Solidarity Statement with GSU Graduate Student Unionization Effort, November 2023

Solidarity Statement with GSU Graduate Student Unionization Effort, November 2023

All graduate students have the right to organize to collectively strengthen their ability to fight for just wages, better health insurance, and a humane standard of working conditions. Graduate students today live in a perfect storm of exorbitant tuition, unaffordable housing (where housing can be found), rising health care costs and no longer having access to childcare on campus. This is an untenable situation that the UVM administration has not addressed. In fact, instead of meeting the legitimate needs of graduate students honestly and directly, the UVM administration's response is a classic example of paternalistic tactics meant to disrupt organizing efforts. Graduate students are adults and workers, and, in those capacities, have the right to organize and the responsibility to do so if their wages, benefits, and working conditions are insufficient. We have seen this before. Previous UVM administrations have responded similarly over the past twenty years or so.  Around the country, administrators have been making the same move since at least the 1990s, at other universities where graduate-student workers are now unionized, often after decades of patient struggle. 

UVM’s faculty union, United Academics, stands in solidarity with UVM graduate student workers who are currently doing the work of organizing their own union. We not only strongly support the graduate student organizing efforts, we are here to help. One of the core principles of unions is solidarity with working people everywhere, and this solidarity makes us all stronger. Our faculty union has a partnership with UVM’s staff union, in which we share information, learn from one another, and show up to support when needed. We look forward to expanding this coalition with a graduate student union and will continue to show our support throughout their process.


Faculty and all:

• Please share this information with your graduate students. 

• And if you are interested in helping more, members of the organizing committee would love to connect with you and discuss some of their needs at this point (getting lists and information, among other things). 

Below is their contact information, and attached is a flyer that can be distributed:

• UVM Graduate Students United – UAW 2322: uvmgsu@uaw2322.org, https://linktr.ee/uvmgsu •

Nominations open for Executive Council Member-at-Large!

UA will be holding a special election for one vacant seat for member-at-large on the Executive Council, for a two-year term beginning now, through June 30, 2025. For our union to most effectively do the business of negotiating and upholding the faculty collective bargaining agreement, and to have the most representative leadership, we hope to fill this position as soon as possible. Please consider stepping up to represent your college or program faculty. We are calling for nominations, including self-nominations, for one Executive Council member-at-large position. Please reach out with any questions or to nominate yourself or another member. 

Position descriptions can be found at: http://www.unitedacademics.org/descriptions-of-elected-positions.To stand for election, nominees must be members of United Academics. This position is eligible for a small stipend from UA. Executive Council meetings are every two weeks on Tuesdays from 1-2:30pm. 

Please consider nominating yourself or someone else. Should you decide to nominate a colleague, please make sure this person agrees to be nominated. All nominations and statements should be sent to Jamie Abaied (Nominations and Elections Committee Chair) and katlyn.morris@aftvermont.org. 

UA and UVMSU in the News: "UVM unions call out administration for stall tactics" (VTDigger Commentary, 5/22/23)

UA and UVMSU in the News: "UVM unions call out administration for stall tactics" (VTDigger Commentary, 5/22/23)

This commentary is by Eleanor Miller, Ellen Kaye and Rachel Wallace-Brodeur. Miller (South Burlington) is president of United Academics, the faculty union; Wallace-Brodeur (Grand Isle) and Ellen Kaye (Barre) are co-presidents of UVM Staff United.

https://vtdigger.org/2023/05/22/miller-kaye-wallace-brodeur-uvm-unions-call-out-administration-for-stall-tactics/

UA in the News: "Faculty union alleges unfair labor practice over switch to new educational software"

Reported by VTDigger on May 16th. The story begins:

The University of Vermont’s faculty union filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the Vermont Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, alleging that the university’s administration is improperly increasing faculty members’ workloads.

… The dispute stems from a university-wide shift to a new “learning management system,” or educational software platform. Faculty are expected to begin using that new system by the fall, United Academics said in a Tuesday press release, a switch that the union argued is labor-intensive and should qualify as an added workload.

The full story can be found here. It also links to a commentary by UA president Ellie Miller, along with Ellen Kaye and Rachel Wallace-Brodeur, representing UVM Staff United, titled, “UVM unions call out administration’s collective bargaining agreement violations,” which appeared on Vermont Business Magazine’s website on May 9th. That article can be found here. It states in part:

While union-busting in America is commonplace, it’s traditionally been a tactic in the corporate realm. Under the administration of President Garimella, however, the University of Vermont, a public university, has come to resemble a corporation in its leadership and governance.

