Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

As the Fall, 2006 semester comes rapidly to a close, we also want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we go through the difficult process of implementing our first contract. 

Although we have yet to see the salary raises due at the beginning of the academic year, much progress has been made towards our goals of protecting academic freedom, enhancing real shared governance, and guaranteeing individual and organizational due process.  We look forward to working with and for you as we continue this journey.

John Hebert, Chapter President

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The Past Year in Review

Faculty at The University of Akron have been under contract for one year.  After  26 months of negotiating, on December 7, 2005 the Akron AAUP faculty voted nearly unanimously to approve our first contract.  As is customary with such anniversaries, we look back to what has been, and we look forward to what may be.

Fair Share Implementation:  Within weeks of celebrating the contract victory our sights were set on creating the strongest and most effective union possible.  One important step in reaching that goal was to implement Fair Share, and in March 2006 the faculty voted by a 70% majority to do so.  The success of the Fair Share vote gives your union the resources to protect faculty rights and enforce contractual agreements. 

Shared Governance: Two examples of successful union actions to enforce the contract concern shared governance issues at the University of Akron - Chair Review and Merit Guidelines.

Akron AAUP successfully resisted attempts by the Administration to have faculty Chair Review committees simply itemize the accomplishments and failures of their Department Chairs.  The Administration did not want faculty to make a recommendation regarding the retention of department Chairs.  As a result of union involvement in defending the contract, all departments now have the right to make written retention recommendations concerning the leadership and management of their academic units.

Securing the right of faculty to write their own merit guidelines was one of the union victories at the negotiating table.  For the first time, faculty have a contractual voice in how they will be evaluated and rewarded for their professional efforts.  What was not foreseen were the micro-managing efforts of the Administration related to this task.  The current process is frustrating, as our merit documents are passed back and forth between faculty authors, and the many layers of administration.  Be strong.  Akron AAUP has filed a grievance, and filed for arbitration to bring resolution to this important process.  Remember, once your merit guidelines are in place, they can only be changed by faculty choice. 

Looking Forward:  The faculty at the University of Akron have much to be proud of and we are also humbled by the lessons still to be learned as the first year of our faculty union contract comes to an end.  As we work together in the coming years let us remember that our efforts are not simply for ourselves, but also for the faculty who will follow us.

Your Akron AAUP thanks everyone for their work and support this past year.  May you all have a safe, peaceful and prosperous New Year. 

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First Merit Guidelines Approval

On Wednesday 12/6/06 the Provost approved the first set of merit guidelines, from the department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. Those guidelines can be viewed here http://www.akronaaup.org/documents/ChemistryMerit.pdf for your information. While it is a relief to see any guidelines receive final approval, one must note that these guidelines were first approved by the faculty on February 16, 2006.

That means it took just short of 10 months to come this far, and there are another forty nine departments to go.

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Update on the Salary Increase Grievance

In an agreement dated November 16, 2006, the Wright State AAUP announced that domestic partners at Wright State will receive full benefits. The agreement states:  “Beginning January 1, 2007 the University will offer the same benefits to all domestic partners of Bargaining Unit Faculty Members as it does to the spouses of Members, and at the same cost. To be eligible to receive such benefits, a Member and domestic partner must declare and document their domestic partnership by completing and signing the Affidavit of Domestic Partnership… In addition, to receive medical, dental and vision insurance coverages for a domestic partner, a Member must provide all requested information on the Health Care Enrollment/Change form in the same way such information is provided for spouses and other dependents.”  For more details, see www.wright.edu/admin/aaup/dpb.html.

This brings Wright State into the forefront of the growing number of Ohio's state universities (Cleveland State, Miami University, Ohio State, Ohio University, University of Toledo, Youngstown State and Cuyahoga Community College) where domestic partner benefits are either offered or being negotiated by the administration and the faculty. In the latest Ohio Academe, the Cincinnati AAUP chapter reports that “new [contract] language…would extend contractual protection to domestic partners on these points:  life, personal accident, and long-term care insurance; use of sick leave due to the death, illness, or disability of a domestic partner and/or children thereof; use of personal leave due to the needs of a domestic partner; and child-rearing leave for needs relating to the children of a domestic partner.”  The chapter hopes to address tuition remission and health benefits in the next round of negotiations. This trend is a recognition that universities must extend benefits to domestic partners to remain competitive in the marketplace.

Contingent Faculty Numbers at UA and Elsewhere

UA has the highest number of contingent faculty among doctoral and research universities in Ohio.  Our full-time nontenure track and part-time faculty make up 60.4% of the faculty here.  Cincinnati is closest to us at 51.9%. See the full AAUP report on Contingent Faculty pp. 30-31 at 

www.aaup.org/NR/rdonlyres/A379B47F-C94E-432D-9C29-F1476AFBD2B5/0/ContingentAppendix1.pdf

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Update on our colleagues at Univ. Virgin Islands and other news at www.akronaaup.org  (FYI section) and see the new and improved National AAUP website at www.aaup.org

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Please direct any question regarding Akron-AAUP dues to Russ Davis, Akron-AAUP Treasurer at rdavis@uakron.edu or 330.972.7391

Akron-AAUP
Communications Committee

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