October 2021

Dear faculty,

It's finally beginning to feel and look like Fall. Hopefully you have been able to get into a rhythm with this new schoolyear, and we hope you're staying healthy and safe. We appreciate hearing from so many of you with comments, questions and concerns, as we continue to navigate this uncertain time. Your questions and suggestions help guide what issues we take up in United Academics. And your involvement through advocacy, service in UA's Delegates Assembly and various committees, and participation in union events is a meaningful contribution. Please plan to attend a Delegates Assembly meeting, know-your-contract workshop, Fall Members Meeting, legislative committee event, Part-Time faculty meeting, or other UA event this fall.

We continue to hold most UA meetings remotely this semester, based on member feedback.

We look forward to seeing your faces at some of our many upcoming meetings, including our Fall Members Meeting: see below for dates and links.

In solidarity,

Ellie and Katlyn

Ellie Miller, President | Katlyn Morris, Executive Director

Fall events

• Oct 20, 12-1:15pm: Know Your Contract session, on Articles 14 and 16 changes, with UA’s Grievance Officer and Director. On Zoom. RSVP here.

• Oct. 20, 2:30-3:30 PM: Discussion of UVM Leadership & legislative issues. Hosted by UA’s State and Higher Ed Issues Committee. Register here for the UVM leadership discussion Zoom link.

• Oct. 21, 6-7:15pm: Know Your Contract session, on Articles 14 and 16 changes, with UA’s Grievance Officer and Director. On Zoom. RSVP here.

• Oct. 25, 12-1 PM: Part-time faculty meeting. We are gearing up for part-time faculty negotiations this winter. All PT faculty UA members are encouraged to get involved this semester as we prepare. Register here for the Part-time faculty meeting Zoom link.

• Nov. 9, 3:30-5 PM: FALL MEMBERS MEETING. All members welcome! Register here for the Members Meeting Zoom link.

• TBD: Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Caucus. Stay tuned!

Contract Update on Workload

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See the outdated current course equivalencies to understand why these policies need updating.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

Read this

September 23

Higher ed, health care union opposes AFL-CIO gun stance
vtdigger.org | Tiffany Tan

September 14

How can we trust administrators?
Chronicle of Higher Ed | Joseph Pierce, opinion

September 9

How Biden’s new vaccination policy affects colleges
Chronicle of Higher Ed | Sarah Brown

Ongoing

UA’s vaccine mandate statement is here.

Questions and changes: As we know, situations may change rapidly. Policies around vaccination, masking, remote options, modality changes, and others will be updated here.

Note that this year’s Professional Development Funds are $1825 per full-time faculty member, and part-time faculty also have a dedicated pool of Professional Development Funds. New this Fall: we have requested and been approved for faculty to be able to use PDFs to purchase KN95 masks for teaching, if you wish.

Campaign: Democratize the Board of Trustees. Campaign info and updates here.

Quick links

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Calendar of events

Contract questions

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