{"id":1083968,"date":"2026-01-28T11:38:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/?p=1083968"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:38:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:38:38","slug":"contract-negotiations-start-feb-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/contract-negotiations-start-feb-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Contract Negotiations Start Feb 4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Dear Colleagues,\u00a0

We have a start date! UUP and the State will meet on February 4 to begin negotiating a new contract.\u00a0\u00a0

Our\u00a0current Agreement<\/a>\u00a0expires on July 1, 2026. We want an on-time contract for the first time in recent memory.\u00a0\u00a0No delayed raises.\u00a0\u00a0No interrupted programs.\u00a0\u00a0No uncertainty.\u00a0\u00a0We want an on-time contract that meets the needs of our members.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0

In recent rounds, the State has not been willing to begin negotiations until the contract has expired or is about to expire.\u00a0\u00a0Getting the State to the table early in this round is an important first step, made possible because of the momentum created by member involvement in our bargaining preparations. We\u2019ve been moving rapidly to prepare without sacrificing the member-driven engagement and thorough preparation, that characterizes our union\u2019s approach to bargaining.\u00a0\u00a0As you know we\u2019ve hosted town hall negotiations visits, an extensive negotiation survey where more than 13,000 members identified bargaining priorities, weekly \u201cKnow Your Contract\u201d workshops, and much more.\u00a0\u00a0Our Negotiations Team has been meeting regularly since April to develop a focused, ambitious, transformational package of bargaining proposals that address the issues raised by our members.\u00a0

Now we are ready to bargain.\u00a0\u00a0To achieve the contract we deserve, however, members must stay informed and involved at every step.\u00a0\u00a0Can we count on you to take the following immediate steps?\u00a0

Register for a virtual town hall<\/a>\u00a0on Feb 3 at noon to kick-off our contract negotiations and show support for your bargaining team.

Log in to the UUP Members\u2019 Only<\/a>\u00a0page to see our first Negotiations Bulletin. We\u2019ll post regular, detailed reports on progress at the table as well as actions members can take. Log in yourself, but better yet, talk to your colleagues to make sure everyone has login information. If you are having trouble signing in, please call 518-640-6624.

Request a \u201cReady to Bargain\u201d poster<\/a>\u00a0for your door or window to show support for our union.Plan to wear UUP or red clothing on 2\/4. Take a photo and post to social media with the hashtag #UUPContract. Please tag @uupinfo when posting.

Become a Rapid Responder<\/a>\u00a0so that we can contact you about important updates, announcements, or actions.\u00a0

We\u2019re excited to get to the table to fight for the workplace provisions that our members want and deserve.\u00a0\u00a0Thanks for taking these first steps in our contract campaign; expect more information and contract actions to come!\u00a0

In Solidarity,\u00a0
Fred Kowal, UUP President
Bret Benjamin, UUP Chief Contract Negotiator<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Colleagues,\u00a0 We have a start date! UUP and the State will meet on February 4 to begin negotiating a new contract.\u00a0\u00a0 Our\u00a0current Agreement\u00a0expires on July 1, 2026. We want an on-time contract for the first time in recent memory.\u00a0\u00a0No delayed raises.\u00a0\u00a0No interrupted programs.\u00a0\u00a0No uncertainty.\u00a0\u00a0We want an on-time contract that meets the needs of our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1083970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[135],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083968"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1083968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1083969,"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083968\/revisions\/1083969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1083970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1083968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1083968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.uuphost.org\/newpaltzwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1083968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}