UCHC-AAUP Election Results

Find the election results for President, Executive Council Positions, and AFT affiliation here.

UCHC-AAUP Election Update

Election Update

UCHC-AAUP Contract 2021 to 2024

View our newly won contract!

2022-2024 AAUP Contract

Among the highlights are raises for UConn Health faculty, new mechanisms for navigating discipline, vacation time, implementing restorative approaches to justice, and a Rx addition provided by SEBAC.

We are hosting bargaining discussions in the next two weeks. Join us!

Please join us for the next discussions.

Let’s talk about wage, hours, and working conditions in the SODM!

SODM Bargaining: Hosted by Liisa Kuhn and Frank Nichols

Wednesday, December 16th

4:30 pm for Research Faculty

Join Zoom Meeting Here

5:30 pm for Clinicians

Join Zoom Meeting Here

Do you have concerns/input about maternity/paternity leave?

Discussion about family leave time: Hosted by Scott Mallozzi

Thursday, December 17 5:30 pm.

Join Zoom Meeting Here

SOM Clinical Faculty Conversation about leave time, promotion, and other topics of concern.

Join hosts Carl Malchoff, Ibrahim Elali, and Jan Oliveri

Monday, December 22 at 5:30 pm.

Join Zoom Meeting Here

We hope you can join us!

Regards,

Ibrahim and Cindy

Updates: PPE and Research

We hope everyone is well. Thank you for everything you are doing at UCH and remotely to continue research and to care for patients. We know these are extremely difficult times.  We have some updates and requests:

1. PPE Help:

As you may know, we have been working in collaboration with colleagues at Storrs to develop and produce PPE. Our efforts morphed into the COVID Critical Clinical Needs Project, which is supported by both Andy Agwunobi and President Katsouleas. The project is producing mask frames, face shields, swabs, and even ventilators!  Dr. Michael Baldwin, who is a member of the UCHC-AAUP Executive Council, is the Clinical and Production Coordinator for this project. Thanks Mike!*

Working with Mike is an UCHC-AAUP subcommittee and we need your help!

PPE Needs: Clinicians, please contact subcommittee member Mingfu Yu if you have any PPE needs.

PPE Production: If you would like to volunteer to produce PPE, please contact Stefan Brocke.  Please contact subcommittee members Stefan Brocke or Kevin Claffey if you have PPE from your lab to donate.Here’s what we need for PPE donations:

Surgical gowns (S, M, L, XL, XXL)

Face/surgical masks (adult, pediatric)

Gloves (nitrile, vinyl or butyl)

N95 particulate respirators

Isolation gowns

Face shields

Tyvek coveralls

Thermometers

Foot coverings

Ventilator tubing

Headbands available for providers and staff!

Over the past weeks, UCHC-AAUP Executive Council member, Alix Deymier Ph.D., delivered 400 beautiful headbands made and donated by the Sewing Face Masks-Farmington Valley collective of volunteer sewers. Surgical masks are secured with buttons on the headbands, increasing comfort while adding a splash of color! Thanks, Alix!

2. Clinical Housing:

We have been asked about housing for providers working at the hospital. We encourage everyone seeking shelter to apply to UCH temporary housing. Please contact us if you are denied.

(Reposting UCH info)TEMPORARY HOUSING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC:  To support the availability of critical staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, UConn Health will provide temporary housing at participating area hotels to eligible individuals. Those eligible include UConn Health employees or residents who are caring for COVID-19-positive patients or patients who are Persons Under Investigation (“rule outs”), and who have high-risk individuals residing with them at home.

Others may be considered to be eligible on a case-by-case basis.  Please see the new policy, which  became effective on Monday, April 13.  Employees and residents seeking this benefit should follow the approval process outlined in the policy.

3. Research:

The Unfunded Legacy Fringe Liability:

Yesterday, UCHC-AAUP President Ibrahim Elali requested that President Katsouleas provide UCH researchers with relief from the legacy fringe costs that will be approaching 74%.  While we appreciate the fiscal situation caused by the COVID crisis, we believe that providing relief to researchers will expedite economic recovery. Conversely, failure to act will exacerbate the dire economic situation in which we find ourselves.  As Dr. Elali wrote:

More specifically, on behalf of our researchers at UConn Health, I am requesting sustained and multi-year relief from the burden of the unfunded legacy fringe rates which will be approaching 74% in the upcoming year. UCH researchers bring in almost $100 million in research dollars annually and the exorbitant fringe-rates will undermine Bioscience Connecticut and research operations in general.   We are concerned that we will soon experience substantially reduced productivity along with the exit of the productive research faculty and the funds they have garnered. We understand that, as the result of your intervention, researchers at UConn Storrs will enjoy three years of relief from the unfunded pension liability with a 43% fringe rate.

