4/7/2015 Goddard College Staff Union Bargaining Update

The bargaining team has had several recent meetings with the administration and we are excited to report strong momentum.  We have recently signed off on tentative agreements on a number of articles, summarized below.  There are still some challenging issues that remain to be resolved but we are optimistic that we will have a strong, complete tentative agreement to recommend for your approval soon!

Our Grievance and Arbitration article will ensure that disputes over discipline, benefits, and other aspects of the contract will be addressed through a fair and equitable process.  Ultimately, grievances not resolved at the level of Department Manager or Human Resources Director may be decided by an outside arbitrator to ensure impartiality.

In our new Union Rights article, the union has won the right to hold meetings on campus, to post notices on two union bulletin boards (in the Community Center and Eliot Pratt Center), and to have union stewards represent members on paid time.

Our Filling of Vacancies article grants preference to internal candidates for vacant positions, both by providing early internal notice of vacancies and by stating that bargaining unit members with equal or greater qualifications will be hired over outside candidates.

Our Successorship article provides notice to the union of the sale, merger, or transfer of Goddard College, and affords the union the right to bargain over the effects of such a transaction on bargaining unit members.

The Inclement Weather article will codify current informal practices around time off, comp time, and compensation for inclement weather.

The No Strike No Lockout article is a standard clause that prohibits the union from striking and the employer from locking out its employees during the life of the contract.

The Dues Deduction article will provide members with the ability to pay dues through paycheck deduction, and includes the agreement of Goddard College Corporation (GCC) to deduct voluntary political contributions to help build our political power in Vermont and nationwide.

These hard-won victories, along with our previous agreements on Union Recognition, Discipline and Discharge, Non-Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Personnel Files, Notices, Severability, Union Security, Labor/Management Committee, Residency Employees, and Probation and Probationary Periods, represent the bulk of a final contract.  However, we still have disagreement on a number of important issues including equitable salary adjustments, job descriptions, the development of pay scales, and management’s desire to reserve the right to contract out bargaining unit work.  We will be meeting with management again this Friday, April 10, and hope to have more to report following that bargaining session.

The Goddard College Staff Union Bargaining Committee
Lise Couture, Business Office
Josh Hayes-High, WGDR
Monica Nelson, Library
Manuel O’Neill, Financial Aid
David Palmer, Facilities
Ryan Quinn, UAW 2322
Karen Rosenberg, UAW Int’l Union

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