August 15, 2024
“Our Board of Trustees action moved them!” Katie Krcmarik, Wonsook Kim School of Art
Today’s session began with Administration Spokesperson Mark Bennett presenting a counter-proposal on Health and Safety, and Facilities, which includes an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Facilities. Keith Pluymers was our fearless stand-in UFISU Lead Spokesperson today. He presented a packet on Appointment Procedures, Promotion and Tenure, and Evaluations, Grievance and Arbitration, and Professional Ethics. We then went to caucus, and returned briefly to answer some of the questions asked when reviewing proposals earlier.
In the administration’s counter-proposal on Health and Safety, there were some small changes to update language to better reflect OSHA requirements. However here the comment of “Your proposal is overly broad” started to come out very frequently from MB. One example is that some faculty do work that requires being in unsafe locations, such as teaching in a chemistry laboratory, or climbing trees to perform research. Their proposal states that they will provide the appropriate safety training and will follow the law with OSHA for safety equipment, but will not provide all safety equipment, such as steel-toed shoes.
When presenting the Facilities counter-proposal, MB noted that ISU cannot afford to ensure that every space on campus is accessible. While they include language that every employee will receive a computer and related equipment consistent with department/college practices, they cannot commit to replacement times because every department is different. Additional equipment, such as adjustable desks, would be considered an accommodation and can be requested if needed but will not be provided otherwise. It was noted by MB that “this is happening already. We don’t need to put it in the collective bargaining agreement.” However, our proposals exist specifically because these practices are not consistent across campus.
The MOU presented by administration states that within five years locks would be installed on all entry/exit doors of all classrooms. This is a significant movement on their part. Administration continues to note they will make progress on all-gender restrooms and lactation spaces, with the note that this may include converting single occupancy restrooms to all-gender restrooms and increasing the number of campus buildings with at least one all-gender restroom.
Keith began presenting our proposals with Appointment Procedures, Promotion and Tenure, and Evaluations. Major takeaways include that faculty may have a union advocate during the tenure/promotion appeal process. International faculty may have an additional English-language support person present for tenure/promotion hearings. If a faculty has a majority vote on their tenure process at the D/SFSC and CFSC levels, they may grieve an opposing position from the president or provost. Student evaluations, based on the decades of research on the challenges in relation to bias, should not be used to for discipline or to deny tenure or promotion. Also, an evaluation beyond satisfactory should be achievable within the time commitments of appointment letters.
In our Grievance and Arbitration proposal we made significant movement to more closely match the employer’s proposed process, however we do not have a mandatory informal step. There continue to be minor differences in timelines and dates, and we continue to reject language that would not allow an arbitrator to overrule a so-called “academic judgment” by the employer.
We presented a new proposal on Professional Ethics (which would include withdrawing our workplace bullying article). This proposal focuses on abiding by a code of ethics requiring that employers will not humiliate, threaten, intimidate, or disparage employees. MB asked a number of questions about whether employees would seek financial compensation against the employer in response to ethics grievances. We repeatedly responded, "The union's position is not to punish the university. The union's position is to rectify the harm done."
The school year is ramping up, and so are we! Come say hi to us in the hallways, across the quad, and especially in bargaining! See you there!
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