End-of-Year Digest: Commencement, the Start of Summer, and the Work of the Union

e-Bulletin 5/7-5/9/2019

On this Commencement Day, TAUP celebrates our students and the faculty, librarians, and academic professionals who teach and guide them. We hope our members have a restful and productive summer.

Be sure to take time this summer to attend a negotiation session, witnessing what happens as TAUP and the administration engage in collective bargaining. Having members of the TAUP bargaining unit in the room shows the administration that the issues being negotiated are important, and it’s a reminder of the respect that is due to the people who work at the university and are affected by the decisions being made. Witnesses have been very helpful to the table team, contributing to the discussion during breaks and offering very useful perspectives from different schools and departments. Upcoming sessions are scheduled for May 16th, 21st, and 23rd. Please RSVP.

Invitation to a Town Hall with Presidential Candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren

The AFT, our national affiliate, will be conducting a Town Hall for dues-paying members of TAUP (which makes you a member of AFT) with Senator and Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren. It will be held on on Monday, May 13, 4:30-6:30 p.m., at the Plumbers Local 690 Union Hall, 2791 Southampton Rd., Philadelphia, 19154. Parking is available. Seating is limited for this event, so be sure to RSVP here.

This Town Hall is part of AFT Votes 2020–for more information on our national union’s approach to the upcoming Presidential election, visit the website.

Access to events like this is one of the many benefits of joining TAUP .

Merit Pay

TAUP has received information on merit awards this year, and we are analyzing the data from this and previous years. Next week, look for a report on our findings and the implications for the current contract negotiations. We have put a proposal on the table is for 1.75% merit per year of the contract. This is at the high end of the range negotiated in the last three years of the current contract.

TAUP Endorsements for the May 21st Primary: Mayor and City Council

Through its Committee on Political Education (COPE), TAUP endorses candidates and offers modest funds through donations members offer to COPE (which are separate from dues) to candidates who share our values and who seek election to offices that bear on the work of the Union.

After interviewing many candidates, we have endorsed the following pro-education, pro-labor candidates in the upcoming primaries. We urge you not only to vote for them but also to visit their campaign websites to see how you can help their campaigns.

Mayor: Jim Kenney

City Council-at-large (D):

TAUP Election Results

Here are the results of our recent election. Congrats especially to our newly elected leaders!

Officers elected to a two-year term:

President: Steve Newman (tenured/tenure-track, CLA)

Vice President: Jennie Shanker (adjunct, Tyler)