We are asking that you help provide us with relief from this artificial increase in our fringe costs and reduce rates to a maximum of 43% for at least the next three years.  We cannot plan with temporary yearly relief. That is most counterproductive because, as you know, almost all grants are multi-year awards.

Research Q&A:(reposting UCH info)

Stay safe and thank you again for all you do!

Kind regards,

Ibrahim and Cindy

ps.  *Here’s a short news clip with Dr. Mike Baldwin about our efforts!

Power of Attorney- Updated

We wanted to share some benefit information that we hope you will never have to use, but may provide you with some peace of mind in the upcoming months.

We want to call members attention once again to the limited durable power of attorney form which can be found at the Comptroller’s website.  Pre-Retirement POA.

The POA is intended to address the situation in which a living member may wish to make a change concerning his/her SERS retirement  — e.g. apply for disability or choose a particular spouse option  – but as a result of illness or accident is physically or mentally unable to do so.  We strongly recommend that every member covered by SERS(including Hybrid) complete this form.

Thanks to the work of SEBAC, there are now three ways members can sign POAs during the crisis;

(1) As always, with a live notary and two witnesses. Those POA’s last indefinitely as always;

(2) Using an online notary or attorney process, pursuant to Executive Order 7Q.  (attached)  That process basically uses Zoom or the equivalent to create a recording of the electronic signature, and doesn’t need witnesses or any live contact. These POA’s too last indefinitely as always;

(3)  With no notary or witnesses, emailed in with a digital photo or other legible copy of a valid photo ID of the member.    This is the special exception the State agreed to, but these POAs will be valid until 60 days beyond the end of the crisis.   Members will get notification from the Retirement Division that the will need to replace the POAs with properly signed ones within 60 days of when the emergency ends.  Please see agreement.   

All three options incorporate the other request you all made that members could include only the last 4 digits of their social on the form instead of the full number for security purposes. You can find the most recent memorandum here.

We hope this helps and clarifies the process.

Kind regards and stay safe!

Cindy

SAG Award Handouts from the Comptroller’s office

SAG Award Handout – Updated PDF

SAG Award Chart – Updated PDF

Wage-increases, retirement, and benefits at risk: Supreme Court Ruling Pending

The future of your union and collective bargaining rights over wages, hours, and working conditions are at stake and we need your help. We are asking everyone to sign this new membership form, if you haven’t done so already. You can fill out the form and sign it electronically or print it and send it back. We’d be happy to pick up the completed form from you.

In the upcoming days/weeks, the Supreme Court will announce its decision in the Janus Case.

As you may know, a ruling in favor of Janus could weaken unions by preventing unions from charging an ‘agency fee’ to those who do not want to be members. Agency fees cover the costs of services provided by the union to members of a bargaining unit.  The problem is that the decision would require unions to represent fully all members of a bargaining unit, regardless of whether they pay dues or not. Such a decision is supported by interests intent on destroying unions, quashing our collective voice, and eroding our wages and benefits.

We need to stand together now so that we can continue with our important work representing members to ensure fair and competitive wages, hours and working conditions. We are asking that you sign our new membership form that provides members with an annual window to withdraw from the union, in compliance with the anticipated ruling. Signing this new card is a proactive way to indicate your support of the UCHC-AAUP.  Union dues will remain the same at less than 1% (0.63%) of gross pay up to $250,000.

A short summary of UCHC-AAUP benefits and accomplishments:

