Negotiations: UUPers speak out

The UUP Negotiations Team’s campus visits got off to a rousing start last month as team members met with chapter members from the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI).

The lunchtime gathering in Troy gave the Negotiations Team a chance to hear from union members in a relaxed setting. UUP President William Scheuerman said that “negotiations are in really good hands” as he introduced the team.

“Phil Smith is going to do a really good job and has my full confidence,” Scheuerman said of Chief Negotiator Phillip Smith, UUP’s statewide vice president for academics.

Smith assured NYSTI members that their voices will be heard: “UUP has had a tradition since its inception 30 years ago of going out to hear what the members say.”

John Romeo, UUP chapter president at NYSTI, said theatre institute members were glad to participate in the negotiations process at the chapter level.

“Whatever support we can lend, we intend to,” Romeo said. “We’re behind it. We want everyone to have a good working environment, safe and secure.”

The Negotiations Team plans to visit 32 more chapters by early November. The visits will give members an opportunity to ask questions and talk about issues. All comments from campus visits will be taken into consideration as the Negotiations Team confers with the Negotiations Committee, and the bargaining process gets under way. UUPers will also be able to make their concerns known through a survey that the union recently mailed to all members.

The inclusive process gives members a chance to speak out at this important time, Smith said.

“UUP is extremely open, with a democratic negotiations process,” he said.

— Darryl McGrath