UVM STAFF UNITED

WE ARE BARGAINING FOR OUR NEXT CONTRACT!

WHO WE ARE:

UVM Staff United is the clerical, specialized, technical and professional staff at UVM. Together, as UVM Staff United, we are organizing for collective power to bargain wages, benefits and working conditions, and for equity, transparency, justice and respect at UVM.

EVENTS SCHEDULE

Tuesday, November 17 12:00 PM - 4:30 PM | Bargaining Session #3
Location: Waterman Memorial Lounge (Room 338)
RSVP for in-person or Zoom in Member Email!
What does pressure look like? A whole lot of UVMSU members packing Waterman Memorial Lounge, wearing our t-shirts and beanies, and holding signs that articulate our demands. It also looks like hundreds of members tuning into the session via Zoom. More than 200 of us turned out or joined Zoom on opening day. Let’s get even more of us out next time by informing and inviting our coworkers!

Tuesday, December 1 | Bargaining Session #4
Location: TBD
RSVP forthcoming in member email

Tuesday, December 15 | Bargaining Session #5
Location: TBD
RSVP forthcoming in member email

More events coming soon!
Location: TBD
More details to come.

Stay up to date on UVM Staff United by reading our member newsletter, attending member meetings, and following us on Instagram.

GREAT start to bargaining this week! UVMSU members are showing what solidarity, unity, and determination look like. Combined attendance at our rally and bargaining (both in person and via Zoom) was more than 200. And we’ve already reached a tentative agreement on one article! We know this kind of spirited turnout is what it will take to win, so spread the word and join us again for bargaining on November 3, 12-4 PM, Waterman Memorial Lounge.

The opening day of contract negotiations is almost here! This is our chance to demonstrate to university administrators that our membership is united, organized, and determined to win higher wages, a step system that recognizes experience, a say in how we use AI, and much more. Come stand with your colleagues outside the library on opening day! (And don’t forget to wear your t-shirts and beanies!!)

The UVMSU Social & Education Committee is pleased to announce our first labor film screening, at PartizanFilm! Workers at PartizanFilm just signed their first union contract with the cinema’s management, so this is an especially great space for this film. The film starts at 5:30 PM and runs for two hours. The screening is free for UVMSU members. See our recent member emails for registration information. From the filmmakers: “PRIDE is inspired by an extraordinary true story. It’s the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers’ families. Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person. As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes for the strongest union of all.”

Don’t miss your chance to join the bargaining team! The nominations period closes at the end of May, so now’s the time to throw your hat (or that of a coworker) into the ring. See the member email for a link to the nominations form.

May has been a busy month! If you’ve been meaning to take the bargaining survey but juuuuust haven’t gotten to it, now’s the time! The survey remains open till the end of next week. We want everyone in our union to have an opportunity to shape our priorities at the bargaining table. See the member email for the survey link.

Nominations for the Staff United bargaining team are open through the end of May. Our contract will be as good as we fight for it to be, and that starts with a kick-ass bargaining team made up of Staff United members representing an array of departments. Nominate yourself or a coworker today! See the member email for information and a link to the nominations form.

Take the bargaining survey now to help determine what protections and improvements to benefits we should push for in our next contract! See the member email for information and a link to take the survey.

Looking for ways to improve wages, benefits, and conditions for you and your coworkers? Wondering what to do with all those good ideas you have about how to make UVM run better? Then join the bargaining team as we gear up for contract negotiations this fall! See the member email for information and a link to the nominations form.

What takes less time than cleaning the fridge, folding laundry, or waiting in line for overpriced coffee? Completing the bargaining survey! It’s a whole lot more fun than any of those tasks, and it’ll help shape what our wages, working conditions, and health care look like in the future! See the member email for information and a link to take the survey.

Our bargaining team is made up of Staff United members just like you and the fantastic people you work with. Help shape what our next contract looks like by nominating yourself or a coworker to join the team. See the member email for information and a link to the nominations form.

Less than six months to go till the start of contract negotiations with UVM—which means NOW is the perfect time to share your thoughts about what we should fight for in our next contract! See the member email for information and a link to take the survey.

Both our bargaining survey and Bargaining Team nominations will launch on Monday, May 4th. Join your colleagues to take the survey in-person and chat with former Bargaining Team members about what it’s like to be on the team in Waterman Memorial Lounge (338) on Tuesday, May 5th from 7:30-10:00. Breakfast (coffee and bagels) provided!

Join fellow union members and our families for a night of bowling at Spare Time in Colchester. Let’s get the ball rolling on bargaining season by building relationships, camaraderie, and friendly competition with our colleagues. Food and drink provided, and strikes encouraged! We need to finalize lane reservations by the end of next week, so please RSVP soon!

Wondering how you can help shape our next contract? Grab your coworkers and head to our upcoming bargaining kick-off information session! Though contract negotiations may feel like they’re a long way off (we’ll be starting in October), it’s not too early to start talking about what bargaining will look like, how everyone can be involved, and what our priorities will be. We bargain together for things like improved wages, preserving healthcare, protecting our jobs against AI, and so much more. Staff United is committed to an open, transparent, democratic bargaining process, so this will be an exciting opportunity for everyone to play a role in winning the best possible contract. All members, from those with extensive bargaining experience to those brand new to the process, are encouraged to attend!

Last Thursday, UVMSU members and union siblings from across the state spent the day in Montpelier advocating for our policy priorities as part of AFT Legislative Action Day. UVMSU combined forces with other public higher ed unions UA (UVM faculty), VSCFF (VTSU faculty), and VSCUP (VTSU staff) to galvanize support for bills S.292 and H.173, which would repeal the prohibition on striking for public higher ed workers in Vermont. Because workers are legally barred from striking, UVM and VTSU management have no incentive to bargain in good faith and reach timely agreements. Contracts at UVM and VTSU take approximately twice as long to settle as contracts at AFT-VT’s private sector locals that have the right to strike. These delays come at a large cost to taxpayer-funded institutional budgets, to workers’ abilities to make ends meet, and to workplace morale, turnover, and student support. Join us in telling our legislators to restore workers’ rights and encourage good-faith, timely bargaining at Vermont’s public colleges and universities.

Last Friday, UVMSU members joined other unions and community organizations in response to a call to support the people of Minneapolis as they face a violent and unprecedented federal occupation. Hundreds of staff, students, and faculty walked out of our offices, classrooms, and labs flooding the walkways and filling the street in front of the Waterman Building. We marched downtown, where we joined hundreds more of our neighbors, including workers who walked out of their businesses and high school students who walked out of school. Dozens of downtown Burlington businesses closed for at least part of the afternoon, and the speakers on the steps of City Hall ran the gamut from elected officials to migrant workers to high school students. A one-time event like a walk-out is a mass community action that demonstrates the fundamental truth of our society: our labor is what makes all our institutions function. If a large majority of us feel that something is so urgently and egregiously wrong with our society, we can choose to respond by withholding that labor. The act of peaceful nonparticipation–no work, no school, no shopping, as the slogan from Friday put it–has the effect of bringing us all together while freezing the churning gears of business as usual. It shows us how powerful we are when we act collectively.

UVM Staff United Statement on the Federal Occupation of Minneapolis and Popular Resistance

With today’s storm, we wanted to make sure that folks are familiar with Article 17 in our contract which deals with university closings and also applies to delayed openings. You can review the full article at uvmstaffunited.org/current-contract. As always, be in touch with your Area Stewards with any questions or concerns. Stay safe out there!

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