Category: Current Issues

TAUP’s Formal Statement on Vaccinations

As a union, we believe that Temple University has an obligation to protect the health and well-being of its faculty, staff, and surrounding communities. While case counts of COVID-19 are decreasing, it remains a continuing public health threat in the Philadelphia area and the nation at large. Vaccines provide the highest assurance of safety for our members as we return to in-person work, as well as for the students we teach, and are now widely available. Therefore we as a union—in conjunction with Temple’s Faculty Senate—call on the Temple administration to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for all faculty, students, and staff before returning to campus at the start of Fall Semester 2021.

 

We understand that some students, faculty, and staff may be hesitant about COVID-19 vaccination. Students, faculty, and staff have real concerns about the interaction between their communities and the public health establishment, and we must acknowledge the racist history of the medical community and the American healthcare system. These decades of mistreatment have real and lasting impacts on public trust around vaccination. Additionally, some students, faculty, and staff may have concerns about the fact that the vaccine has been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA, but not yet full approval.

 

However, both medical expertise and large amounts of data have shown that the vaccines currently available are both effective and safe. The risks to faculty, staff, and students from a partially unvaccinated population are high enough that TAUP feels that concerns raised by individual faculty, staff, and students must operate on a case-by-case basis within a general mandate.

 

Therefore, TAUP calls on Temple University to require proof of immunization from COVID-19, subject to exception for medical conditions, religious belief or strong moral or ethical conviction, for all faculty, students, and staff before returning to any campus beginning at the start of Fall Semester 2021, unless working remotely or participating in online learning.

TAUP Condemns Georgia Hate Crimes

“We mourn all the lives lost to the systems that continually oppress and murder beloved members of marginalized communities. The 6 Asian women who were shot in Atlanta last night were not only victims of a 21-year-old white man’s anti-Asian hate, but also of the racism, sexism, gender-based violence, xenophobia, and imperialism that are intimately woven into the fabric of the U.S.”  Asian Americans United

 

On Friday, March 12th, Stop AAPI Hate issued a report which detailed the tremendous scale of anti-Asian hate and violence.  The horrific shootings and murder in and around Atlanta painfully illustrated the absolute worst of this scourge of anti-Asian violence.

On Monday, a 21-year old man legally purchased a 9mm handgun which he used on Tuesday during his murderous spree which left 8 people dead and one injured.  Six of the eight people were identified as Asian-American women.

We must acknowledge the roots of these heinous acts in misogyny and the hyper-sexualization of Asian women, weak gun laws in Georgia and in our country, and the increasing boldness of white supremacy and anti-Asian sentiment throughout the country related to the spurious messaging from the former President about the origin and cause of the Coronavirus.

TAUP condemns the hatred and violence of this and all other white supremacist incidents targeting Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.  We mourn those who have been lost in this deeply reprehensible hate crime, and we are devastated for the great loss their families and loved ones must feel. We must also recognize and respect the fear and trauma that the past year has inflicted on all of our AAPI friends, colleagues and students and must do everything we can to show our understanding and solidarity.

We must not allow these deaths to be minimized or misrepresented. We must continue to condemn and speak out against white supremacy, violence, and injustice whenever and however it appears.

Please click here for resources on how to support the AAPI community during this difficult time.  TAUP will be donating to Asian Americans United and encourages others to do the same. 

Remember all of the victims of Tuesday’s shootings in a meaningful way.  Let us say the names of the five people who were murdered in Acworth:  Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan and Daoyou Feng.  Let us add the names of the four women murdered in Atlanta when they are revealed.   Let us hope for the swift and complete healing of Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, who remains hospitalized with injuries.  Advocate for, acknowledge, honor and respect the diversity that exists in our society — as well as the essential equity and inclusion that we must work towards together at Temple and throughout our lives.

In Solidarity,

The TAUP Executive Committee and Staff

The 2021 American Relief Plan Act: What you should know

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 signed by the President last Thursday is an extensive document that will assist schools, our students, their families, neighbors and businesses in the community surrounding TU campuses, alums, and most (if not all) of us. 

There are significant provisions highlighted below that members of the TAUP bargaining unit should be aware of.  You can search for further details in the Act’s full text and see a summary of all of the provisions here.

 

State Funding

“The bill requires each state receiving K-12 funds to maintain spending in fiscal year 2022 and 2023 on higher education, at least at the proportionate levels of the state’s spending on those categories relative to the state’s overall spending, averaged over fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019.”  The American Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Analysis of the ARPA 2021

 

Funds for Institutions of Higher Ed and Students

This chart compares funding from past relief acts to the American Rescue Plan Act and clarifies how funds are to be spent.

