Update on vaccine mandate policy details (12/22/21):
We have been impact bargaining with the administration on the vaccine mandate policy, and we are in disagreement about the disciplinary process for non-compliance. UA leaders have considered it extensively and cannot agree to a different disciplinary process than what was bargained, voted on by the membership, and is in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). We wholeheartedly support a vaccine requirement, as we have made clear since August when we first approached the administration to ask to bargain a mandate. Until recently, the administration was not willing to institute a vaccine requirement. The issue now is simply about the specific disciplinary path leading to termination of employment for someone who does not comply. Article 13.1 of the CBA explicitly states that "Any University policy that deals in whole or in part with potential disciplinary matters shall not contravene the collective bargaining Agreement." The administration is pushing us to do just that by asking us to agree to a disciplinary process that conflicts with the process in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
This morning Labor Relations indicated that they plan to go to mediation with us over their disagreement on following the CBA disciplinary process, and potentially then to a fact-finder. We are planning to follow that negotiation process, but it is not clear what will be accomplished, because the default is simply that the policy should reference the CBA disciplinary procedures, as other policies do.