ALBANY, NY - On Tuesday, April 8, a coalition of labor unions representing public higher education employees, federal workers, state workers and health care professionals rallied to speak out against the Trump administration’s attacks on research, health care and higher education as part of Kill The Cuts, a nationwide day of action.

The rally was held outdoors at 12 p.m. noon on the University at Albany campus, 1400 Washington Ave, Albany. It will be held in the free speech area at Dutch Field, located between the Dutch Quad and the Science Library, behind the Academic Podium

Leaders from United University Professions (UUP); the Public Employees Federation (PEF); Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200United; the Capital District Area Labor Federation (CDALF); New York State Nurses Association; Federal Unionists Network (FUN); the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and UAlbany’s Graduate Student Employment Union CWA 1104 (GSEU) spoke at the rally.

Kill The Cuts is a national day of action organized by Labor for Higher Education to raise awareness and pressure elected officials to fight back against President Trump’s attacks on research, life-saving medical research and higher education.

Biomedical scientists at UAlbany who have had their funding cut were available to speak with reporters and the public about how they are being affected by the cuts and the impact they are having across the country.

“The cuts and delays to biomedical research funding will have impacts that are felt for generations to come. NIH funding has contributed to nearly all the current drugs on the market, so cuts and delays to funding now will mean the drugs needed to treat you, your children and your children’s children may not be available. Specifically, the cuts and delays are delaying our research on neuromuscular diseases such as myotonic dystrophy and ALS, which lack effective treatments,” states Dr. Andy Berglund, Director of the RNA Institute and SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at the University at Albany.

“We are compelled to speak out against these shortsighted, senseless cuts because they threaten the very foundation of higher education, the life-changing research happening on our campuses and the lifesaving health care offered at SUNY’s public teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse,” said UUP President Fred Kowal. “The Trump administration’s attack on science—and by extension the researchers who are making strides to better understand, treat and cure debilitating diseases such as dementia, muscular dystrophy, and cardiovascular disease—must be stopped. This is why we are here today, to speak out against this colossal injustice to all Americans.”

Trump has issued Executive Orders attacking the NIH, NSF, and dismantling the Department of Education. These actions jeopardize medical progress in areas like cancer, viral pandemics, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s and threaten the jobs of researchers across the country. Delaying treatment and cures for these diseases creates a drag on the American economy and is projected to cost the public billions of dollars.

WHAT: Kill The Cuts, a national Day of Action to fight for lifesaving federal funding for research, health care and higher education, which has been decimated by the Trump administration.

WHEN: 12 p.m. noon on Tuesday, April 8

WHERE: Free speech section of Dutch Field, University at Albany uptown campus, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. Dutch Field is located behind the Academic Podium, between the Dutch Quad and the Science Library and near the Campus Center purple bus line stop. (map attached)

WHY: A strong coalition of labor unions, scientists and students are coming together to raise awareness and put pressure on elected representatives to fight back against Trump’s attacks on research, health, and higher education.

SPEAKERS:

Fred Kowal, UUP President

David Banks, UUP Albany Chapter member

Mark Emanatian, executive director, Capital District Area Labor Federation

Michael Fitzsimmons, NYSNA member

J. Andrew Berglund, SUNY Distinguished Professor and director of UAlbany’s RNA Institute; co-director at the Center of Excellence in RNA Research and Therapeutics

Jessica Sweet, AFGE/SSA

Sharon Shaughnessy, GSEU member, UAlbany graduate student working at The RNA Institute

Elizabeth Vasquez, UAlbany associate professor, director of UAlbany’s Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities

More information about Kill The Cuts and a list of rally locations across the country can be found at www.killthecuts.org.

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