January 2024

We’re here: it’s spring semester, and it’s time to bargain. We anticipate a tough road, but we have a terrific bargaining team and lots of support. Negotiations will take place every Friday, 9am-12pm, starting February 2.

Bargaining Team members and consultants: Joe Kudrle, Yolanda Flores, Suzy Comerford, Jean Sienkewicz, Louis deRossett, Katlyn Morris, Jane Knodell, and Joel Goldberg.

Demonstrating our collective power will be crucial to winning a strong contract. When bargaining begins, we will ask you to sign up to observe. When we take action, we will need you there.

Here’s what your union is doing now - and what you can do:

• Friday 1/19: Attend our Delegates Assembly Meeting. Delegates will vote on our bargaining platform in this meeting. The vote will follow a discussion about our key bargaining priorities: all members are encouraged to participate in this discussion. The platform was developed from all the input we received from members and was first presented at the December members’ meeting. All members are welcome to attend this and all Delegates Assembly meetings.

• Tabling: UA will be in the Davis Center every Thursday 10am-1pm. Sign up to volunteer, and swing by to pick up your t-shirt!

• Wear your UA shirt on bargaining days, every Friday.

• Continue to encourage fellow faculty members to get involved, and talk to fellow community members about the need for a fair contract for faculty.

We’ll soon have more to share: a summary document of our bargaining survey results, updates about our legislative efforts, a request for applications for our student scholarships, and more details about negotiations.

Let’s get ready to fight for and win a fair contract!

In solidarity,

Suzy and Kate

Suzy Comerford, President
Katlyn Morris, Executive Director

Remembering
Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne

Earlier this month our colleague Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne passed away unexpectedly. Jarlath's passing is a huge loss to us in United Academics, the UVM community, Vermont, and beyond.

The memorial service for Jarlath is this Saturday January 20 at 10:30am in Ira Allen Chapel.

Please see Jarlath’s obituary and the announcement that ran in VTDigger.

A message from Katlyn sent to UA leaders last week:

I loved working with Jarlath through his involvement in United Academics. After several conversations between us in 2019, Jarlath was convinced of the relevance of United Academics in the working lives of Research faculty and joined UA. He immediately pitched in to contribute to the work of his union: within a week of signing a union membership card, Jarlath agreed to run as a Delegate to represent faculty in the Rubenstein School. Here was Jarlath's statement on the ballot in 2019:

"I have been at the University of Vermont for 19 years. During this time I have been a graduate student, research staff, and research faculty. My current position is Research Associate, where I serve as the director of the Spatial Analysis Laboratory. The faculty landscape has undergone considerable changes in the past two decades. We have gone from a system of majority tenure-track faculty to a mix of tenure-track, lecturer, and research faculty. My goal as a delegate is to ensure that we have an equitable contract that serves all of our faculty members while advancing our institutional goals as it relates to education, research, and outreach."

As a Delegate and in his role as an engaged research faculty UA member, Jarlath actively participated in contract negotiations in 2020. We counted on him to help share a research faculty perspective and I appreciated his reliability and commitment. I also knew of his outstanding accomplishments academically, both through his public contributions of maps, photos, and posts, and through my husband Bill who worked in overlapping circles with Jarlath. Together we also appreciated his unbelievable athleticism.

My heartfelt condolences are with Jarlath's family, friends, and colleagues, and as his obituary concluded: For Jarlath, in his memory, let us always think about how we can be better for each other.

Successful
New Member Meetup

Thanks to all the new UA faculty who showed up to our New Member Meetup last week! This was an opportunity for new faculty to connect with one another, meet UA leaders, and learn about getting involved in our union.

UA Needs Table Volunteers

This spring, UA is tabling on the ground floor of the Davis Center on Thursdays from 10am-1pm. We need member participation! Here’s what you can do:

• Volunteer to table one or several shifts: UA members, please use this form to sign up.

• Every UA member receives a t-shirt: stop by the table to pick up yours! We ask members to wear their t-shirts to observe bargaining on Fridays.

If you would like to participate but are unavailable on Thursdays from 10-1, reach out for other opportunities.

Tabling is part of our contract campaign to engage faculty members and others in the UVM community. UVM Staff United are tabling nearby, so there will be union solidarity, and staff and students will be key partners as we bargain for a fair contract.

UVM Admin Holds Up $600K For Nursing Faculty and Staff

The Vermont legislature passed a bill several years ago, Act 183, that included an infusion of state money for nursing educators in the state. We have followed up on this many times over the past two years, and it's finally coming to pass. The legislature has been in communication with UVM's administration to disburse approximately $600,000 to faculty and staff involved in nursing education.

United Academics leaders, along with leaders from UVM Staff United, are engaged in impact bargaining with the UVM administration on the methodology for distributing these funds. The information provided to us by the administration so far has been incomplete, unclear, and not transparent. We had a second impact bargaining session scheduled with the administration in late December that was cancelled due to them not being prepared, and we have been awaiting information from the administration for over a month.

We are anxious to get accurate information from them so that this money can be allocated fairly to our nursing faculty bargaining unit members as soon as possible.

Upcoming UA Events:

Friday, January 19, 2:30-4pm: Delegates Assembly meeting

All members are invited to attend this and all Delegates Assembly meetings. We will discuss the key areas we’re planning to prioritize in bargaining and then delegates will vote on the platform. In person. Jost room, Davis Center 422.

Immediately following, 4-6pm Friday 1/19: Members Social: Burlington Beer Co., Flynn Ave.

—

Saturday, January 20, 10am-3pm: “More Than a Paycheck: How the Climate Crisis Affects Your Job, Your Working Conditions, and Your Contract”

A workshop for union members, hosted by the VT AFL-CIO, on how to protect ourselves and our communities from extreme weather and climate disasters through union power and collective bargaining. At the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington. Lunch included and preregistration required: register here.

__

Fridays, beginning February 2, 9am-12pm: Full-time contract negotiations begin. Support your Bargaining Team: Members, wear your UA t-shirt and watch your email for a link to sign up to observe.

For a full list of UA meetings and events, as well as meetings and events held by other unions and endorsed by UA, visit our calendar.

Tell A Friend About UA

As we build our contract campaign, we want to include community members in what our faculty union is doing. Now anyone interested in United Academics can subscribe to this newsletter!

You can use or adapt the text below to post on social media, in your email signature, or to send to folks who may want updates on our work:

Stay up to date with United Academics, the faculty union of the University of Vermont. Subscribe for UA bargaining updates and actions in solidarity with our fellow unions and union organizers on campus. Visit unitedacademics.org and enter your email under “Subscribe to UA.”

UA is now on Instagram! Follow us @UVMUnitedAcademics.
We are winding down our presence on the platform X. Look to our Instagram account for quick news and updates going forward (and let us know if you’re interested in helping with UA social media!).

Quick links

Visit our website

Calendar of events

Contract questions

Find your Department Rep and College Delegate

Join the UA Member Chat listserv