re-open without enough safety precautions in place. And until we can do mass-testing with very fast results, or have a vaccine, I simply do not think it is possible.”
Jeri O'Bryan-Losee:
UUP Secretary/
Treasurer
Statewide
“Protect My Family ”
Jennifer Redinger:
UUP Member
System Admin
“In my position it is not at all essential that I go back to the office. This pandemic has shown that I can do my job more successfully at my home office than I could in the building. In addition,with children being homeschooled now it is still imperative that I am home fulltime. I know that there are many other support staff that have the same feelings, and am looking for UUP support for a NEW, more appropriate for long term telecommuting, police be devised by, not only (non UUP) upper management, but UUP represented support staff, such as myself.”
Greg Lynch:
UUP Member
Stony Brook HSC
“Telecommuting”
Cornelius Eady:
UUP Member
Stony Brook
“Coming back before we have a safe, workable vaccine will not only threaten the safety of students, staff and faculty, it will spread mass confusion, and throw back the impressive work everyone has done to keep this virus in check. While not a perfect solution, on-line only classes will make a workable stop-gap until we finally move to a phase where a vaccine can reduce the possibility of infection. Sooner or later, we will get to a place where the virus will be something that can be managed. Until then, doing everything one can to insure the safety of our students and staff should be the top priority. Making employees and students choose between their studies, their jobs, or their health, (and the health of loved ones and friends) however well intended, shouldn't be on the table; anyone who has been on a campus during cold and flu season (which will also arrive while this pandemic is on), knows how quickly and easily a germ can spread. Inconvenience can be dealt with; a hasty choice can linger a very long time.”.
Nancy Allen:
UUP Member
Plattsburgh
“My granddaughter will start her college career this fall. I want her and all college students and teachers to be safe. ”
Jim Lichtenthal:
UUP Member
Buffalo HSC
“There has never been a clearer time to stand together as employees and union members to make sure our administrators are interested in safety first!”
Courtney Murphy:
UUP Member
System Admin
“The safety of all SUNY staff, students, and faculty is paramount to our success as an institution. Without a clear, safe plan in place we put our community and countless others at risk. My team has been successfully telecommuting since the beginning of quarantine and being pushed back to a physical location needlessly puts us in danger when our current method of working remote has been working effectively.”
Ron Keeney:
UUP Member
Alfred
Sarah Battaglia:
UUP Member
Stony Brook HSC
“For the sake of good health for all students, staff and faculty, I stand with UUP!”
Kim Hartshorn:
UUP Member
Plattsburgh
“We need our voices to be heard!”
Christopher Taverna:
UUP Member
Fredonia
“Our campus reopening plans do not ensure the safety of our employees, students, or the broader community. It is irresponsible at best to proceed as we are. I do not want to see anyone get sick or be needlessly exposed to potential infection. We have the ability to face the Fall semester in a responsible and logical manner. Unfortunately our administration has decided to ignore all but the bare minimum of what is legally required of them. We are in a historic moment. Do we want to be remembered for standing up for what is right or for doing as little as possible? I am proud to be a part of UUP and for standing up, not for what is easy, but for what is right.”
Alexis Clifton:
UUP Member
Geneseo
“I care about the long-term health and well-being of our students, colleagues, and community.”
Racheal Fest:
UUP Member
Oneonta
“Community health and safety should be our priority. I value UUP's efforts to support faculty, students, and staff during this difficult time.”
Anthony Miller:
UUP Member
ESF
“I believe that we must ensure the safety of all students, staff and faculty on all SUNY campuses. The only way for us to do this is follow the guidelines put forward by the UUP.”
Anthony Macula:
UUP Member
Geneseo
“the safety of our community”
Kelly Clayton:
UUP Member
Stony Brook
“I want to make sure returning does not compromise all the progress we have made in NY. I want to be part of the solution to make sure our at risk members of the state are being thought of so we don't take actions to expose them to anything that may endanger their health.”
Josh Rice:
UUP Member
Stony Brook
“So we can hear that safety of students and faculty and staff is important.”
Denise Scott:
UUP Member
Geneseo
“SUNY must get testing in place for students entering the University, and re-test routinely, in addition to quarantining students for a period of time - before starting the semester. That is the only way to ensure the safety of students, employees, and townspeople! The policies do not go far enough.”
Frank Cetera:
NYSUT local
Onondaga Community College
“Campus telecommuting policies should be complete with criteria on decision-making, not open ended administration choices, and they should be applied fairly and equitably across all individuals based on ability to conduct essential activities from home offices, not on whether or not they have personal health or family needs that or subjectively assessed.”