YOUR CHOICE FOR AN INDEPENDENT VOICE!

Representing 5100 members including staff at the Vermont State Colleges

Email for more information

Clerical, Technical & Specialized Staff

VSEA- the independent union for staff at UVM

Wednesday, March 12th

John Dewey Lounge, Old Mill

12:00-1:15 PM

Bring your questions! Bring your co-workers!

Come meet members of the Vermont State Employees Union who work at the Vermont State Colleges, doing similar, if not identical work as you do here at UVM! Find out how their union has succeeded in establishing meaningful policies, securing salaries and benefits and improving working conditions at the VT State Colleges.

Click here for the flyer pdf describing the event

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When you and your colleagues form a union you will have the right to negotiate a contract that defines the conditions of your workplace, your salary increases, your benefits.

Click here to read some of the improvements negotiated by the members of the Vermont State College Staff Federation-VSEA in 2013.

ASK YOUR QUESTIONS, GET INFORMATION...

THEN

TAKE ACTION!

The Voices of UVM Staff

In the hundreds of conversations we have had in the last couple of weeks, one voice in particular has resonated and he was willing to share his statement of support for forming a union of the staff at UVM.

"Enough is enough. I have been on the fence for years on this issue and have been to meetings and heard quite a good amount from all sides and I want to inform you that....I'm in. I'll sign a card. Let me know when and where...tired of being an after-thought with no representation. I had my reasons before but in the face of these rapid changes and potential ones I am very concerned with the state of our sovereignty as a working class here at UVM."

UVM staff member since 2007

TAKING ACTION-

MAKING POSITIVE CHANGE

Come to the upcoming VSEA lunchtime info session to find out more about joining your colleagues in forming a union with VSEA:

Wednesday, March 12th -

Noon-1:15PM John Dewey Lounge, Old Mill

VT State College members are coming to UVM to talk about their union!

Come when you can and leave when you must.

Bring good questions, sign a card!

Join your colleagues- sign a card today- talk with your co-workers and make a positive change in your workplace!

If you can't make the above meeting time - call: 802-338-6052 - we can provide more info and find a time to meet or email to arrange a time to get your questions answered.

check out the VSEA website here

THE ANALYSIS:

The most important benefit for us is that, with a union, we gain the legal right to participate in the decisions that affect our jobs.

With a union, we, the clerical, technical, and specialized staff would have a real say in the decisions that impact our professions, our salary and benefits, and be granted the legal right to bargain as equals with the administration of UVM. For example, this is exactly what the UVM faculty are doing now through their union.

Without a union, staff at UVM are at the mercy of the administration, which currently has all of the power to make the significant choices at their own discretion as demonstrated by the recent bungled approach to "cost share". By forming a union, staff will win the legally-binding right to participate in every major decision that affects our working conditions, wages and benefits.

These recent rounds of budget decisions highlight the economic disparity that exists between the top-ranking administration and the staff that are essential to making the University run.

Without a voice in the process, we can be sure of one thing- either we're at the table or we are what's for lunch!

WHAT IS COST-SHARING?

The rooms were filled to capacity for both of the UBAC Town Hall meetings in February. Many of your colleagues spoke from the floor expressing everything from dismay to outrage. Here are some of the voices from those meetings:

"Myself and my colleagues in our small department all have second jobs because we are paid so little at UVM and now you want to ask us how we can handle a pay cut?"

"It is shameful that some full-time UVM staff are paid so little they are eligible for public assistance."

Cost sharing is... "balancing the budget on the backs of the staff."

"Without a real voice and without any input, you are implementing changes that will have a serious negative effect on my household."

Read the Burlington Free Press article about the Thursday Feb. 13th UBAC Town Forum.

And a recent letter to the editor from a UVM student captures a theme that was clearly shared amongst the audience last Thursday- cut from the top!

From the www.uvm.edu/costshare website:

"What exactly is meant by the term "cost share" in this context?

In this context, "cost share" refers to the way that the cost of a benefit is divided between an individual and the University. For instance:

The University pays 100% of the cost of dependent tuition for eligible faculty and staff
The University contributes 10% of salary/wages to an eligible employee's retirement savings plan
The University pays between 64 and 97% of the cost of healthcare premiums for eligible, active faculty and staff, based on their salary or wages

UVM is considering adjusting future costs so that the University pays a somewhat smaller percentage of costs and individual faculty and staff pay a somewhat larger percentage."

Source: www.uvm.edu/costshare/?Page=questions.php

The conclusion:

"cost share" = PAY CUT

For more information

VSEA- the independent union for UVM staff

Vermont State

Employees' Association

EMAIL for more info

or call:

802-338-6052

Big decisions being made without YOU-

Want to change the power dynamic?

Find out how to get engaged
Sign a card to join VSEA
Talk with your colleagues - it is LEGAL to talk about salary and benefits and having representation
Move forward with other UVM staff to make positive change - sign cards, have a successful election, form a union and get a contract to secure the good parts of your workplace and work to change the things that matter to you

We will always be stronger when we work together as a group than when we stand alone. Join your colleagues in moving forward to make key improvements and to protect the things that we want to keep the same -

Sign a card to join the Vermont State Employees' Association today!

Good things come to those who negotiate!

EMAIL for more info

More about VSEA

What Is the Vermont State Employees' Association?

The Vermont State Employees' Association is a union of over 5,100 Vermont workers that

have joined together to gain a voice in the decisions that affect our jobs.

In addition to the clerical and technical staff at the Vermont State Colleges, our union consists of state employees.

At the core of the union's program is the work that members and staff do together to bargain contracts with management and ensure that these agreements are upheld in each of our workplaces.

VSEA has a team of professional staff to support members in enforcing

the contracts, training workplace stewards, carrying out direct action on key issues, lobbying, communications and legal support.

We have heard many thoughtful reasons from staff as to why they want a union - is your reason on this list?

equity

benefits

salary

security

to have a voice

representation

having a contract

better quality of life at work

meaningful processes- when things are not right

to be empowered

to make positive change

an even playing field

a seat at the table

United Staff wholeheartedly endorses the Vermont State Employees' Association in forming a strong, independent union of UVM staff. As a longtime independent organization at UVM, United Staff supports

VSEA, a union of Vermonters that will keep the focus of our efforts and our resources here in Vermont.

Join hundreds of our co-workers in supporting VSEA -- your choice for an independent voice in our workplace!