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Notes on Labor/Management Meetings
October 27, 2005
Present: Jim Dix, Fran Goldman, Dennis Selzner, Joe Schultz, Darryl Wood, Shelia Doyle, Sylvia Hall, Lois DeFleur
- Preliminaries. UUP thanked President DeFleur for attending. UUP said that faculty and professionals represented by UUP are approaching UUP Binghamton in increasing numbers because they feel they have no place else to turn. UUP in turn brings these issues to labor management meetings. Wood said that Labor/Management meetings with the President's designee instead of the President are useful for resolution of issues, but that some issues are intractable and require intervention by President DeFleur.
- Performance programs and evaluations. UUP requested an update on the progress in reaching the goal of 100% of professional performance programs and evaluations. President DeFleur stated that she has discussed and will continue to discuss the issue with senior staff and the new Vice President for Administration. Management will “keep working on it.” Management reported that the rate of progress toward the 100% goal has increased recently, and internally, they have seen an increase in the number of supervisors inquiring about performance programs and evaluations. Management also reported that incorporation of programs into Oracle and reminders from senior staff give an impression that “someone's watching.” There was some discussion on ideas on how to improve compliance on performance programs and evaluations.
- Part-time issues. UUP and Management agreed that some issues regarding part-timers are being addressed. One unresolved issue is low salaries. UUP wanted a top-level commitment to increase part-time salaries. President DeFleur stated that there is a limited pool of money, that the top priority for salary money is to hire faculty, and that she could not earmark any money to increase part-time salaries. However, Management will try to respond to meritorious requests from part-timers through channels like DSI, but could not promise any increase in salaries. President DeFleur stated deans have discretion on how to spend salary money, and that part-timers could go to their department chair or dean to see if there is money there. Management stated that BU's part-time salaries are on a par with the other university centers, taking in to account, for example, the higher cost of living at Stony Brook.
- Academic issues. UUP stated that it was having trouble getting academic issues addressed through Labor/Management meetings, using as examples, the lack of a clear statement from the university about grading policy arising from the DSON flap; the lack of consultation about the FOIL requests for SOOTs; and a potential upcoming issue about intellectual property rights relating to the digitization of lectures in LH1. President DeFleur stated that she had delegated academic issues to the Provost, and that the Provost decides what academic issues are appropriate to consult UUP.
- Safety and Health. UUP expressed its hope in the potential establishment of a Health and Safety Committee on campus. UUP stated that for information about a recent mold incident on campus, it was required to file a formal FOIL request. The fact that a FOIL request needed to be filed suggested an adversarial relationship between UUP and Management, and also could be perceived as a comment on the UUP/Management relations. President DeFleur stated that often, for political protection and legal reasons, BU requires requests to go through FOIL, and that UUP should not read anything more into it. Management reminded UUP that it gives UUP lots of information already without a FOIL being filed.
- Benefits Fair. Everyone was happy with past Benefits Fairs, and looks forward to a successful one this semester. The Benefits Fair is an example of a good working relationship between UUP and Management. Other examples are the joint PEC recognition luncheon, advocacy efforts, and politicking with Lupardo and Libous.
Archived LM notes:
Feb, 2007 | Jan, 2007 | Dec, 2006
Nov, 2006 | Oct, 2006 | Sep, 2006
Jun, 2006 | May, 2006 | Apr, 2006
Mar, 2006 | Feb, 2006 | Nov, 2005
Oct, 2005 | Oct, 2005 | Sep, 2005
Apr, 2005 | Mar, 2005 | Feb, 2005
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