Salary increases are effective as of October 1, 2019.  You should receive both your raise for this month and retroactive pay in your January paycheck.  Here’s what the increases look like over time:

Effective Date	Across-the-Board	Merit Pools	Additional Merit
October 1, 2019	1.625%	1%	0.25%-0.75%
July 1, 2020	1.625%	1%	0.25%-0.75%
July 1, 2021	2%	1%	0% – 0.5%
July 1, 2022	2%	1%	0% – 0.5%

This means that there will be at least 1.25% merit the first two years of the contract and at least 1% the last two years. 

For other NTTs and AP yes.  For librarians there are no changes, though now that the Provost has the right to offer individuals half units of merit for exceptional effort.

What changes will there be to the cost of health benefits?

The administration came to the table wanting one thing:  increases in the shared contribution to our health benefits and new deductibles for everyone.  The negotiating team was able to push their numbers down, delay the implementation of the increases to the last two years of the contract, and limit the number of people who would need to pay a deductible to faculty who make $76k or more.  Here’s the schedule for librarians and APs:

 

Cost Sharing	Current cost to union members	7/1/2021	7/1/2022
Premium (medical/Rx)	20%	21%	23%

 

With the new contract, Librarian sick days will start to accrue after the first 90 days of employment.

To be sure that this new program is clear, here is all of the new language:

A.  Librarians are entitled to maternity leave in accordance with the FMLA and university Policy.  All time spent on leave under this provision will run concurrently with FMLA and/or university leave per university policy. The University will establish a sick leave donation bank for use by librarians who have given birth subject to the terms below.  A librarian who has given birth also may elect to use scheduled time off (STO) during an approved leave of absence for the birth subject to the terms below.

1.  Request for Leave

a.  A librarian who wishes to use leave from the sick leave donation bank, if available, must submit a written request to do so to the Library Director for Finance and Administration and Absence Management at the time of the  leave approval and in no case less than 60 days prior to the anticipated start of the approved leave

b.  A librarian who wishes to use STO for maternity leave must notify the Library Director for Finance and Administration and Absence Management at the time of the leave approval and in no case less than 60 days prior to the anticipated start of the approved leave.

2.  Sick Leave Donation Bank

a.  Only librarians are permitted to donate to the bank or receive leave from the bank.  The bank may be used for maternity leave only.

b.  Librarians may donate up to 35 hours of sick leave per fiscal year. Donations may only be made during the month of July each year.  All donations must be made in 7 hour increments.

 

c.  All donations to the bank are irrevocable.

d.  Librarians may use up to 4 weeks (140 hours) of leave from the bank when they give birth to a child, up to the amount of hours available from the bank.  Any leave from the sick leave donation bank may be used only after the employee has exhausted all of their own sick leave for which they are eligible. In no case shall the amount of sick time used, including leave from the sick leave donation bank, exceed the amount permitted under University sick leave policy.  

e.  Leave from the bank may only be used in a continuous block following the birth of a child and cannot be used intermittently.

f.  The librarian will use leave in the following order:  all sick leave for which the employee is eligible in accordance with the Sick Leave policy, donated leave from the sick leave donation bank, STO (if elected), any other paid leave the employee has available.

g.  Requests for sick time from the sick leave donation bank will be approved based on the hours available at the start of the leave.  Requests will be granted in first come, first used order.

 

3.  Use of STO for Maternity Leave

a.  The librarian may choose the amount of sick time she would like applied to the beginning of the leave, unless the employee is approved to use sick leave from the sick leave donation bank in accordance with paragraph 2.  In no case shall the amount of sick time used exceed the amount permitted under University sick leave policy. STO time will be applied after sick time. Any additional leave time will be administered in accordance with university policy.

b.  The commencement of the 12-month period during which the leave and STO are taken shall be in the discretion of the library administration, taking into account the librarian’s preference and operational needs.  Other librarian schedules may be adjusted to ensure full library operations during this period.

c.  Librarians whose regular annual schedule does not include 4 weeks of scheduled time off (STO) and who have been approved for a maternity leave may elect to change their annual schedule to include 4 weeks of STO to be used in conjunction with their maternity leave during the 12 month period in which the leave occurs.

(1).  The librarian’s salary will be reduced by 9.6% during the 12 month period in which the leave occurs.  At the end of the 12-month period, the librarian’s salary will be returned to the amount of salary earned prior to the leave plus any scheduled increases.

d.  Librarians whose regular annual schedule does include 4 weeks of scheduled time off (STO) and who has been approved for a Maternity Leave may elect to schedule her STO during the approved leave of absence.

(1) The librarian will receive no further reduction in pay during this period.

 

The Academic Assembly of Librarians (AAL) will make a recommendation to the Dean regarding suggested requirements for achieving L4 level – an exceptional level of achievement in the context of a major university, potentially recognizing differences in individual librarian roles.  The recommendations will be passed to the Dean who will create preliminary guidelines for requirements and achievements. The AAL will be able to review and provide comments on the preliminary guidelines to the dean who will then provide the AAL with final written guidelines for the requirements and achievements necessary for promotion to L4.

Yes, but we would not accept that. Instead, we agreed to informing individuals who come to the union with a discrimination grievance of processes that the university has (independent of the union) for investigating and resolving discrimination cases. 

In addition, there is an option now for an additional fact finding step when a grievance reaches Step 2.  Either party may request it to ensure that both sides have all the facts in the case, and both TAUP and the administration hope that it may offer more opportunity for an informal resolution if possible.

No, but they reserved the right to pursue it through the PA Labor Board in the future if they want to.  We hope they will not go down this path, but if they do, we will let you know when they announce their intent.

Effective with the 2021-2022 academic year, the University will be entering into The Tuition Exchange. If you are eligible for tuition benefits, your dependents will be eligible to participate.  

Eligibility was established in previous contracts. Here is the language:

1.  All full-time bargaining unit members hired prior to October 15, 2014, shall be entitled to full tuition remission for themselves and dependent children in accordance with University policy.  Spouses of all full-time faculty are eligible for tuition benefits under this policy. Full-time bBargaining unit members hired on or after October 15, 2014, shall be entitled to tuition remission for themselves immediately.  Full-time bargaining unit members hired on or after October 15, 2014 shall be entitled to tuition remission for their dependent children and/or spouses of full-time faculty as follows:

1. 1. 1. 1. Year one of service:  50% undergraduate tuition remission;
         2. Years two and three of service:  75% undergraduate tuition remission;
         3. Beginning the first semester following completion of (3) three years of service:  100% undergraduate tuition remission.

For more information about the Exchange itself, go to https://www.tuitionexchange.org/

Within six (6) months of ratification, the University will take the necessary steps to allow hardship distribution of employee funds in the 403(b) plan in accordance with IRS guidelines.