BARGAINING UPDATE
May 26, 2023
Takeaways:
Dear colleagues,
We met with the administration on Tuesday. They presented counterproposals on non-discrimination, notice of appointment, visiting faculty, and part-time appointment stream faculty. We tentatively agreed to articles on non-discrimination and notice of appointment.
The tentative agreement on non-discrimination prohibits discrimination and harassment, and it lets us enforce this through the grievance procedure—individual faculty will not have to file EEOC complaints or hire a lawyer to protect themselves if they are being treated unfairly, though they would not lose access to those channels. (The protected classes are: race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership, familial status, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or membership or non-membership in, or activity on behalf of or in opposition to, the Union.) This agreement also includes new protections against “bullying,” or harassing behavior that is not based on someone’s membership in a protected class.
While we had advocated for expanding the list of protected classes beyond those groups that are protected by law in Pennsylvania, the administration was unwilling to commit to that. But this agreement creates a process for considering additional protected categories in the future, as part of special labor-management meetings designated to address diversity, equity, and inclusion issues.
Our TA on notice of appointment will ensure that everyone receives, in writing, basic information about their job, pay, and duties. This facilitates protections developed in other parts of the contract and provides a baseline of transparency and consistency for everyone.
We next meet with the administration on June 14.
The best way to support us at the table is to sign a membership card. There will be opportunities to sign a card at the Oakland campus throughout the month. If you can’t make it to campus, you can request a conversation about membership and someone will reach out to you. Together we can continue to work towards a strong contract for all faculty!
In solidarity,
Your bargaining committee
Tyler Bickford (chair), Professor, English, Oakland
Nicholas Bircher, Part-time Professor, Nurse Anesthesia, Oakland
Lauren Collister, Faculty Librarian, ULS, Oakland
Anthony Fabio, Associate Professor, Epidemiology (Public Health), Oakland
Lech Harris (secretary), Part-time Instructor, English, Oakland
James Hill (archivist), Visiting Assistant Professor, History, Oakland
Haitao Liu, Professor, Chemistry, Oakland
Stephen Robar, Associate Professor, Political Science, Bradford
Sabrina Robinson, Part-time Instructor, Slavic, Oakland
Evan Schneider, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, Oakland
Paul Scott, Assistant Professor, Health and Community Systems (Nursing), Oakland
Jeffrey Shook, Professor, Social Work, Oakland
Stacey Triplette, Associate Professor, Spanish, Greensburg
Abagael West, Teaching Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Oakland
Links!
- Our tentative agreement (TA) on non-discrimination will create new protections against bullying and ensures that faculty subject to discrimination or harassment can address those issues through our grievance procedure (with impartial adjudication)
- Our TA on notice of appointment will ensure that everyone receives, in writing, basic information about their job, pay, and duties.
- The best way to support our work at the bargaining table is to sign a membership card.
Dear colleagues,
We met with the administration on Tuesday. They presented counterproposals on non-discrimination, notice of appointment, visiting faculty, and part-time appointment stream faculty. We tentatively agreed to articles on non-discrimination and notice of appointment.
The tentative agreement on non-discrimination prohibits discrimination and harassment, and it lets us enforce this through the grievance procedure—individual faculty will not have to file EEOC complaints or hire a lawyer to protect themselves if they are being treated unfairly, though they would not lose access to those channels. (The protected classes are: race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, domestic partnership, familial status, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or membership or non-membership in, or activity on behalf of or in opposition to, the Union.) This agreement also includes new protections against “bullying,” or harassing behavior that is not based on someone’s membership in a protected class.
While we had advocated for expanding the list of protected classes beyond those groups that are protected by law in Pennsylvania, the administration was unwilling to commit to that. But this agreement creates a process for considering additional protected categories in the future, as part of special labor-management meetings designated to address diversity, equity, and inclusion issues.
Our TA on notice of appointment will ensure that everyone receives, in writing, basic information about their job, pay, and duties. This facilitates protections developed in other parts of the contract and provides a baseline of transparency and consistency for everyone.
We next meet with the administration on June 14.
The best way to support us at the table is to sign a membership card. There will be opportunities to sign a card at the Oakland campus throughout the month. If you can’t make it to campus, you can request a conversation about membership and someone will reach out to you. Together we can continue to work towards a strong contract for all faculty!
In solidarity,
Your bargaining committee
Tyler Bickford (chair), Professor, English, Oakland
Nicholas Bircher, Part-time Professor, Nurse Anesthesia, Oakland
Lauren Collister, Faculty Librarian, ULS, Oakland
Anthony Fabio, Associate Professor, Epidemiology (Public Health), Oakland
Lech Harris (secretary), Part-time Instructor, English, Oakland
James Hill (archivist), Visiting Assistant Professor, History, Oakland
Haitao Liu, Professor, Chemistry, Oakland
Stephen Robar, Associate Professor, Political Science, Bradford
Sabrina Robinson, Part-time Instructor, Slavic, Oakland
Evan Schneider, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, Oakland
Paul Scott, Assistant Professor, Health and Community Systems (Nursing), Oakland
Jeffrey Shook, Professor, Social Work, Oakland
Stacey Triplette, Associate Professor, Spanish, Greensburg
Abagael West, Teaching Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Oakland
Links!
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- Find previous bargaining updates here
- Status of bargaining
- Get in touch with your Council rep
- Get involved with the Communication and Action Team
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