We did it: UVM Staff United has voted overwhelmingly to ratify our contract. In the final tally, 923 people or 77% of our membership voted in our ratification election, with 919 voting yes and 4 voting no. With the close of voting at 5pm yesterday, our contract was officially ratified on the UVM Staff United side. This contract - our union’s second ever - represents an advance in worker rights at the University of Vermont. In every article, we either made progress or maintained status quo: there are no losses to our rights in this contract. 

Visit the Member Information page to view the full PDF of this member update.

• We Ratified Our Contract & FAQs

• Events:

  • Grad Student Union Birthday Event

  • National Day of Action for Higher Ed

  • Strike Conference

  • Contract Celebration

• Solidarity:

  • Letter to Vermont State Education Secretary

  • Support Scholarships for VSC

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• Ratification Vote In Progress

• If you haven’t voted yet, you have until tomorrow, Wednesday, April 9th, at 5pm.

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• We have a TA! Member Meetings and Contract Ratification Vote

• What does a yes or no vote mean?

• What’s in the new contract?

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• We Reached Tentative Agreement!

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• All Out to Bargaining Friday, 3/28!

• UVMSU Testifies on Right to Strike (H.173)

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• Reminder: UVMSU Member Meetings Today (3/25) & Tomorrow (3/26) at noon

• Tentative Bargaining and Week of Action Dates

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• Pledge to Take Action

• Legislative Action Day Report-Out

• Other Updates: NIH Indirects, Sick Leave Bank, “Total Rewards”

• AFT Connections

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• Update on UVM response to Executive Orders

• Lunch & Learn Report-Out

• Sign-up: 2/27 AFT Vermont Legislative Action Day

• AFT Connections: More organizing wins, Statehouse updates, and AFT membership benefits

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• Lunch and Learn is TODAY (2/13)

• Update on UVM response to Executive Orders

• UVMSU Tabling in 2025

• Sign-Up: AFT Vermont Legislative Action Day 2/27

• AFT Connections: Northwestern Nurses Unionize

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• UVM Unions Join Together to

  Protect Students and Workers

• 2/6 Rally RSVP

• Download and print out our rally flyer

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• Message from Co-Presidents - We Keep Us Safe

• Bargaining Update

• Sign-up for 2/13 Lunch & Learn

• UVMSU Tabling in 2025

• Save the Date: AFT Vermont Legislative Action Day 2/27

• Send us your glam shots!

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• Bargaining Update: Post-Hearing Briefs Submitted

• Performance Evaluations

• UVMSU Winter Social: Please RSVP!

• UVMSU Tabling in 2025

• Save the Date: AFT Vermont Legislative Action Day 2/27

• Vermont Labor Event: Solidarity with Migrant Workers

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• Bargaining Update

• Annual Performance Reviews

• UVMSU Winter Social: Please RSVP!

• Tabling in 2025

• Save the Date: AFT Vermont Legislative Action Day 2/27

• Lived Identity Focus Groups

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• Fact-Finding: highlights and update

• UVMSU Winter Social: Please RSVP!

• Call for Volunteers: Professional Development Committee

• Tabling in 2025

• Vermont Labor News: Legal Aid Workers Organize!

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• Stop the cuts rally at UVMMC

• Rally for Grad Student Union

• Report-out: “Not the Enemy Within”

• Tabling Sign-Up

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• Sign the petition: Stop healthcare cuts at UVM Health Network

• Report out: 11/18 Fact-finding Hearing

• Upcoming Event: “Not the Enemy Within”

• UVMSU Elections results are in!

• Opt-in for Open Enrollment and donate to the UVMSU Sick Leave Bank by 11/27!

• Tabling sign-up

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• Fact Finding on November 18th

• A letter from our co-presidents on the national election

• UVMSU Elections

• Healthcare update: opt-in open enrollment

• Tabling sign-up

• Important Solidarity Action: Stop healthcare cuts at UVM Health Network

Dear Members,

While our bargaining team is working hard to prepare a strong case for the fact finding hearing (see below for specifics), this week management also forced our Board to make a last-minute decision about healthcare. On Tuesday and Wednesday, HR met separately with our union, the faculty union, the maintenance union, and the police union to present long-overdue details about additional health insurance options and gave us three days to decide if these options should be offered to our members without bargaining.

Before sharing the specifics, we want to make sure to allay any concerns by saying: our health insurance is not changing, nor is the percentage of the premium that we pay. We know that a lot of us work at UVM because of the quality of the health insurance, and that is not at immediate risk.

Here’s the situation: HR officials called a meeting with our union this Tuesday morning, and with the other UVM unions on Wednesday. Co-Presidents Claire Whitehouse and Ellen Kaye, Co-Lead Stewards Jack Roberts and Kara Williams, and AFT Field Rep Max Tracy attended. At this meeting, HR informed us that they planned to offer 3 additional healthcare coverage options to non-represented staff during Open Enrollment (November 6 - 27). They handed us a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and told us that if we wanted these options made available to our bargaining unit we had to sign it by Friday–three days later. This MOA would force us to waive our right to negotiate the costs or details of coverage for these new options for the next year.

Visit the Member Information page to view the full PDF of this member update.

• Healthcare Update

• Elections Update

• Fact-finding Update

• Advice Column

• Table sign-up