March 27, 2026

Meetings with representatives from the state to discuss UUP’s next contract have been productive, said UUP Chief Negotiator Bret Benjamin during a March 25 virtual update viewed by nearly 1,000 members, including a number of watch parties at chapters across the system.

Benjamin and UUP President Fred Kowal also made a request of members: get active and get loud. Activity at the chapters to support the negotiations process and UUP’s proposals is felt at the table.

“We got to the table well before our contract expires, we’ve gotten a lot of negotiations dates and we’re getting the work done,” said Kowal. I personally told the governor that we’re going to be responsible negotiating partners and we have been, and I think that’s having a real impact.

"Your input, your determination and your support is crucial in putting together what we are bringing to the table,” Kowal continued. “Now, we need you to be continuously engaged.”

One of the ways to do that is to get involved in UUP’s contract post card campaign.

Click HERE to find contract postcards you can sign virtually or pick up printed cards at your chapter office to signal your support for key UUP bargaining demands.

“All of the chapters across the system have postcards that identify some of our key areas of priorities and demands,” Benjamin said. “The cards state succinctly what UUP is bringing to the table on behalf of our members. We want to begin putting pressure on our campuses and on SUNY by developing clear, visible, mobilized unified support among our membership.

“These postcards are about educating our members about what we want and showing SUNY how strong the support is for these core demands,” Benjamin continued. “These are core demands that our unit stands in solidarity behind.”

Benjamin urged members to sign the cards and grab or download a handful of them and bring them to coworkers so they can sign the cards.

“We want every single UUP member to know what the priority issues are in this round of bargaining and be ready to support those demands,” said Benjamin.

From there, Benjamin said UUP plans to become more visual with its contract push, starting with rallies and events on campuses and regionally in connection with May Day on May 1.

“We want all of our members to be visible, clear, loud, unified and fully in solidarity with each other so that when we come to that final stretch, SUNY and the state know that our hospital workers are out there defending our academic contingent faculty and that our full-time tenure-line faculty members are defending the needs of our professionals across the state.”

Contract updates

Benjamin said UUP and the state have met regularly throughout February and March and have additional April dates scheduled. Although the two sides have had only preliminary discussions around compensation and health care, substantive negotiations have been underway about a wide range of demands identified by UUP members.

UUP has placed an emphasis on job security in this round. Sessions have been held on extended term appointments and pathways to permanency for contingent faculty, as well as shortened time to permanency for professionals.

Additional negotiations have addressed retrenchment rights as well as expanded due process protections.

Also, the state team seems open to a multi-year contract, one of UUP’s contract demands. Negotiators have discussed the A-28 appeals procedures professionals use to challenge “unsatisfactory” evaluations and to appeal denials of promotions or raises, an area of emphasis for professional employees.

Benjamin said UUP negotiators believe that progress is being made to strengthen the contractual process to review SUNY professional titles and title series, with the aim of providing pathways for career growth and advancement.

The Negotiations Team is pushing to incorporate a telecommuting policy into the contract. They also hope to create a framework to allow 100% remote work for certain mutually agreed-upon employees whose job functions can be completed successfully remotely — information technology roles, data entry, records management, call centers, for example.

The Team has also proposed language to address the use of artificial intelligence. UUP’s demands are: to recognize the expertise of our members in determining how, whether, and when to use AI in the performance of essential job duties; to secure basic labor protections like those established by the state’s LOADinG Act, which would make them subject to grievance procedures; and to establish that formal SUNY courses be taught by a human who is a member of our bargaining unit, wherever possible.

UUP and the state have also held sessions to discuss librarian issues, comp time, delayed permanency decisions, probationary appointments and more.

For more updates, use your Members Only credentials to log into UUP’s Members Only site and read the March 16 Negotiations Bulletin.