June 3, 2026

UUP has signed a tentative agreement with the state on a new five-year contract.

UUP President Fred Kowal approved the agreement, negotiated by Chief Negotiator Bret Benjamin, NYSUT Staff Director for UUP Jeremy Ginsburg and UUP’s Negotiations Team, on June 2.

The union’s Negotiations Committee—made up of presidents and chapter leaders from each chapter—will consider the agreement at a special June 4 meeting and decide whether to recommend that it go to members in a ratification vote. Members of UUP’s advisory Ad Hoc Negotiations Committee will also be at the meeting.

UUP members must ratify the contract before it becomes effective. Only UUP members can participate in the ratification vote, which is expected to take place in late July.

Kowal, Benjamin and Negotiation Team members will meet with members in a series of virtual and in-person meetings starting in June. That schedule will be published soon.

Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a June 3 press statement about the tentative agreement. Click HERE to read it.

What follows is a message from Kowal about the tentative agreement:

“I am very pleased to announce that UUP has reached a tentative agreement with the state on a new contract! All of our efforts to get to the table early and conclude an agreement before our present one expired have succeeded. Thanks to so many of you, and especially to Bret Benjamin, Jeremy Ginsburg and our entire Negotiations Team.

“This historic agreement addresses many of the priorities members shared with us throughout the negotiations process and reflects our union’s commitment to securing the strongest possible contract for our members. We got some very big wins, and that testifies to the importance of our collective efforts. And it's vitally important that I emphasize how much I personally appreciate Governor Hochul’s continued support for UUP members and the important work we do every day.

“More details will be available on the Members Only section of UUP’s website as soon as the UUP Negotiations Committee votes to send the tentative agreement to the members for a ratification vote.

“Along with the Negotiations Team and union leadership, I will present the details of the agreement to members through a combination of statewide virtual sessions and chapter-level meetings, both in person and online.”

Additional information, including schedules and ratification details, will be shared soon.

In Solidarity,

Fred