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Akron-AAUP Monthly NewsletterFebruary 1, 2007 |
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The first merit guidelines were approved by the Provost’s office in
mid-December, and to date 10 departments have been approved, although five of
those are small units within the library. Four departments should see their
raises in the January paycheck. Approved guidelines are posted on the
Akron-AAUP
website as we receive them (here).
There you will also find the merit computation spreadsheet the chairs are using,
per the contract, to determine raise amounts. Update on the Salary Increase Grievance On October 9, 2006 the Akron-AAUP filed a grievance over the
delayed implementation of salary increases. On Nov.10th the Administration
denied our grievance, so we are now appealing the grievance to arbitration. The
reasonable implementation of the salary contract article demands this action,
and your support of the Akron-AAUP allows us to take this step. We are currently
in the process of choosing an arbitrator, and are preparing the case we shall
present. Faculty-Staff Parking Converted to "All Permit" Akron-AAUP has been receiving complaints about the parking
situation since virtually every faculty/staff parking lot on campus was
converted to “all permit” on January 16. This change is due to the elimination
of the Auburn deck (see the UA memo from Parking Services at
http://www.uakron.edu/info/docs/Parking_bulletin_WebFINAL.pdf. There has
been no indication of how long it will last. Affected faculty have been advised
to park in lots peripheral to the campus, or to use the Polsky deck and take the
shuttle to their classes and offices. The shuttle may be especially problematic
for faculty who teach night classes, since the shuttle service does not run in
the evenings (after 5:30 PM , Monday through Thursday).
In our December AAUP newsletter there was a brief article mentioning that
Wright State faculty had gained domestic partner benefits through union
negotiations. In the past month we have heard from several of our
bargaining unit members inquiring about the possibility of securing domestic
partner benefits at the University of Akron. This was “on the table” during
the negotiating period that led to our first contract. It was clear during
those negotiations that the University was unwilling to move in that
direction. Although we were unsuccessful in achieving that goal then, we
have not forgotten.
Offering domestic partner benefits will ultimately be good for faculty, and good for the institution. Much has been written about the benefits in recruiting the most creative faculty who desire and need a university with an open attitude and welcoming environment. A recent example of such work is, “The Rise of the Creative Class” by Richard Florida. While the rewards of offering DPB’s to institutions are an increase in creativity and productivity, the costs are quite small. On average, including domestic partners in employee benefits adds about 1-2% to the total benefits budget. Ohio universities that offer domestic partner benefits are: Ohio State University, Ohio University, Wright State University, Cleveland State University, Miami University, Kent State University, Cuyahoga Community College, Antioch College, Baldwin Wallace College, Case Western Reserve, College of Wooster, Denison University, Hiram College, Kenyon College and Oberlin College. In order to remain competitive with our peers, we must extend benefits to domestic partners. Return to Top of page 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. UA Leads Ohio in Contingent Faculty The national AAUP recently published a major report on the use of contingent faculty at colleges and universities around the country. The report, titled the "AAUP Contingent Faculty Index 2006" (see the AAUP website at http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/research/conind2006.htm), presents a breakdown of the number of part-time faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and graduate student instructors at each institution. These are totaled to give a contingent index, which is the percentage of all faculty who are contingent. At Akron, this figure is 77.1%. Even if one removes graduate student instructors, 60.4% of teachers at UA are contingent. Both percentages are noticeably higher than for other state universities. Ohio Legislature Delays Action on Health Care Plan
Ohio HB66 created an Ohio School Employees Health Care Board with the task of
creating a mandatory healthcare plan for K-12 teachers. Once implemented,
higher education faculty would be next. In both instances, the employees would
no longer be able to bargain over healthcare. Recently, the "lame duck" session
of the Ohio Legislature took no action on HB66. As reported by the University
of Cincinnati AAUP chapter, the Advisory Committee to the Board (made up of
interested constituency groups) recommended that the Board not make its
recommendations mandatory, but instead establish best practices and assist
districts in realizing healthcare savings. Please direct any question regarding Akron-AAUP dues to Russ Davis, Akron-AAUP Treasurer at rdavis@uakron.edu or 330.972.7391 Akron-AAUP |
In This Issue:Update on the Salary Increase Grievance Faculty-Staff Parking Converted to "All Permit" Reception to Introduce New Faculty to Akron-AAUP UA Leads Ohio in Contingent Faculty Ohio Legislature Delays Action on Health Care Plan
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