UVM STAFF UNITED

Rally together to stand up for higher education! Campuses from across the U.S. are coming together to urge our universities to reject Trump’s Higher Ed Compact, and call on our institutions to protect academic freedom, public research, access to information, and diverse representation among students, research participants, faculty, and staff.

Our next Lunch & Learn will be about parental leave at UVM! If you have had a child while at UVM, are currently expecting, are planning to start a family while at UVM, or are just curious about how our contract protects your rights, join us on Wednesday October 15th from 12pm-1pm in Kalkin 007, or on Zoom at the same time. See our recent member emails for registration information. Lunch provided for in-person attendees!

Come join the captains, Ellen, Claire, Deidre, and Jack, to compete in a 4-team pub trivia challenge featuring categories like organized labor, music, film, history, general knowledge, and more! Help your team come out on top while meeting new colleagues, getting to know our union, and eating some delicious food. We’ll eat and mingle from 5-6 and then have trivia from 6-7:30. Please register using the link in our recent member emails and invite your colleagues to join you!

On September 15th from 12PM-1PM, UVM Staff United is hosting a presentation and discussion for our members with organizers from Vermont’s Apartheid Free Communities Campaign (AFC). This will be an informational session and discussion that will explore how this campaign intersects with working-class and union issues. Come join fellow members in Dewey Lounge (Old Mill 325) or virtually over Zoom. See our recent member emails for RSVP information. Light refreshments will be served!

Don’t Mourn, ORGANIZE! UVMSU members along with our union siblings from across Vermont came together to celebrate Labor Day with an epic march through the streets of Burlington followed by a rally and picnic in Battery Park. UVMSU Co-Presidents Claire Whitehouse and Ellen Kaye spoke at the rally, sharing the story of our recent dependents audit win. Claire said, “Even when our right to bargain is denied, we can force our employer to change course through collective pressure. Noncompliance and collective action are powerful. We won because half of the affected employees didn’t comply with the original plan for the audit. We won because our action strategy communicated clearly to the University and the broader community exactly why we weren’t complying...All of us are here today in solidarity with people all over this country to oppose this authoritarian takeover. To win, we need to “train the boss” together, just like our three unions are doing at UVM, just like unions have always done!”

UVMSU members: Come out to our first Lunch & Learn of the semester this Thursday (8/28) from 12-1 in Cohen Hall 101 or on Zoom to learn more about our two new committees focused on Mutual Aid & Assistance and Solidarity!

1-2-3-4 THE WORKERS ARE OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR! 5-6-7-8 PAUSE AND NEGOTIATE! Members from UE Local 267, United Academics, and UVM Staff United gathered on the steps of Waterman to demand that President Marlene Tromp pause the unsafe and unnecessary dependents audit and negotiate with our unions. During the rally, we conveyed our numerous concerns with the audit. One member captured many of them when they shared, “I am extremely concerned about any employee submitting personal and highly confidential information to a third party, particularly given the possibility of a data breach (again) or, in the current political climate, someone at WTW forcibly or willingly providing data for political reasons. What once seemed far-fetched and a conspiracy theory, is now reality. It is unclear to me how WTW will ensure data security, how and for how long our data and documents will be stored, and what will happen with our information if an employee or dependent no longer has insurance through UVM. I have zero trust in a third party. I am equally concerned about the safety of folks with marginalized identities whose lives could be significantly affected if their information is taken and misused. In particular, I am concerned for trans, NB, queer, and immigrant folks, and those in interracial marriages, to name a few.” After several powerful member testimonials, we marched inside Waterman to deliver a detailed survey report summarizing the 691 responses we received from staff and faculty to both UVM HR and President Tromp. While in the Executive wing, members also presented their own “attestations” certifying that their dependents are eligible for UVM insurance and participated in a speak out where still more members shared their concerns about the audit. We have asked President Tromp to pause the audit and meet with us next week. Should she refuse, we plan on being at Convocation on Sunday, 8/24 to welcome the incoming first year students and invite them to join us in calling on the administration to do better. Stay tuned for further details. Solidarity forever!

Strong turnout from students, staff and faculty at today’s Stop The Identity Centers’ Reorg action! Stay tuned for further actions…

Margot the union dog says our queer and trans students need specialized support! She thinks that reorganizing our campus identity centers into one conglomerate is complying in advance, and isn’t in our best interest. She stands (and sits) with our identity centers’ staff in pawlidarity! #vermontdogs #unionpower