• Our UCHC-AAUP faculty union has been in place almost 10 years and serves as a means for faculty to have a voice in UConn Health decisions and to provide the strength of many voices to negotiate salaries, benefits, and general working conditions.
• The UCHC-AAUP developed and negotiated a unique equity-adjusted compensation plan that has successfully increased base pay (on average more than 2.7%/year over ten years) and significantly reduced wage inequities, while maintaining a system for merit-based wage increases and/or bonuses. Before we formed the union, there were large inequities in faculty salaries.
• In addition, as a result of our negotiations: 1) This July, everyone will receive a $2,000 bonus; 2) In April 2018 longevity payments will be made to for those who are eligible; 3) One extra day of vacation will be given to clinicians who participated in EPIC training.
• In July, 2020 and again in July, 2021, we will receive a 5.5% increase in our equity fund, which will be distributed in the form of wage increases and merit.
• The UCHC-AAUP, as member of the state coalition of employee unions (SEBAC), has also negotiated protection for pensions and retirement benefits as well as ongoing health insurance. Please see an update of the SAG award FAQ here.
• The UCHC-AAUP represents bargaining unit members in employment-related matters. Your union contract has important protections for your wages, hours and working conditions. Please find the union contract here.
• The union leadership is deepening our communications network by asking people to be liaisons in each department. We will also be bringing together constituent councils to work on issues of common concern. If you would like to be a liaison or participate in the councils, please let us know.
• We had a substantial legislative presence this year, supporting a fair budget and protecting collective bargaining rights.

These protections and benefits cannot be maintained without committed dues-paying members!

We must maintain solidarity in the upcoming months. Not only is the UCH facing the formation of a public/private partnership, but there will be attacks on collective bargaining, our pensions, and health insurance during the legislative session. Additionally, national groups intent on destroying public employee unions will be gathering data so they can take advantage of the Janus decision by sending letters urging people to abandon their unions. (An Illinois organization already asked UConn for data about union members last week!)

Stand together so that we can continue to have a voice! Please sign our new form today!

Please contact us if you have any questions at all.

Kind regards,

Kevin Claffey and Cindy Polinsky

QA on SEBAC ARP Award with Notice Issue

Time Sensitive Update ARP and Hybrid – 5/24/2018

The previous version of the Q&A on the SAG award included the following: 

Q9:    If I am eligible for the SAG or Hybrid, how long will I have to make my choice of plans, and what materials will be available to me?

A9: The choice must be made between September 14th and December 14th of this year. Materials will be posted shortly which provide some of the information you may need to make your best choice.

One thing to keep in mind is that the current online calculator which figures the actuarial cost of buying past service credit will likely be updated soon to reflect changes in benefits and actuarial assumptions that occurred in 2017.   The plan requires notice prior to the calculator changing. So, while the SAG calculator when it is posted will be slightly less expensive than the Hybrid due to the difference in post-retirement death benefits, they may both be more expensive than the Hybrid calculator used today, depending on how the actuaries value in the 2017 changes.

We continue to believe that the online calculators and the purchasing costs will shortly be updated, and that those costs are likely to be higher than the current calculator determines, regardless of whether a member chooses the Hybrid or to move to SERS through SAG. However, we are no longer assured that members will be given notice before the calculators are changed. We intend to challenge any change that occurs without notice, but the result of that challenge cannot be guaranteed.

People should take this into account in their decision-making.  The attached updated Q&A references the possible dispute about notice. Should the dispute be resolved, we will immediately issue an updated Q&A so indicating.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON SEBAC ARP GRIEVANCE AWARD (“SAG Award”)

On September 22, 2010, neutral arbitrator Roberta Golick recommended and the parties accepted the attached arbitrator’s award which resolves the SEBAC grievances concerning steering of higher ed employees into the Alternate Retirement Plan.  The Q& A below is intended to help answer any questions about the award which is at nearly ready to be implemented nearly 8 years after its issuance.

Q1:    What was the steering grievance and what remedies was it seeking?

A1:     There were two major aspects of the steering grievance.   First, the grievance alleged that virtually every higher ed employee had not received fully adequate time and/or information in order to make an informed decision among their choice between retirement plans (or in the case of adjuncts, their additional choice not to participate in a retirement plan). The grievance sought two remedies for this claim.  For new employees, the grievance sought the imposition of an agreed upon plan selection process by which employees would have adequate time, and the full information necessary to make an informed choice. For current employees, the grievance sought a one-time opportunity to switch plan choices with ARP employees able to use some or all of their ARP proceeds to purchase past service credit at its full actuarial cost.

The second aspect of the grievance affected a small number of employees. This aspect alleged that these employees had either been told they could only choose the ARP plan, or told that if they chose the SERS option there would be an adverse employment impact (for instance, that they could only work part-time).  The remedy sought for this aspect of the grievance was the ability to switch to the SERS plan at a subsidized cost.

Q2:    Does the award provide all the remedies sought by the grievance?

