UUP members ratify five-year SUNY contract 98%, with first-in-nation AI protections for faculty

United University Professions — the ~42,000-member SUNY faculty and professional-staff union — ratified a five-year contract running to July 1, 2031, with roughly 98% of ballots cast in favor, one of the largest ratification margins in the union's 53-year history. The deal includes annual raises, health-insurance changes to control premiums, and contract language putting SUNY courses under human "direction and responsibility" with humans holding "ultimate accountability" for AI-assisted work. Hochul announced the ratification Jul 28; UUP announced it Jul 27. A data point on the pro-Hochul side of the intra-labor split: TWU has urged unions not to back her, while UUP joins the AFL-CIO majority.