Faculty and administrators at the University of Vermont have reached an impasse in their contract negotiations.
Faculty union president Denise Youngblood said the two sides are in disagreement on a number of issues, mostly regarding pay and cost sharing for their health care plans.
An administration release announcing the impasse to faculty and staff came as a surprise to the faculty union. Youngblood said the union’s understanding was that the administration was preparing to make an offer before announcing the impasse.
The administration announcement said tenure and tenure-track faculty are paid in line with – and slightly above – the national standard, but Youngblood said the metric ignores an important segment of the faculty.
Youngblood said lecturers, who aren’t considered “tenure-track” faculty, have the lowest pay of any faculty and don’t get any severance pay if the university decides not to renew their contract.
The administration announcement said university officials “remain confident that a a mutually satisfactory outcome will eventually be achieved,” and that they continue to be “committed to that goal.”
The announcement attributes its position to the years-long economic recession, lower than expected state funding, less money coming in through federal research grants, and a need to keep tuition increases “as modest as possible.”
Youngblood said both sides have agreed to go into fact-finding, after which talks could resume. If that effort fails, Youngblood said the issue will be taken to the Vermont Labor Relations Board, which will choose from the fact-finder’s recommendation and the “last, best” offers made by both the university and the faculty. Both sides will have to comply with the board’s choice.
Youngblood said she hopes both sides will be able to find a solution before then.
