UUP Press Releases
CONTACT: Denyce Duncan Lacy or Don Feldstein at (518) 640-6600
Lacy’s cell number is (518) 265-3114
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 27 , 2006
UUP recruits students, parents for campaign to boost aid to SUNY
The nation’s largest higher education union—United University Professions—has launched a campaign targeted to students and parents of students attending State University of New York colleges and universities, asking them to join the union’s efforts to gain increased funding for SUNY in this year’s state budget. The message: tell state lawmakers to provide an additional $153.3 million in state funds for SUNY, including $25 million to hire more full-time faculty.
The union distributed postcards to student groups on SUNY’s 29 state-operated campuses, asking students and their parents to call or fax their state legislators, and urging them to approve the budget request. The postcards tell students and parents they may use the toll-free phone number, 1-877-255-9417 or the union’s Web site, www.uupinfo.org , to fax a prepared letter to their lawmakers.
What follows is an excerpt from the faxable letters.
“As a SUNY student/parent, I am writing to express my concerns about the 2006-07 SUNY budget… I support SUNY and UUP’s reasonable request for sufficient funding to cover SUNY’s basic costs and for more full-time faculty. SUNY’s enrollment is way up, and students aren’t getting the classes or services they need because there are too many students in classes and not enough teachers. Students also have to stand in long lines at the financial aid and registrar’s offices. The result is limited access for thousands of hardworking students, and too few courses for students to graduate in a timely fashion. That is why I am asking that you support SUNY and UUP’s request for $25 million for more full-time academic and professional faculty.”
UUP is also airing television ads on network and cable stations across the state this week carrying the same message, and distributed print ads to campus newspapers. The television ad is also posted on UUP’s Web site.
UUP represents more then 34,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 New York state-operated campuses, and is an affiliate of New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. Scheuerman also serves as president of AFT’s Higher Education Program and Policy Council, representing 150,000 higher education union members across the nation.
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