Dear Colleagues,
The National Education Association (NEA) teachers union recently shared accomplishments made by the lecturers union in their negotiations. Why is the NEA taking credit when the lecturers are represented by the AAUP? The NEA is representing faculty at the law school — since 2015 — they are still negotiating their first contract. Similarly, the NEA represents staff at Keene State and they are negotiating their first contract for more than a year from their vote to unionize with the NEA.
Here are some facts:
- Wage Increases – Over the last three years the across the board and merit increases for Lecturers averaged 2.7% a year while those for Health Services employees averaged 3.2% a year over the same period. The Lecturers received market equity adjustments because their average salaries were behind their market. The university regularly makes market adjustments when warranted.
- Grievance – You have a grievance process called the Fair and Impartial Resolution (FAIR). To learn more about FAIR go to unh.edu/hr/fair.
- Vacation – Health Services and Counseling Center employees earn vacation or earned time. Academic Year faculty do not earn vacation leave. They work when the students are here and the breaks between terms are considered the equivalent of vacation time.
- Sick Days – All salaried employees have exactly the same benefit, including faculty: 1.25 days per month.
- Professional Development Grants – The staff professional development grant was awarded to 28 employees this fiscal year(FY17). Professional development grants to lecturers are limited to 4 grants total per year — but there are 200 lecturers!
The way in which information have been presented to you by the NEA teachers union distorts the benefits highlighted. We encourage you to vote for yourself based on the benefits you have now, not what the union says it can provide. There really are no guarantees.
Recognize that if you are represented by a union, all your individual voices will be reduced down to only one voice. Many of the flexibilities you have today may become governed by a contract which treats everybody the same.
Thank you,
Kathy Neils
Chief Human Resources Officer
University of New Hampshire
