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