Kaye, Nihart and Wallace-Brodeur: Time for UVM to value and prioritize staff -- VT Digger

“Chronic understaffing at the University of Vermont, caused by years of wage compression, pay inequities and mismanagement, is creating unreasonable workloads for staff and making it more and more difficult for us to support the students and Vermont communities we serve. 
…
We call on UVM administrators to work with us and make pay equity and livable wages a reality. Instead of hoarding resources, UVM can put its social mission into practice by raising wages and circulating money throughout our local economy at a moment of real economic hardship. Now is the time for UVM to value and prioritize staff. “ Kaye, Nihart and Wallace-Brodeur

https://vtdigger.org/2022/01/18/kaye-nihart-and-wallace-brodeur-time-for-uvm-to-value-and-prioritize-staff/?fbclid=IwAR3mHEEDBEp5WcfEpeyqW0XLs7B9Pk3ztp7vKwqMJb9An6mmjhwY9uableg

VTDigger: UVM begins enforcing vaccine mandates among staff as student deadline arrives

VT Digger article by Ethan Weinstein
https://vtdigger.org/2022/01/12/uvm-begins-enforcing-vaccine-mandates-among-staff-as-student-deadline-arrives/

”The University of Vermont began enforcing its vaccine mandate for faculty and staff this week, and the requirement that its 13,000 students be fully vaccinated went into effect Wednesday.

UVM spokesperson Enrique Corredera said 98% of faculty and staff and “nearly 100%” of students are in compliance with the University’s vaccine mandates.

All employees must have received one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two doses of Pfizer or Moderna by Jan. 4 to be considered fully vaccinated, according to the university’s policies. Those seeking exemption were required to get approval by the school last week and will be subjected to requirements such as masks and testing.”

Update on vaccine mandate policy details: 12/22/21

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.

United Academics announces membership drive!

On Monday, December 6th, United Academics began a two week membership drive, aiming to strengthen ties between member and non-member colleagues and expand union membership. Despite UA’s membership comprising the vast majority (over 80%) of UVM’s instructional staff, more than 120 faculty remain non-UA members. UA hopes to connect with each and every one of these non-members, emphasizing the many benefits offered to union members and UA’s sustained success in securing faculty’s rights and interests. The drive will last until Friday, December 17th, though UA is committed to organizing more membership drives in the future.

UA members interested in helping with outreach tasks are encouraged to contact info@unitedacademics.org.

Updated 12/7/21- UVM Forward site has been corrected

Updated 12/7/21: Small victory! Our request to Labor Relations was honored and the administration removed the unbargaind section of the process from their website.

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Original post 11/30/21:

The UVM Forward email that went out today links to details on the vaccine mandate, and includes incorrect and unbargained process of unpaid administrative leave and separation for employees who are not in compliance. This is an unfortunate error by the administration. UA has clearly communicated to the administration that the proposed disciplinary process does not comply with the faculty CBA and is therefore not allowable. We are working with UVM Staff United to together bargain details of a policy with the administration.

Once again, the administration has gone ahead and implemented a policy or change that it has not yet bargained with United Academics or UVM Staff United.

We have asked that the administration remove the incorrect information while we continue to bargain the policy.

VTDigger: UVM union says contact tracing for faculty is insufficient, files grievance

UVM union says contact tracing for faculty is insufficient, files grievance

“United Academics cited four instances when an instructor did not receive warning that a student they worked with one-on-one had been diagnosed with Covid-19, as well as other instances when professors were not notified by administrators of multiple students in their class testing positive.

“Instructors are becoming aware of close-contact exposure only when they are told directly by students in their classes who tested positive,” the grievance read. 

According to university policy, students are not alerted to a possible Covid-19 exposure if one of their classmates tests positive. Administrators say they enacted this policy because there was no evidence of classroom transmission during the 2020-21 academic year.

But the union has rejected that reasoning, pointing out that classes last year were socially distanced, whereas this year they are not.”

Changes to department level Course Equivalency policies- Fall 2021

Course equivalency policy revisions. In our new CBA, faculty in all departments have an opportunity to develop reasonable, clear, and fair course equivalency policies (Article 16, Workload).

See the outdated current course equivalencies to understand why these policies need updating.

This is your chance to bring transparency and fairness to how faculty workload is calculated. Each department should undergo a review of course equivalency policies this semester for all courses and other instructional activities, per the CBA. Please check in with your Delegate or Rep if you have questions.

See changes to Article 16 here
See the full CBA here

Current, outdated CE policies housed on the UVM Provost site: https://www.uvm.edu/provost/university-manual-collective-bargaining-agreements-faculty-handbooks

Chronicle opinion: How Can we Trust Administrators? - Joseph Pierce; 9/14/21

How Can we Trust Administrators? - Joseph Pierce; 9/14/21

“Universities like to invoke community when rolling out and justifying their policies. But invoking community and centering it are two very different things. Centering community means caring for our most vulnerable members. It means putting the lives of our kin at the core of our decisions. It means offering the means by which our sense of dread can be turned into purpose. As it stands, we are being asked to trust that people will accurately report their vaccination status; that the air ventilation will be sufficient; that the testing protocols will catch infections early enough to avoid new outbreaks; that the long-term effects of the disease are not as bad as people say, and as some evidence suggests.