A2:     No, the award is a compromise.  All employees will have a one-time opportunity to switch retirement plans. ARP participants switching to SERS may use their account balance to purchase past-service credit at the actuarial cost. It did not grant the ability for a small group of people to buy past-service credit at a subsidized cost.

Q3:  What does it mean to buy past service at actuarial cost?

A3: The actuarial cost is the cash cost of all the projected pension benefits you will receive based on the years of service you are buying, discounted for “present value” – meaning taking into account your projected years until retirement. To figure that value, the actuaries apply the plan rules for calculating benefits at your projected retirement date, and apply all the current assumptions they use for pension funding – life expectancy, projected salary at retirement, expected plan earnings, etc.  Since the window to switch has been open so long, those assumptions have occasionally changed, and when they do, members are given notice before the new calculation tables are adopted for purchase. {Notice requirement may be disputed.}

Q4:   But it’s been almost 8 years.   What has taken so long, and how has the situation changed since the award was issued?

A4: Questions were raised about whether the award’s allowance of members to switch plans would be deemed improper by the IRS. The Retirement Commission referred these questions to the IRS, which has taken since 2010 to indicate that permission will be granted.   The Comptroller has indicated that the 90-day window for members to make the choice to switch or not switch plans will be from September 14 to December 14, 2018.

This choice, however, may be made in a different context than existed at the time of the award, because of the creation of the Hybrid Plan through the 2011 SEBAC Agreement.  That plan created a window for ARP participants to transfer into the Hybrid Plan which will close at the same time as the SAG window closes. So, ARP eligible employees will have the choice to remain in ARP, move to SERS, or move to the Hybrid.

Q5: Are the members who can choose the SAG Award the same as those who can choose the Hybrid?

A5: Not exactly.   While the SAG Award covers only people who were on the active payroll on September 22, 2010, the Hybrid allows people who retired as early as January 1, 2009 to shift in that plan.  And ARP participants who started as late as June 30th of 2012 are eligible to buy into the Hybrid, but again would be excluded from SAG because they were not on the payroll as of 9/22/2010.

Q6: What are the differences between the SERS plan and the Hybrid for those who are eligible to switch into both?

A6: Once you are in the Hybrid, it works precisely like the equivalent Tier of SERS with two very important differences and one much smaller one:

• When you leave state service, you can choose the same monthly benefit you would get under SERS, or you have an additional option. You can take a cash withdrawal, which would be all the contributions you made since you joined the Hybrid, plus a 5% of salary Employer match, and a guaranteed 4% rate of interest. Any money you spent to buy your past service when you moved into the Hybrid, plus interest, would also be returned to you but there is no employer match on that initial purchase of service, because the employer has already contributed to the ARP for
• Because of this additional withdrawal option, the Hybrid plan always costs 3% more in employee contributions than the equivalent SERS Tier.
• The much smaller difference is in the post retirement death benefit. The SERS plans all include a post-retirement death benefit which says if you begin your monthly pension and you pass away before the monthly benefits have even added up to the amount of employee contributions you’ve made, you’ve made, your survivor gets the difference between your employee contributions and the monthly benefits already paid The question is how money an employee uses to purchase past service under SAG or in the Hybrid would be counted in this circumstance.     Under the Hybrid, all the purchase money is deemed an employee contribution for purposes of this post retirement death benefit.  Under SAG, only the employee share of the ARP account is counted.  Employees until very recently paid 5% to their ARP account, and the Employer 8%. So, of the money used to buy in, only 5/13ths of that is counted as employee contributions under the SAG. These percentages will vary very slightly due to the recent ¾% reduction in employer contribution.  But the point remains.

Q7:    If my choice is to go into the SERS plan or the Hybrid, which plan would I go into?  Tier I, Tier II, Tier IIA, or Tier 3?

A7:     Tier I will not be an option. Employees whose service extends to before July 1, 1997 will be placed in Tier II.   Anyone whose service does not extent to before July 1, 1997 would be placed into Tier IIA. Since the benefit structure of Tier IIA and Tier II are identical, the only difference would be from the time of the switch forward, Tier IIA participants would make a 2% higher contribution towards their future service, than Tier II participants do. There is no impact on the cost of purchasing past service, since the benefits are the same.

For ARP participants who choose the Hybrid, they move into the Hybrid Tier equivalent to the SERS Tier based on their hire date.  So that would be Tier II or IIA, like the SAG award participants, but could even include Tier 3, since Tier 3 began on 7/1/11 and Hybrid transfer is available for people who started as late as 6/30/12.

