Month: April 2020

Sign the Petition to Ensure Academic Integrity, Jobs and Adequate Support for Students in the Fall

To deal responsibly with this crisis, we are demanding that the administration demonstrate its priorities by investing in education, not austerity.  As  we move forward, we need to ensure that Temple University continues to provide the high quality of education our students expect, and that it invests in working conditions that we need and deserve. Our latest contract campaign proved that collective action is going to be the only way to move the administration to preserve the educational quality of Temple University.

Sign the petition to support TAUPs list of demands

What we’re Demanding:

  • Temple must use some of its $340 million + reserves to absorb at least part of the deficit.
  • No layoffs or furloughs for members of TAUP’s Bargaining Unit.
  • Support faculty who have gone above and beyond to support students through the spring semester by:
    • Providing one-year contract extensions for Non-Tenure Track faculty up for renewal in addition to the contractually required minimums.
    • Creating a priority pool in the Fall of 2020 and the Spring of 2021 for adjuncts who have taught this term, giving them the right of first refusal for available classes, with no loss of union eligibility for missed semesters in academic year 2020-21.
    • Maintaining course caps at 2019-20 levels.
    • Not cancelling course sections that reach 50% enrollment or are required by students’ majors or degree programs.

We also call on Temple to:

  • Compensate  faculty for the exceptional amount of labor involved in converting to online instruction this term.
  • Offer childcare/eldercare to faculty and staff who need it to perform their job during the pandemic.
  • Ensure that faculty retain intellectual property rights to the course materials they have created and put online.

In Solidarity,

Steve Newman, President

Leanne Finnigan, Vice President

Norma Corrales-Martin, Treasurer

Town Hall 4/20 and Our Principles Moving Forward

Our weekly Town Hall will be held on 04/20
from 4pm-5pm, RSVP here.

We will be discussing any new developments in the administration’s request for a raise cut for full-time members for 2020-21.  We will also discuss our list of demands for the administration  that we’ve developed through listening to your questions, concerns and suggestions at our Town Halls, including:

  • the need for Temple to spend its ample reserves to help fill any projected deficit
  •  job security for ALL members, full-time and part-time:  NO LAYOFFS or FURLOUGHS
  •  fair working conditions:  compensation for extra labor, intellectual property protections, and help with childcare/eldercare

We will be discussing these demands with the administration tomorrow afternoon and will be updating you on those conversations and seeking your feedback and ideas.

The demands we are putting forth will ensure that we can offer students the support they will need and deserve in the upcoming academic year.  They will demonstrate that Temple understands and appreciates the extraordinary work that has been done this term. There is no question that the administration has the ability to meet these demands. Librarians, Academic Professionals, and Faculty are the backbone of this university; now, more than ever, Temple’s financial priorities must reflect that they are investing in quality education as a top priority, not austerity.

These town halls are a critical space for information sharing as well as for building power. It has never been more crucial to join together to push back against unfair policies and advocate for fair working conditions and the prioritization of the quality of our students’ education in the midst of this crisis.

Questions and answers from past town halls are being posted here.

Be sure to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have.

In Solidarity,

Steve Newman, President

Leanne Finnigan, Vice President

Norma Corrales-Martin, Treasurer

Input Needed: Update from our Conversation with Temple Administration

The union has been approached by the administration for feedback on academic issues such as whether to extend the tenure clock and the role of Student Feedback Forms this term.

They have also asked the union to consider helping the university to make up for budget losses by forgoing the raises negotiated for next academic year.

We have started to pose questions to see what basis the administration has for such a significant request, and the Executive Committee (EC) has initiated emergency meetings to discuss what information and data we’d need to see from university before any such request could be considered.  The EC is also looking to plan for various contingencies while considering responses to the potential long-term effects of the virus. We will be sure to keep you informed about this discussion as it progresses and will be asking for your input.  

TOWN HALLS

On Friday, over 70 members of the TAUP bargaining unit attended a Town Hall where staff and elected leaders discussed what union colleagues have done and plan to do in response to COVID-19.

Attendees posed questions before and during the town hall on many important topics; a link to those questions and answers is included below.

Thank you to everyone who shared questions.  They have helped us to understand the challenges you are facing, which aids us in our work together and in our discussions with the administration as we navigate through this uncharted time.

Please keep them coming!
Send your questions or concerns to TAUP here. 

Weekly Town Halls will continue to be held as long as there is a need. 

The next one will be tomorrow,
Thursday, April 2 at 1:00 p.m. RSVP here. 

Questions at last week’s Town Hall covered everything from economic concerns to worries about hiring freezes, job cuts, increased workload, compensation for the efforts involved in shifting to working from home, extension of tenure and sabbatical clocks, the use of SFFs, evaluating students, intellectual property and academic freedom.

You can find the full Q & A HERE

With so many changes occurring at Temple, there has never been a more critical moment and need for members to work together to build power.

We may have significant fights ahead around things like raises, intellectual property, increased work loads and further transitions to online learning. The decisions that occur over the next few months are going to drastically impact our working conditions.  It is crucial that we have a voice in the process.

Please get involved in these conversations by filling out this form