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:

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. 

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.  Here’s the schedule:

* For services like lab tests, x-rays, imaging and outpatient surgery

New language has been added which suggests that schools should include in their merit guidelines discipline-specific ranges of units for each type of accomplishment that can be claimed in applying for merit.  

A departmental merit committee must now include at least one NTT faculty member, provided one is available, when evaluating NTT faculty members for merit.  At least one of the members appointed by the college or school assembly should be an NTT as well when NTT faculty are being evaluated for merit.

In addition, the Provost now has the right to offer individuals half units of merit for exceptional effort.

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.

The new language in the contract states that “SFFs shall not be used as the sole criterion and shall not be used as the primary criterion for evaluating faculty for hiring, re-appointment, termination or any other personnel decision. In cases of discipline, the University may decide at its sole discretion, to use SFFs as the primary or sole basis for initiating the disciplinary process.”

This means that personnel decisions must be based on more than just information received from anonymous student surveys, and their surveys cannot be the primary reason for critical decisions that affect people’s careers.  Because the university is concerned that SFFs may disclose troubling information that only students in a class might be able to report on, they can be used to initiate a disciplinary investigation.

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.

Yes, but we were not going to 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.

The process will remain the same, but where in the prior contract the Law School had two guaranteed slots on the University Tenure and Promotion Committee which reviews faculty in the Social Sciences, Business and Law, the committee will now be selected as follows:  3 faculty members from the TAUP bargaining unit (instead of 2) or the Law School selected by the Provost and 3 faculty members from the TAUP bargaining unit (instead of 2) or the Law School selected from by the Faculty Senate. This change was made because the Law School now sends only contested cases to UTPAC and those are rare.  The limit of two faculty members from any one college or school remains.

Faculty will now have greater voice in defining the prestigious awards in their fields. Collegial assemblies of each school/college will make a recommendation to the dean regarding which fellowships and awards should be considered “prestigious” within each discipline.  The dean will consider the recommendation and make a final determination.

Effective with the 2021-2022 academic year, the University will enter into The Tuition Exchange. Based on your eligibility for tuition benefits, dependents of full-time bargaining unit employees will be eligible to participate.  

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

1. 1. 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. 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/

Yes.  There is now a specified timeline for applying for and completing this benefit:  A tenured or tenure-track faculty member who is the primary caregiver to a child five years of age or less who is newly arrived to their home will be entitled to the elimination of teaching duties for up to one academic semester without any reduction in pay.  The faculty member must file a Request for Tenured or Tenure Track Workload Modification – Work Life Balance within six (6) months  from the date of birth, adoption or placement of a foster child into the primary caregiver’s household. The semester from which the faculty member is relieved from teaching duties must end within twelve (12) months of the child’s arrival into their home.