PAT Council Attends to Details
By Jody Record, Campus Journal Editor
February 10, 2010
The February meeting of the PAT Council, under the direction of newly elected president Rachel Feeney, attended to housekeeping details before tackling new issues this year. Goals for 2010 will be discussed by representatives in March.
At the Feb. 3 meeting, the council accepted suggested revisions to its bylaws and adopted ground rules for how meetings will be conducted. It also reviewed and approved a mediation proposal designed for use when employees want to discuss a concern without filing a grievance or going to Human Resources.
The mediation program proposal was developed by the Mediation Task Force, which includes representatives of the OS and PAT Councils, the Judicial Programs Office, and Human Resources.
Currently, the university has a complaint and grievance policy and a process for pursuing either or both via the FAIR process (Fast and Impartial Resolution). Employees are encouraged to use FAIR, a formal approach to problem solving, if they are unable to resolve situations after discussions with their supervisors.
The complaint part of the policy provides the opportunity for employees to have work-related problems heard and considered in a nonadversarial manner. The grievance piece provides the opportunity for employees to resolve alleged violations of university, university system, and/or board of trustees policies. A complaint may be filed instead of, or as the first step in, the grievance process.
The mediation policy is meant to serve as a less formal option.
In another measure, the council accepted the appointments—some ongoing—of PAT representatives to university committees. They include:
Central Budget
Energy Task Force
Health UNH Action
Mediation Task Force
MUB Board of Governors
Multisource Evaluation
Nomination Reviewers, Presidential
Awards of Excellence
OS Council Liaison
President's Council Rep.
Professional Development Grant
Reduce Paper Use
System Personnel Policy Council
Transportation Policy
Deb Bronson
Jahnay Pickett
Christina Rowland
Mary Essley, Kari Younsi
Alsace Toure
Maureen Johnston
Robert Stiefel, Pamela Libby, Martha Barker
Karen Estabrook
Rachel Feeney
Michele Gagne, Marcus Del Greco
Karen Gilbert
Tracy Boyle
Tammy McGlone, alternate
Rick MacDonald
The next PAT Council meeting will be March 3 in the MUB.
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