Legislative Meeting: Government Relations Committee

Dear Colleagues,

You are invited to join a UCHC-AAUP meeting with Legislators in Onyiuke Dining Room on Wednesday, December 7th at 3:00 p.m.

Since our initial meeting with legislators on October 14, our Government Relations Committee has met with UConn’s Government Relations director, Marie Schweitzer, and SEBAC’s chief negotiator, Dan Livingston, along with our lobbyist, Joe Grabarz, to help develop our 2023 legislative agenda. All UCH faculty are welcome to join this important discussion as we approach the January 4 start to the legislative session!

Next Wednesday, we hope that you’ll take time to drop by to say hello, share a brief description of your work and your concerns, and hear from your elected officials about their priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

Please RSVP to executive.director@uchc-aaup.org so that we can make sure your legislators are planning to attend. Also, please join our new members-only facebook group, UCHC-AAUP Members.

Thank you,

Laura Haynes, PhD, UCHC-AAUP President
Lara Shepard-Blue, UCHC-AAUP Executive Director

Government Relations Committee Reminder

Lara Shepard-Blue, UCHC-AAUP Executive Director

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