In other words, there is a contradiction between the invocation of “community” and the rampant neoliberalization of the university. At its worst, the rhetoric of community uplift is completely devoid of any real, meaningful relationship with the communities most affected by the pandemic.

If our administrators truly had community in mind, the most vulnerable, those with the least amount of privilege or access to health care, child care, or housing, then they would be arguing for the most flexibility possible for the fall semester. They would be arguing that we need to implement the most vigorous plan to prevent infections of those who are immunocompromised, children, and disabled people. They would be arguing that we must have the option to choose how to best care for our communities on the terms set forth by those communities. Instead, we are left with calls for “vigor” in the face of adversity.

United Academics updated statement on vaccine mandate, 9/9/21

United Academics updated statement on vaccine mandate, 9/9/21

The University of Vermont has consistently encouraged its faculty to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and has successfully carried out a vaccination mandate for students.  However, the administration has not answered UA’s request to develop a policy requiring faculty to be vaccinated.  As we enter the second week of the semester with cases rising in Vermont, and increases in cases among children, we call on UVM to institute a vaccine requirement for faculty.

Many other employers across the country have mandated vaccinations for employees. UVM should certainly be able to do the same in the interest of the health and safety of our campus community and the broader community, particularly to help protect those who cannot yet be vaccinated. 

We call on UVM to: 1) require that by a reasonable date faculty members, other than those with standard exemptions, document that they are fully vaccinated, 2) develop a confidential HIPAA compliant system for documenting the vaccination status of faculty, and 3) develop and track mandatory weekly testing for those faculty members who are not fully vaccinated. 

United Academics is committed to protecting the health and safety of our community. UVM students are required to be vaccinated, and United Academics supports the same requirement for faculty.

 

Reopening updates for members, 9/1/21

In late August, we emailed faculty to let you know that United Academics had approached the administration to discuss a possible vaccine mandate, share some faculty concerns around masking, request more flexibility around remote office hours, and request a clear process for faculty who need to make temporary modality changes. We have heard back from the administration on several of these issues and want to share an update with you.

Masks

In response to UA's request, the administration has purchased high quality clear masks for use in selective classes (e.g., theater, speech, languages, speech language pathology, etc.). They will be distributed upon request. 

For faculty who are asking for a mask exemption for non-ADA reasons, i.e., who have other practical or pedagogical concerns, faculty are encouraged to try to work out concerns with your Chair. Chairs can explore possibilities with those faculty, such as increased distancing in the classrooms, installing plexiglass, or using transparent face masks or face shields. If the Chairs are unable to find a reasonable solution with the faculty member, they can raise the request through the Deans’ office to Vice-Provosts Jim Vigoreaux and J. Dickinson.

Office Hours

Regarding office hours, the administration has indicated that faculty may establish virtual office hours for those students who prefer it, while also offering in-person office hours. Faculty are encouraged to update syllabi to indicate that they are willing to meet in either space. We have heard from some faculty that a possible solution is to note on the syllabus times for remote office hours and to also note that in-person office hours are available by appointment.

Teaching Modalities 

Regarding teaching modalities and temporary changes due to illness or household exposure to positive cases, faculty should follow the process used in Fall 2020 to request temporary changes of more than one day. The process involves submitting an online modality change request form for requests to change course section modality, due to quarantine, self-isolation, formal requests for disability-related accommodations, and any other reason. Any permanent requests for changes in teaching modality made as part of a formal request for a disability-related accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), are handled by UVM ADA Coordinator.

Modality changes needed for only one day can be worked out directly between faculty and Chairs. Faculty should not cancel classes without the Chair’s approval.

We will continue to share details on these policies as they are available. We will also update you on our discussions on a possible vaccine mandate; we are awaiting a response from the administration.

Please reach out to our Contract Administration Committee or Executive Council with any questions or concerns.

United Academics statement on vaccine mandate (8/27/21)

United Academics statement on vaccine mandate (8/27/21)

United Academics is committed to protecting the health and safety of our community. UVM’s faculty union overwhelmingly supports a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for faculty this year. UVM students are required to be vaccinated, and United Academics supports the same requirement for faculty.

We are heartened that in a recent survey of our members, 99% of respondents report being vaccinated, and that vaccination rates are also high among our students.

Some in our communities are unable to be vaccinated and are exempt under state rules. Many of us have young children who are ineligible for the vaccine. A vaccine mandate helps protect these individuals.

As an additional precaution, United Academics supports frequent testing for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike.

We begin another academic year worried about the ongoing pandemic and its potential impact to our UVM community and other communities we treasure. It is reasonable to anticipate transmission of the Delta variant at UVM may again upend the in-person, on-campus learning we all wish for. As faculty who care deeply about our students, our fellow workers, and our community, we approach this new school year with courage, ingenuity, and most importantly, compassion.