Childcare
Tuesday’s session began with members giving testimony about the urgent need for provisions in our contract for childcare and parental leave for librarians and academic professionals.
Marsha Weinraub, Laura Carnell Professor of Psychology, Chair of TAUP’s Tenure-Track Constituency Council, and Chair of the joint Faculty Senate/TAUP Child Care Committee gave an eloquent presentation on the reasons why the administration should consider providing some form of childcare as part of these negotiations.
Our current proposal is for the university to offer
- 10% subsidies for childcare, which increase to 15% for facilities in Temple’s neighborhood
- Backup care, which would provide 10 days per year either at a facility or for in-home care for those caring for children or elderly parents when their primary childcare or eldercare option is unavailable or a child is sick and thus can’t be placed in childcare.
Prof. Weinraub cited recent studies that found that childcare had a significant impact on the careers of women in STEM fields and elsewhere. She also referred to the TAUP/Senate proposals, delivered to the administration 18 months ago as called for in a side letter in our prior contract: “The University understands that TAUP and the Faculty Senate may work to formulate proposals for child care resources at the University. The University shall review, consider, and respond to any proposals in a timely fashion.” Since the report was delivered, there has been no formal response from the administration despite repeated inquiries and despite the fact that the issue was foregrounded in early settlement discussions in the Spring. It appears that this critical issue is not being seriously considered by the university.
Temple does provide a work-life benefit that TAUP fought hard to win; it allows tenure-track faculty who are new mothers or fathers to have a semester off from teaching; full-time non-tenure track faculty can apply for this benefit. There is no other childcare support at Temple.
The report by the joint TAUP/Faculty Senate Committee, available here, shows that Temple is an outlier compared to our comparator and aspirant universities in not providing any support for childcare. The lack of this benefit damages the productivity of members and Temple as a whole. It hurts Temple in their ability to hire and retain talented employees who are parents.
The administration’s response was that TAUP does not represent everyone on campus affected by childcare issues, which they claim gives us no grounds for bargaining. But a side letter in the 2014 contract both parties signed explicitly accords TAUP a role in making proposals on this issue. The administration’s position is puzzling, disappointing, and disrespectful to those who have done the important and remarkable work on this issue.
Parental Leave
Librarians Leanne Finnigan and Jill Luedke attested to the insufficiency of the current allotment of maternity leave for librarians and academic professionals; they can make use of only 6-8 weeks of the sick leave they have accrued–the amount of time depends on the type of delivery. Since sick leave accrues at the rate of 10 days per year, there is a strong possibility that a prospective parent will have considerably less than 6 or 8 weeks available. If they have used up their sick leave for maternity leave, there is no available paid time off if they become ill or have to tend to a sick child. They then have no choice but to take weeks, even months, of unpaid leave to attend to their familial responsibilities. There is no provision for leave for either mothers or fathers beyond this restricted amount of maternity leave.
TAUP’s proposal offers new parents 8 weeks paid parental leave for a child whether arriving biologically, by adoption, or by fosterage, with 4 more weeks if medically justifiable. This blends elements of the maternity and work-life benefit benefits available to full-time faculty who are new parents. There are approximately 50 librarians and academic professionals all told, so the yearly cost would be minimal.
Instead of the direct “no” we received on childcare, the administration’s response was that all proposals have to be considered together in terms of their cost. We look forward to hearing from the administration how this urgent issue might be addressed.
The two sides worked separately with the mediator for the rest of the session to try to craft a comprehensive settlement that would address the outstanding issues, including:
- Wages
- Healthcare
- NTT job security
- NTT pension parity
- Tuition benefits at other schools
- The university’s commitment to a “sizable complement of tenure-track faculty,” as stated in our contract.
Since no new formal proposals were offered by either side, the last proposals the administration put on the table are where they are at. Their health care proposal includes significant increases in healthcare premiums and co-pays for specialists, and the introduction of deductibles. These increases are hard on all members but particularly tough on families. Their latest wage proposal also remains on the table, which is under the projected rate of inflation. In other words, the administration has thus far proposed what is effectively a pay cut. TAUP cannot accept these proposals as they currently stand.
Since the last full-time contract was ratified 5 years ago, there have been many changes in the world and at the university. The contract must address the economic and non-economic challenges and pressures that TAUP members feel as a result of the decentralized budget system installed in the interim (a.k.a. RCM) and the increasing reach of the gig economy.
Like the administration, TAUP is eager to settle this contract, and we will be meeting all day Friday to work toward an agreement. Members of the bargaining unit are welcome to attend. RSVP here.