By Denise Richardson
Staff Writer
---- —
SUNY colleges in Delhi and Oneonta will minimize the impact of state furloughs on students, who are on the cusp of final examinations and commencement, administrators said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the union representing professors and other professional staff has filed a federal lawsuit against the state and taken other grievance actions.
On Monday, the Legislature passed an emergency budget measure that includes furloughs of one day a week for about 100,000 state employees starting Monday. Democratic Gov. David Paterson's emergency spending bill is meant to save $30 million a week.
Final exams at SUNY Oneonta are Thursday through Wednesday, and graduation is May 22.
"We are disappointed at the prospect of furloughs," Nancy Kleniewski, president of the State University College at Oneonta, said in a prepared statement Tuesday. "But we will not let them deter us from our commitment to our students. Classes, exams and commencement will proceed as scheduled, thanks to the efforts of so many in our campus community."
Many students were concerned about end-of-term activities and graduation, Student Association President Rick Heil said Tuesday. Heil said he was "very, very heartened" to hear plans are intact.
Kleniewski also expressed concern about the impact of furloughs on the "dedicated employees who work hard for our campus and our state."
"We will do all that we can, within guidelines from SUNY and New York state, to minimize the impact that furloughs have on our college and its employees," she said.
David Henahan, spokesman for the State University system, said SUNY is working with its 29 state-operated campuses, the governor's office and the state Division of the Budget to develop a plan for the furlough of its state employees.
"Furloughs are a reflection of the budget crisis facing New York state," he said in a prepared statement. "SUNY will comply with the legislation, and our first priority will be to protect our students."
Administrators at the Delhi campus await guidelines from SUNY administration about the furloughs, Joel Smith, spokesman at the State University College of Technology at Delhi, said Tuesday.
"We have seen very, very few details," Smith said. The matter was discussed Tuesday at Delhi President Candace Vancko's regularly scheduled cabinet meeting, which will be followed up with a special meeting today, he said.
Smith reiterated that the goal will be to minimize the impact of furloughs on students' final examination period next Monday through Friday and on commencement May 22.
More than 3,100 students are enrolled at SUNY Delhi, which has a student-faculty ratio of about 20 to one, according to the college's Fast Facts.
SUNY Oneonta has 251 full-time and 189 part-time faculty, according to the college's Fast Facts, and enrolls about 5,880 full- and part-time, undergraduate and graduate students.
At SUNY Oneonta, UUP chapter President William Simons said the local unit is "taking the lead from the state UUP."
"UUP is doing all it can to fight the furloughs," Simons said Tuesday in a prepared statement. "The furloughs are a breach of contract, and UUP will battle this injustice. UUP at Oneonta remains very concerned about our students, SUNY and the employees of the college."
On Tuesday, the UUP office in Albany said the union filed a lawsuit in federal court against the furloughs. UUP filed a request for a temporary restraining order as part of its lawsuit, seeking to block the furloughs from taking effect next week.
"We cannot stand idly by and let the governor unilaterally cut our members' salaries by 20 percent," UUP President Phillip H. Smith said in a prepared statement. "We should not be forced to bear the burden of the state's fiscal crisis nor be treated as the scapegoat."
The suit charges the furloughs are unconstitutional because they violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits states from passing legislation that impairs contract obligations, a media release from UUP said. The suit also alleges the furloughs call for unequal treatment under the law, directing most state employees to take an unpaid day off while exempting management confidential employees, legislators and the governor.
Smith said UUP is filing an improper practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Board. UUP charges the state is violating the Taylor Law requirement that the state must negotiate terms and conditions of employment.
UUP is also filing a grievance with SUNY charging that the furloughs violate four articles in UUP's current contract, including one that bars management from reducing members' salaries.
"The state does not have the authority to walk away from the contract and throw SUNY into turmoil at a time when faculty are giving final exams and grading papers," Smith said.
UUP represents 35,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 state-operated campuses.
