From Sandra Hewett

In reply to Bill Mohler

8/26/09 4:23 PM

As I mentioned below for info on AAUP: http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protect/bargaining/aaup-unionism.htm

As for the rest of the information……I’ve done my research. Local libraries are a wonderful resource! And you can certainly find information on “right to work” states on the Web. Believe it or not, I too am weighing the pros and cons. I too require information. And since you don’t trust me with respect to the second paragraph ……..please call the CT Labor Board. They will verify that information for you.

With respect to your health issues, perhaps I wasn’t forthright enough. I am of the opinion (obviously one that differs from you) that the comparisons being made, or that you are asking to be made, are not useful or even meaningful. The demands on faculty at each campus are probably very different. For example, the Storrs campus is a large undergrad campus whose faculty devote considerably more time and effort to teaching than UCHC faculty. Moreover, unlike Storrs, we are a medical school where NIH might be expected to be the primary funding agency, with NSF and other agencies playing a minor role. Thus, it is not too surprising that UCHC has more NIH grant funds. In any case, NIH funding is only one of many possible comparisons that could be made between the two campuses. But are these valid?

However, like the assumption that all unions serve the same purpose (the UHP should not be equated to the AAUP), none of these points seems really all that pertinent to the question of AAUP unionization of the Health Center faculty. Meaningful dialog should be focused on evolving trends at the Health Center that pertain to such important issues as performance metrics, wage or job security (e.g., tenure definition, etc.), and the state of faculty governance. Underlying these concerns is the state of the administration-faculty relationship, which has developed over the past years and continues to evolve in a direction that some clearly find disconcerting. Thus, related to the ongoing debate of faculty unionization, one might ask themselves several questions: Are you comfortable with the direction the UCHC is headed and the degree to which you are able to participate in this? Are you comfortable with the proposed direction of the faculty-administration relationship?

Clearly some will answer “yes”. But for those who answer “no” to these questions, the AAUP might be a viable option. For those who answer “no” but do not support unionization as an answer, the question becomes: what are you prepared to do to promote “mechanisms to support productivity and excellence rather than "punishments" for failing to meet arbitrary metrics” . How do you propose to ensure that faculty governance is meaningful and that the faculty voice carries weight? This should be the key part of the continuing debate.

I do believe that I am all out of things to say :) .

Sandra