Instead of seeing employees as partners with a shared mission, this administration doubles down on its authoritarian tendencies, making hasty, costly decisions without consulting the faculty, staff and students affected. Instead of honoring its collective bargaining agreements with its unions, this administration flouts them with tactics borrowed directly from the corporate playbook.

Announcing UA's 2023 Student Scholarship Recipients

Each year UA awards several scholarships to students who demonstrate an active commitment to community service, especially in pursuit of social, economic or environmental justice. The UA Scholarship Committee is very excited to announce the recipients of this year’s scholarships. For more information on the scholarships and the people they were established to honor, click here or see below.

David Shiman Scholarship

Rachel Elliott is honored to be awarded this year’s David Shiman Scholarship. They are graduating with a BS in environmental science and a minor in Spanish. Over the past four years, they’ve become deeply embedded in the Burlington and broader Vermont communities, organizing around social, economic, and environmental justice, as well as food sovereignty and access to healthy soil. Most recently, Rachel has been organizing with Migrant Justice in pursuit of Milk With Dignity, and is excited to continue working with MJ and other powerful Vermont groups over the next several years. Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo.

Linda Backus Memorial Scholarship

Amelia Glickman is an undergraduate Sociology student with a concentration in Crime and Criminal Justice along with minors in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Biology, and Studio Art. She is president of the University of Vermont Prison Partnership club, which is dedicated to advocating for criminal justice reform and volunteering in the local women's prison. This summer, Amelia will continue her advocacy work as an intern for FreeHerVT, the Vermont chapter of the Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, where she will play a part in political organizing, and outreach in public schools. She is excited to begin research surrounding criminal justice reform while continuing her studies at UVM.

Jeffrey Brace Scholarships

Matthew Breunig is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Social Work. They received their Bachelor of Science in psychology at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. During the 2022-2023 academic year, Matthew was the Will Miller intern for United Academics. During their time working for the union, Matthew dedicated their time campaigning for the part-time bargaining unit, and to make the Board of Trustees democratic. As such, they advanced their skills while interacting with state legislators to promote United Academics’ bill. Outside of the statehouse, they gained experience in frontline union efforts in events such as picketing and rallying. 


Maggie Pierce (she/her) is a junior at the University of Vermont majoring in History and Social Work. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys running, reading, and debating. She completes most of her economic and social justice service through the Lawrence Debate Union, including hosting public debates, engaging in research, and volunteering in local prisons. To Maggie, there is no greater tool than one’s voice, and she believes a key tenet of justice is empowering those who have been deprived of theirs. After graduation, she intends to attend law school, with a special interest in criminal and migrant justice.


Brittany Blakeman is a senior at UVM, graduating with a degree in Social Work. She is led to social work due to the inherent obligation to advancing social justice, human rights, and racial equity. Throughout her senior year, Brittany worked with Cathedral Square and SASH (Support and Services at Home) to ensure aging adults and those living with disabilities had accessibility to essential resources, combating loneliness and isolation, and promoting self-sufficiency for those aging in place/at home. Brittany will be continuing her work in the community at ONE Community Arts School in Burlington as an Infant Teacher, where she will continue to promote social and economic justice for marginalized families and youth.

More about our scholarships:

The David Shiman Scholarship of $1,500 is presented to a UVM senior or graduate student with an outstanding and sustained record of community service, especially in pursuit of social or economic justice. The scholarship is named in honor of David Shiman, long-time professor of education at UVM and past president of United Academics.

The Linda Backus Memorial Scholarship of $1,000 is presented to an undergraduate student for outstanding community service, especially in pursuit of social or economic justice. The scholarship is named in honor of Linda Backus, former UVM professor of education, committed union organizer, and second president of United Academics.

UA also awards three $500 Jeffrey Brace Scholarships to students with an active commitment to community service, especially in pursuit of social or economic justice. The scholarship is named in honor of Jeffrey Brace, an early 19th-century Black Vermonter, previously enslaved person and activist. Scholarship recipients are selected based on demonstrated involvement in community service, especially activities related to social and/or economic justice, in keeping with United Academics’ values.

