26 Oct 2020

UConn-AAUP Update: October 26, 2020

In this issue to new members:

  • Statement for Faculty Syllabi
  • UConn Settles Pay Equity Lawsuit
  • Negotiations Update
  • Low Membership Rate in New Faculty
  • Representative Assembly 

Statement for Faculty Syllabi

The UConn-AAUP Executive Committee advises that the following statement on copyright be included in your syllabi:

Copyright

The Office of the Attorney General in Storrs advises that instructors include an assertion of copyright in their syllabi and suggest the following language:  My lectures, notes, handouts, and displays are protected by state common law and federal copyright law. They are my own original expression and I’ve recorded them prior or during my lecture in order to ensure that I obtain copyright protection. Students are authorized to take notes in my class; however, this authorization extends only to making one set of notes for your own personal use and no other use. I will inform you as to whether you are authorized to record my lectures at the beginning of each semester. If you are so authorized to record my lectures, you may not copy this recording or any other material, provide copies of either to anyone else, or make a commercial use of them without prior permission from me.

Pay Equity Lawsuit

The University of Connecticut agreed to pay $259,539 to settle a gender-based pay discrimination lawsuit with seven female employees. An audit performed by the United States Department of Labor found that the female employees were underpaid when compared with the male counterparts. Part of the settlement also requires the University to review and revise any outdated pay practices. For more information, read here and here.

Negotiations

Representatives of the Chapter have been meeting with representatives of the Board of Trustees in an attempt to improve your working conditions at UConn through negotiations. The current collective bargaining agreement is expiring on June 30, 2021. Information of the negotiations’ sessions can be found on the UConn-AAUP website.

Low Membership in New Members 

Do you have new hires in your department over the past two years? Check to see if they are members of UConn-AAUP. Our records indicate that the membership rate for bargaining unit members with 2 years or less is around 30%. We need to hear their voices as part of our chapter. Send them to the UConn-AAUP website for a membership form.

 

Representative Assembly 

 Next Assembly meeting: October 28, 2020, 12:30 – 2:00 pm via Zoom (Zoom link)

In 2014, chapter members decided to institute a way for more members to assist in guiding the chapter and in to providing a pathway for information to be funneled from the departments to the Executive Committee. A Representative Assembly, similar to a stewards’ program, allows for department members to be identified as a representative of the union. Those department members might assist colleagues with contractual questions and also speak at department meetings and apprise the department of current events or concerns of the chapter. All new faculty are encouraged to seek out their department representative, or if no one is identified, become a member and join the Representative Assembly for your department. The next Assembly meeting is scheduled for October 28, 2020 at 12:30 – 2:00 pm.

Thank you.

Mary Ellen Junda, President
Jeffrey Ogbar, Executive Vice President

Michael Bailey, Executive Director