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Dear Colleagues, We offer a summary below of what we’ve accomplished in this bargaining cycle. We hope you take the time to look carefully at both this summary and your CBA before you vote on ratification. A “yes” vote means this CBA goes into effect until June 30, 2024. A “no” vote means we go back to bargaining until we reach a new tentative agreement or until one party initiates the mediation process, which could end with the imposition of the employer’s final offer or a strike. Voting will open on July 08 and run through July 18. All members…

Dear colleagues and comrades, I’m out. What a wild ride. Some memories and reflections for when you got a moment… Tres, Joe, and I sat there for lunch; they gave me the rundown of the state political labor scene. Our server was a little surprised that I, too, worked at the University with Tres and Joe. Joe quickly acknowledged we three were all faculty members, never once acknowledging they were profs and I was an instructor. It wasn’t the first time someone in the larger community looked at me and was confused that I, too, could be a faculty member…

A hearty thank you to all who tuned in for what ended up being a 12 hour bargaining session on Wednesday! While we did not quite complete negotiations, we are very close to an agreement and optimistic that we will finish tomorrow (Friday). Your team returns to the bargaining table at 9am – please Zoom In for the home stretch! We came out of this session with three new tentative agreements – on Articles 11 (Release Time), 16 (Notices of Appointment), and 20 (Tenure Review and Promotion). Those agreements will be available when signed by both parties. We made significant progress on…

First things first – we are nearing completion of this round of bargaining and may be able to wrap up negotiations this week! We need you to help put us over the finish line. Please Zoom In on Wednesday, June 15 – we will begin at 9am and bargain to conclusion or until the parties decide to call it a day. If needed, another session is scheduled for Friday, June 17 from 9am to noon. Last Thursday, your UA bargaining team presented counterproposals on Articles 15 (Academic Classification and Rank), 16 (Notices of Appointment), 19 (Career Faculty Review and Promotion), 20 (Tenure Review and…

Your UA bargaining team met with the administration twice last week (June 1st and 3rd). Most of our open Articles were in the administration’s court last week – they gave us counterproposals on Articles 11 (Release Time), 15 (Academic Classification and Rank), 16 (Notices of Appointment), 17 (Assignment of Professional Responsibilities), 20 (Tenure Review and Promotion), 30 (Benefits for Retired Faculty), and 32 (Leaves). We also discussed their counters from the week prior on Articles 19 (Career Faculty Review and Promotion) and 28 (Fringe Benefits), as we had not had time to go over these at the table. Key Points…

The UA and administration bargaining teams met for a two-hour session on Wednesday, May 25. Your UA team presented counterproposals on Articles 16 (Notices of Appointment) and 20 (Tenure Review and Promotion). We only had time to discuss the administration’s Caregiving counterproposal, but they also provided counters on Articles 15 (Academic Classification and Rank), 19 (Career Review and Promotion), and 28 (Fringe Benefits), as well as an updated University Distinguished Teaching Professor program description. UA Proposals In Article 16, we proposed moving many of the ideas from our Home Campus proposal to this Article, as it seems a logical place to clarify expectations around work…

As we approach the end of the academic year and in an effort to finish negotiations in the coming weeks, we’ve stepped up the pace of bargaining. We had two sessions last week – Wednesday 5/18 and Friday 5/20. Your UA bargaining team presented counterproposals on Articles 11 (Release Time), 15 (Academic Classification and Rank), 16 (Notices of Appointment), 19 (Career Faculty Review and Promotion), 27 (Public Employee Benefits), 28 (Miscellaneous Benefits), 30 (Benefits for Eligible Retired Faculty), and 32 (Leaves). The administration team did not bring any proposals last week, but provided a Caregiving Concepts document that outlined their thinking in…

A Message from UA’s Incoming President Greetings, my excellent friends. With the upcoming departure of Avinnash, I have been asked by the Executive Council to serve in his stead as Interim President of UAUO until our next regular election of officers in Spring 2023. It is a position I take on with a healthy respect and warranted trepidation. It doesn’t seem possible to match the passion, the heart, or the power of my predecessors. We are a diverse bargaining unit of over 1700 working in a multitude of roles across multiple campuses; I am acutely aware that I don’t have…