UA workshop centers anti-racism + inclusive practices and celebrates Labor Spring

About 15 of us gathered on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 4th for an enlightening workshop and discussion with Prof. Charles Toombs of San Diego State University, who is also President of the California Faculty Association. The focus was on how to more effectively center anti-racist praxis in our union, especially given the vastly different racial/ethnic makeup of our membership as compared with California’s. The stated goal was to examine how systemic racism, white privilege and white supremacy culture operate in organizations, and learn how to use and talk about diversity, inclusion, antiracism, social justice, power, whiteness, white privilege, and white supremacy culture in accountable and transformative ways. The entire elected UA Executive Council was present, along with several others, including a representative of the staff union.

We learned of a variety of specific practices developed by the union in the California state university system, especially their explicit policy for interrupting manifestations of white supremacist thinking that may emerge in the course of their faculty experiences. We discussed several sample scenarios to help translate these ideas into praxis, along with some of the particular challenges we face at UVM, including the concerning rate of turnover of faculty of color who do come here.


The session, which was initiated by UA EC member Yoanda Flores, began with a brief presentation linking this workshop to 2 months of Labor Spring events happening across the US this March and April. Labor Spring was initiated by the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University and the Labor and Working Class History Association, especially by faculty members who were students during the nationwide wave of student support for union organizing during the mid-1990s. Support for unions, especially among young people, is even higher today and there are many high-profile organizing efforts on campuses and beyond. Labor Spring has now posted some 86 events at nearly 70 institutions, especially on campuses with current labor struggles. Our brief slide presentation on Labor Spring (adapted from the initiators’ longer slideshow) can be accessed here, and there is more information at https://lwp.georgetown.edu/9404-2/.

We believe this event represented an important affirmation of the commitment of UA leadership to do more consistent anti-racist work in our own organization and begin to more thoroughly walk the walk. EC members and others are excited and determined to move forward with steps to change the culture on campus and directly address existing shortcomings. Please stay tuned!

Goddard College Staff Union is On Strike and Needs our Support!

A week ago, a super majority of Goddard College’s unionized staff unanimously voted no confidence in President Dan Hocoy’s leadership and also to authorize a strike. Staff from across the campus – from kitchen workers to financial advisors – participated in person and via Zoom to take part in this historic vote.

Union members have received a huge outpouring of support from students, faculty, alumni, community members, and elected officials. Together we all share a commitment to a just, democratic, and thriving Goddard College. Please sign the petition in support of the Goddard staff union at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/for-a-just-democratic-goddard-college.

The current president represents a significant departure from Goddard’s progressive roots and this shared ethos. For over a year, management refused to grant a modest cost-of-living adjustment of 3% without staff surrendering their right to negotiate on working conditions or agreeing to other economic concessions. Staff have already endured years of furloughs, layoffs, vacancies, overwork, and no cost of living adjustments. Hardship after hardship, staff have shown their faith and commitment to serving students, faculty, and the broader Goddard community to fulfill its mission. Union members are proud of the college and its mission and take this action as a last resort to ensure Goddard lives up to its values.

Update as of Fri. afternoon, 3/24: UA member Brian Tokar was at Goddard for the start of picketing at noon today. The pace of negotiations accelerated considerably as the strike approached, and the administration has backed away from an oppressive and unprecedented-for-Goddard ‘management rights’ clause. The sides are closer than before, but the economic conditions for staff are truly terrible.

Some staff members haven’t had a raise in over 10 years, and many have only received modest one-time pay bumps every 3-years.  Several people doing professional-level work in administrative offices are still paid less than $20/hour and some dining staff are still making $15/hour or less.  The administration is offering longer vacations in lieu of raises, but office workers can’t even take advantage of their current vacation benefits due to extreme short-staffing.

Goddard staff members and supporters on the picket line, 3/24/23.

Goddard staff members and supporters on the picket line, 3/24/23.

Students are on campus for their semester residency (all programs at Goddard now are low-residency with students only on campus for a week at the beginning of each semester), and several are actively supporting the strike. There has also been an outpouring of support from other unions, including officers of the VT AFL-CIO. Stay tuned here for further updates and please sign the petition in support of the strikers’ demands at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/for-a-just-democratic-goddard-college.

Liz Medina, ED of the VT AFL-CIO, reported on Sunday morning 3/26: “Still on the line! Picket today will run until 4 pm.”

Highlights from Part Time Faculty 'Fair Contract Now' Rally, 10/20/22

Great energy and solidarity from UVM students, United Academics full time faculty, UVM Staff United, AFT Vermont, Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO, Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, and the Burlington community. Stay tuned for more calls to action!