Q8:    What does the award mean by a “one-time” choice?

A8:    Because of IRS rules, the choice of pension plan is in most circumstances irrevocable. So once current employees make the choice allowed by the award, and once new employees make their choice upon hire, that pension plan choice will be binding throughout their tenure with the State. This applies even where the employee changes jobs – for instance, when an adjunct becomes full-time in the state university or community college systems. There are a few complicated exceptions to the one-time rule, but they are rare enough not to discuss here.

Q9:    If I am eligible for the SAG or Hybrid, how long will I have to make my choice of plans, and what materials will be available to me?

A9: The choice must be made between September 14th and December 14th of this year. Materials will be posted shortly which provide some of the information you may need to make your best choice.

One thing to keep in mind is that the current online calculator which figures the actuarial cost of buying past service credit will likely be updated soon to reflect changes in benefits and actuarial assumptions that occurred in 2017. The plan requires notice prior to the calculator changing.   {Notice requirement may be disputed.} So, while the SAG calculator when it is posted will be slightly less expensive than the Hybrid due to the difference in post-retirement death benefits,

they may both be more expensive than the Hybrid calculator used today, depending on how the actuaries value in the 2017 changes.

Q10: I understand that the calculator predicts my final average earnings (for purchase purposes) using my highest year’s salary. What do I do if I don’t believe that year is a fair predictor of what my real earnings will be?

A10:   There are individuals whose highest year of salary so far is an anomaly and so not a fair predictor of final average earnings.   For instance, maybe you’re a professor who served as interim Dean during a search, and for that one year (until the new Dean was hired), you were paid $25,000 more than your faculty salary.   The parties have developed a process to deal with those situations.   If you feel something like this may apply to your highest year, you should contact your Union, and get help you with what we call the Salary Anomaly Process.

You are encouraged to do this as soon as you can.

Q11: What about individuals not covered by Social Security? Will they be allowed to switch to SERS and if so, what will happen to their exemption from social security coverage?

A11: Since the exemption applies only to those in the ARP (and only to certain ARP participants), that exemption would end upon the switch, just as it does with the Hybrid. Complex Social Security rules may make the switch inadvisable for such people, but this is an individual decision that should be discussed carefully with a financial advisor.

Q12:  Will the Unions be encouraging people to change plans?

A12:  No.   We think it’s very important that all employees have the option to choose a defined benefit plan like SERS or a combined plan like the Hybrid, and that they understand the benefits that a true pension program presents to long- service employees and their employers. But the carrying out of that choice is an individual decision which must be made by each employee based on their own particular circumstances.   This is also true — perhaps even more true – with respect to the decision about whether to purchase past-service credit upon switching.  These are individual choices which should be made based upon a careful assessment of individual financial circumstances.

Q13:  I’m an ARP participant thinking of purchasing past service credit.   If I choose, can I keep some of my money in ARP and use some to purchase past-service credit?

A13:  Yes

Q14: What if my ARP funds are insufficient to purchase my full past- service credit?  Can I use my own funds?

A14: You can use money from your 403(b) or 457 savings accounts for this purpose, including money you may have rolled over from other tax deferred accounts.

Q15:    If I had previous SERS time before I became an ARP participant, and now I move from ARP to the Hybrid, or I move back to SERS through the SAG award, what happens to my previous SERS time?

A15: Whether you move to the Hybrid or move to SERS through the SAG award, your prior time can be bridged with your ARP time subject to the normal plan permanent break-in-service rules.      However, these issues are complex, and we have uncovered a number of individual variations which affect ARP participants who have previous SERS service. If you are in that category, and are contemplating transferring to the Hybrid, or moving to SERS using the SAG, you should let your union representative know and your case will be individually reviewed to see if transfers are possible, and how it may be handled in your best interest. Campus human resource employees are being asked to forward these cases to union representatives for individual review.

Q16: I understand that employees currently in the SERS plan had to make an election to prior to July 1, 2013 to make additional contributions under Attachment F of the SEBAC 2011 agreement in order to maintain the current normal retirement ages beyond June 1, 2022.   Is this true? And how will that affect people who move into the Hybrid or SERS now?

