DISCIPLINE AND DISCHARGE
Dear colleagues,
I’m Paul Scott. I’m an assistant professor and a statistician in the Health and Community Systems department in the School of Nursing. I’m also a member of our bargaining committee.
Central to job security are matters of discipline and discharge. A strong union contract should have robust provisions to protect its members from unfair discipline and discharge (termination) decisions made by supervisors. Our proposal says that the administration must have “just cause” to discipline a member of the bargaining unit: that means that discipline has to be based on a valid finding of misconduct, must be proportional to the conduct, and cannot be arbitrary or capricious. Discipline and discharge articles spell out the steps and procedures taken to resolve the problems that initiated the decision, as well as protections for an employee during the process of appealing discipline or discharge decisions.
Our proposal makes explicit the right of faculty members to request union representation during meetings where they suspect issues of discipline or discharge will be involved. Our proposal also spells out the duties of the administration to inform a faculty member of their rights, informing the union about any discharge or disciplinary actions, and maintaining personnel files allowing the faculty member to evaluate the administration’s decision to discipline or discharge.
These provisions don’t mean that a faculty member could never be disciplined if they do something wrong, but overall they ensure that there is a fair and transparent process so that we can all trust that the system is actually addressing real concerns and avoiding favoritism and disproportionate treatment.
In solidarity,
Paul Scott, Assistant Professor, Health and Community Systems (Nursing), Oakland
Links!
I’m Paul Scott. I’m an assistant professor and a statistician in the Health and Community Systems department in the School of Nursing. I’m also a member of our bargaining committee.
Central to job security are matters of discipline and discharge. A strong union contract should have robust provisions to protect its members from unfair discipline and discharge (termination) decisions made by supervisors. Our proposal says that the administration must have “just cause” to discipline a member of the bargaining unit: that means that discipline has to be based on a valid finding of misconduct, must be proportional to the conduct, and cannot be arbitrary or capricious. Discipline and discharge articles spell out the steps and procedures taken to resolve the problems that initiated the decision, as well as protections for an employee during the process of appealing discipline or discharge decisions.
Our proposal makes explicit the right of faculty members to request union representation during meetings where they suspect issues of discipline or discharge will be involved. Our proposal also spells out the duties of the administration to inform a faculty member of their rights, informing the union about any discharge or disciplinary actions, and maintaining personnel files allowing the faculty member to evaluate the administration’s decision to discipline or discharge.
These provisions don’t mean that a faculty member could never be disciplined if they do something wrong, but overall they ensure that there is a fair and transparent process so that we can all trust that the system is actually addressing real concerns and avoiding favoritism and disproportionate treatment.
In solidarity,
Paul Scott, Assistant Professor, Health and Community Systems (Nursing), Oakland
Links!
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