Temple should be receiving about $78M from the ARPA

    1. Half of the funds will go directly to students
    2. The other half can be used to defray expenses associated with coronavirus including: 
      1. Payroll, including re-hiring furloughed and laid off employees 
      2. Reimbursement for expenses already incurred 
      3. Technology costs associated with a transition to distance education
      4. Faculty and staff trainings
      5. Lost revenue 
      6. Make additional financial aid grants to students
    3. Institutions must use a portion of their allocation for: 
      1. Implementing evidence-based practices to monitor and suppress coronavirus in accordance with public health guidelines; and 
      2. Conduct direct outreach to financial aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid adjustment due to the recent unemployment of a family member or independent student, or other circumstances

 

Funding for Research and Creative Work

The National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and LIbrary Services are among a number of organizations where funding has been increased and the usual spending timelines for the use of these funds have been extended.

 

Stimulus Payments

Cutting to the chase: you can calculate your stimulus payment here. The ARPA’s stimulus includes dependents regardless of their age.

 

Student Loan Forgiveness Support

The ARPA provides additional tax relief for those who have their student loans forgiven between December 31, 2020 and January 1, 2026.

When certain student loans are forgiven, the “forgiven” sum may be added to the individual’s gross income for that year, creating an extraordinary tax burden.  The ARPA removes that tax for loans forgiven within the stated five year period.  All federal student loans, and certain private education and institutional loans, will be eligible.

 

 Changes in Eligibility and Premiums for Obamacare and Help with COBRA

If your health insurance is provided through the ACA (Obamacare), your premium rates will decrease due to ARPA’s increased subsidies detailed here. The changes are retroactive to January 1, 2021, so those who are already enrolled should receive compensation for their 2021 payments.

You can calculate what your premium would be under the current plan here.

To sign up or to change your plan, go to Healthcare.gov.  Even if you earned too much to qualify in the past, you may qualify now. 

For individuals who will lose work and want to maintain their current health plan between April 1st and September 30th of 2021, employers or insurers must cover 6 months of COBRA benefits and will receive a tax credit to offset the costs. More info here.

 

Child Tax Credit

The expanded Child Tax Credit will reduce child poverty in the U.S. by more than 40% and will be available to most people who need help to pay for the care of children under 13 or other dependents.  You can calculate your tax credit here.

The credit for the first six months of the year will be applied to income taxes at the end of the year. In July, checks will be sent monthly.  Credits range from $500 to $3600 per child depending on their age, and the credit begins to decrease for those with incomes above $112,500. More helpful information here.

 

Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit

To help people work, the Child and Dependent Care Credit can offer 50% of up to $8,000 in caregiving expenses and up to $16,000 for the care of two or more dependents.  Certain family members do not qualify as caregivers for the credit. Child care is for children under 13 and dependent care must be for a dependent who has lived with you for more than six months and is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. More info here.

 

Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts

ARPA offers an increase from $5000 to $10,500 as the maximum amount that can be contributed on a tax-free basis to a Dependent Care Reimbursement/Flexible Spending Account.  For married individuals filing separately, the increase is from $2,500 to $5,250. Follow the link for Information on Temple’s Dependent Care/Flexible Spending Account Benefit.

 

Unemployment

The ARPA extends Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits and programs.  

In the past year, the PEUC benefit (Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation) extended UI benefits for those who had exhausted their initial claim. With the ARPA, individuals may now receive up to 79 weeks of benefits.  

The new PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) program for self-employed individuals, gig workers and others who have not qualified for assistance in the past will be extended from 50 to 79 weeks, until September 6th.

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) has been the federal government’s weekly unemployment supplement. It will continue to be $300 per week until September 6th.  

Individuals who have received Unemployment in 2020 will not have to pay taxes on $10,200 of the funds received. Couples who file joint returns can each receive this benefit if they have been on UI.  Those with an adjusted joint income above $150,000 will not qualify for this tax benefit.

 

For Veterans and Members of the Military Interested in Higher Ed

The Act closes what is known as the 90/10 loophole.  It pertains to for-profit institutions who are obliged to show their viability as businesses by earning at least 10% of their revenue sources outside of student aid.  

Since GI benefits were not considered to be student aid, for-profits have been generating their 10% through aggressive recruiting of veterans and individuals currently serving in the military.  Closing this loophole will protect servicemembers and veterans from predatory admissions. It will be implemented starting January 1, 2023