From Carol Lewis: What the AAUP Does for Me and for the University

What Does the AAUP Do for Me?

We rely on our contract to set the ground rules for a productive, professional, and dignified work experience. Like many of us, I am committed to the ideals and terms of our contract; after all, I have been on the bargaining teams. But underlying our contract is a sense of fair play that results in justice coupled with treating people as people rather than as interchangeable parts or commodities.

1. It negotiates a contract with minimum terms. If I personally can negotiate better terms, all the better for me. The contract is simply a guaranteed floor.
2. It negotiates processes and procedures that mean fair treatment rather than caprice or personal relationships. My salary, working conditions, and benefits can't be cut arbitrarily, unilaterally, or to "teach me a lesson."
3. The grievance procedures under the contract mean that I have a place to turn if I judge that I am being treated unfairly and I can make my case with dignity (and with the help of a professional, if I so choose), not hat in hand. These procedures protect "at-will" employees from becoming "at-whim" employees.
4. It gives me a seat at the table when big decisions about my working conditions are being made, so that my concerns are voiced and taken into account. We are represented on committees (such as parking) and we speak up on matters such as changes in the university's bylaws. This representation is our own, not hand-picked by the administration.
5. It gives me a role in the State Employees Bargaining Coalition (SEBAC) that negotiates on pension and health care and was instrumental in negotiating a response to the financial crisis last spring.
6. The UConn AAUP chapter has negotiated a) multi-year contracts for members not on a tenure track, b) daycare reimbursement, c) equity studies about salary disparities, d) unpaid leave and stopping the tenure clock, e) travel/professional development funds, f) a fair shake on merit with standards adopted annually by individual departments, and g) more, much more.

What Does the AAUP Do for the University?

The UConn AAUP chapter takes a macro, long-term view of its role. It consistently works for mutual interests rather than "winning" and principle rather than advantage.

1. We share with the administration a professional interest in making this the best university we can. We worked hard to be members of a fine public

    institution. We continue to work hard to sustain that excellence throughout our careers at UConn. We know that it takes decades to build a fine

    university but only one rough budget round or misguided management team to tear it down. Since 1991, the UConn AAUP chapter voted three

    times to sacrifice contractual salary increases to preserve the university's integrity.

2. We advocate for what is both right and realistic by a) strengthening our constructive relationships on our campuses, in the legislature, and among

    friends and alumni in the state, and b) cultivating new relationships and creative avenues to position our members and institution to survive these

    difficult times. We work continuously and openly with other UConn unions, the administration, the alumni and advocacy groups, the students,

    our friends in the legislature, SEBAC, and the broad Connecticut community.

3. Public relations, sustained co-operation, on-going open communications, enlightened lobbying, an energetic PAC, solid media relations, and

    transparency and mutual trust are core components of the UConn AAUP's strategy.

 

Carol W. Lewis

October 2009

 

Carol W. Lewis (B.A., Cornell University; Ph.D., Princeton University) is a professor of political science at the University in Connecticut, where she specializes in public budgeting, political ethics, and public administration. Long active in the UConn chapter of AAUP, she currently is
chapter president.