A16: It is true that as of July 1, 2013, employees not eligible to retire before 7/1/2022 had to make that election to preserve pre-SEBAC 2011 normal retirement age for years worked after July 1 of 2011. (The current normal retirement ages are automatically maintained for employees who are eligible for normal retirement by June 1 of 2022 regardless of whether they work beyond that date).  As for how it will affect people currently transferring to the Hybrid or SERS, if you would be eligible for normal retirement by June 1, 2022 you don’t need to do anything. But if not, an employee who transfers to the Hybrid or to SERS who wants to maintain the current retirement age beyond 2022 will have a window period after the transfer to elect to make the additional contributions.

Retroactive additional contributions would be due for any purchased Hybrid or SERS time between July 1, 2013 and the purchase date. Those retroactive contributions may be made from remaining ARP funds, or through payroll deduction on a pre-tax basis.

Q17:  I understand from some others who have already moved to the Hybrid that sometimes it can take a very long time to get the invoice for the past service cost.  Will that delay continue?

A17:   We need to clarify that first.  Talking about the experience before the SAG windows opens on September 14th of this year, the effective date of the move is very quick. You are moved to the Hybrid plan effective the next pay period after your application is received.

What has been slow has been the actual invoicing of the cost of purchased service – the complexity of the process of confirming service time, and the unfortunate understaffing of the Comptroller’s office has caused invoicing to take as much as two years.  However, the invoice amount is determined by the date the employee moves to the Hybrid or SERS, not the date the invoice is made.

So, the delay in the invoice, while frustrating, doesn’t harm the member.

Once the window opens on September 14th, there will be a 90-day period in all eligible members must decide once and for all whether to remain in ARP, and if not to which plan (SERS or Hybrid) they wish to move. Given the possibility of a large number of applications being received in a much more confined period of time, the exact process for making this work is still being finalized. It is possible that once again there will be a delay between the transfer into the SERS or Hybrid plan and the invoicing of the past service charges. But if so, the delay in invoicing will not increase the purchase cost to the member.

“A Cautionary Tale: The Aronow Case”

Connecticut Commission on Human Rights Rules Against UConn Health

Sometimes, the wheels of justice turn slowly. On February 14, 2018, after a seven-year battle, the State of Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities ruled in favor of Dr. Michael Aronow in his whistleblower complaint against the http://box2076.temp.domains/~uchcaaup/chro-decision-aronow_ocr/  University of Connecticut Health Center (UCH).

In September of 2011, Dr. Aronow filed a grievance with the Health Center Appeals Committee (HCAC). The state tribunal agreed that, subsequent to his filing of that appeal, Dr. Aronow was subjected to several retaliatory actions by UCH that resulted in damage to his career and his finances. Those actions also resulted in disruption to the care of patients. The final decision rendered by the tribunal can be found here. It documents instances in which UCH treated Dr. Aronow prejudicially, kept crucial information hidden from him, ignored the orders of the tribunal, and undermined the clear language of the by-laws and grievance process by, among other actions, conducting an extra-judicial investigation, arranging ex-parte meetings, and failing to provide a neutral liaison to Dr. Aronow throughout the proceedings.

The state tribunal concluded that UCH “showed resentment, animosity, and contempt” for Dr. Aronow’s grievance while UCH “harbored impermissible retaliatory animus” toward him. This stemmed from what the tribunal characterized as, “an air of retaliatory animus that permeated the [Health Center’s] corridors.” Further, they found that the actions of UCH “were against their own (hence the taxpayers [sic]) financial interest, and against past practices and policies.”

An understanding of what occurred provides an extremely powerful argument for the necessity of union representation. It demonstrates, unfortunately, that even when bylaws, policies, and procedures are in place and codified, adherence to them is not a foregone conclusion, much less guaranteed. The good news is that, as a faculty member, you need not “go it alone.”

Our union contract provides for ‘just cause’ in discipline and a grievance and arbitration process. In cases involving discipline and contract violations, faculty can elect a route of due process rather than utilizing internal UCH processes (e.g., the Health Center Appeals Committee). The external grievance and arbitration process involves the assignment of a neutral third party to rule in cases of discipline or contract violations. Especially in light of the case discussed above, we urge members to consider seriously the contractual grievance and arbitration process vs internal UCH processes whenever a choice is possible. At minimum, we urge you to contact the union to discuss your options. Remember, the UCHC-AAUP is here to support you and your interests and to ensure that all faculty receive a fair shake. Do not hesitate to contact us for representation and assistance concerning UCH administrative matters.

Here is a link to our union contract and another to the Aronow Decision.