One battling union finds compromise

Of Temple’s two employee unions that spent last year without contract, one is nearing an accord.

Students have returned for the fall semester with one Temple union under a tentative new contract and another potentially on its way.

Both the Temple Association of University Professionals and Temple’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1723 union entered the summer battling the university in contract negotiations. TAUP has been without a contract since Oct. 15, 2008, and AFSCME has been without one since Oct. 31, 2007.

TAUP and the university bargaining teams reached a tentative agreement Tuesday, August 25, which will potentially continue through Oct. 15, 2012. The contract must now be ratified by TAUP members then approved by the university’s Board of Trustees.

“The members of the Temple University bargaining team have worked long and hard to achieve this important goal, and I am proud of the work they have done to create an agreement that is both fiscally responsible for Temple and fair and equitable to our faculty,” President Ann Weaver Hart said. “I believe this contract is a good outcome after the 14-month negotiating process, and I am very grateful that we will start the new academic year with the negotiations behind us.”

In accordance with the contract, no raise will be given forthe past year, but there is a guaranteed 2 percent salary increase across the board each year for the next three years. There is also the possibility of a 1 percent merit increase each year, though the union and the university will continue to meet and discuss the details of that system.

The university also promised a 0.75 percent bonus each year to every bargaining unit member, provided the university receives a minimum of $175 million in state appropriation and stimulus funds for the respective year. The 0.75 percent bonus will not be added to the base pay.

“It’s really good that we got this done now before the new semester starts, so that everyone can focus on the things we’re here to do such as teach, do research and help students get the best education they can,” University Counsel George Moore said.

There has also been an increase in salary minimums, teaching pay and overload pay.
“It’s good for everyone,” Moore said. “Given the economic climate of the United States, it’s very fair and reasonable and financially prudent.”

The union will use an electronic voting procedure via a secured Web site and secret ballot, which they have used to vote before, said Art Hochner, TAUP president.

The deadline to vote is set for Sept. 14. Prior to the deadline, TAUP will hold meetings at Main Campus, Ambler Campus and the Health Sciences Center for members who want to discuss the contract before voting, he said.

Hochner said he has no doubt it will pass.

“There was a very concerted effort to reach an agreement,” Hochner said. “It was difficult, but this isn’t the time to talk about that. It’s excellent given the times we live in and the difficulties of coming to an agreement. We got a very good contract.”

Hochner added that they achieved other goals outside of the financial realm like securing the right for tenure and tenure-track faculty members to have a semester without teaching responsibilities when a child under the age of five enters their care. This includes both male and female birth parents, as well as adoptive parents. Non-tenure track faculty and other professionals may request an adjustment in their schedules under these circumstances.

“I’m looking forward to us having a good, calm semester,” Hochner said.

AFSCME, on the other hand, has met with the university three times this summer – once each month in May, June and July – union president Paul Dannenfelser said.

He said AFSCME gave the university a revised proposal at the meeting in June, which university officials then “only partially responded to” in July.

“We’ve been in touch with the mediator and are in the process of setting up a meeting with Temple,” Dannenfelser said. “We’re expecting to meet with them [this week or next week].”

Both Dannenfelser and Director of University Relations Ray Betzner declined to provide details of the proposal or negotiation process.

“We’re looking for a fair, across-the-board raise for our members, as well as solving other issues,” said Dannenfelser, declining further comment.

Both sides, however, said they hope to follow in the footsteps of the TAUP negotiations and reach an agreement soon.

“This was a very long negotiation, and I think both sides addressed all of the issues professionally and in an appropriate way,” Moore said. “Sometimes, there were extraneous things that happened, but we hope all of that is behind us and we can focus on what we’re here to do.”

Kathryn A. López can be reached at kathryn.lopez@temple.edu.

After firings, union members take to Hart’s front yard for protest

Approximately 80 Temple affiliates flooded Rittenhouse Square in Center City Wednesday afternoon to protest outside President Ann Weaver Hart’s Temple-provided home.

The anger erupted after 19 employees and members of Temple’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees were fired at the end of May.

The firings occurred due to a 5 percent budget cut on individual departments, said university spokesman Ray Betzner.

“To meet the reductions in the operation budget for the coming year, each college and department at Temple has taken specific steps, and in some areas that has included restructuring and layoffs,” Betzner said. “It’s also important to note that those individuals who were laid off and were not hired back for the restructured positions will receive first priority for any Temple positions that come open for which they’re qualified.”

Nine of the employees have been rehired for other positions and the other ten permanently fired, said Temple Association of University Professionals President Art Hochner.

Another source of controversy is AFSCME’s accusation of the violation of the contract agreement that major changes will be discussed with the union in advance as well as the way the former employees were treated upon their dismissals.

“Long-term employees were escorted out of their building by security guards, and locks to their offices were changed,” TAUP’s board members posted on the TAUP Web site. “This is a heartless way, especially in the midst of a recession, to treat dedicated workers.”

AFSCME is now in the process of filing a grievance against the university.

“Layoffs are never easy, and care was taken to be as humane as possible,” Betzner said. “All layoffs were done in compliance with union rules, including those rules on notice and severance packages.”

Hochner estimated nearly 100 other firings throughout the university occurred of employees who are either not affiliated with a union or are members of unions other than TAUP and AFSCME.

Union members said they are also concerned with what will happen to the work that was being done by the terminated employees, Hochner said.

He added, “This is a cruel and inhumane way to treat employees.”

Kathryn A. López can be reached at kathryn.lopez@temple.edu.

Contract Closure

Temple’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1723 union has been without a contract since Oct. 31, 2007.

The Temple News reported this in our last issue and has received some comments from others – both directly and indirectly – regarding bias in the article.

The Editorial Board believes the article, “Union dissent” written by union beat reporter Kathryn A. López, objectively discusses the differences of opinion between both the union and the university and the union and its members.

We feel the facts presented in the article do not misrepresent the union’s or the university’s stances in the contract dispute. This week, we have published a letter on Page 6 signed by 65 members of the AFSCME union that clears some of the confusion they feel the article created.

Despite allegations posted to our Web site, temple-news.com, TTN is neither pro-union nor pro-university. Through publishing the article, we wanted to bring light to an issue that affects so many on Temple’s campus.

We were further criticized for using two anonymous sources in the article, but the Editorial Board justified this. Both are members of the union, and both understandably fear criticism from their peers regarding their stances on the issue.

The situation at hand between AFSCME and Temple has reached unacceptable levels. Both groups need to be more willing to compromise effectively and resolve the dispute.

Some AFSCME members would like to know more facts and figures about salary negotiations from union leadership, but union leadership won’t disclose numbers because “they should be at the negotiating table,” President Paul Dannenfelser said. How can union members stand behind something if they are unaware of the specifics?

On the university’s side, the listserv created is monitored by Temple administrators, who allegedly filter some of the postings. Additionally, we understand that the university is fighting budgetary issues. But it should also make strides in restructuring its budget to accommodate some of the negotiations made by AFSCME.

The AFSCME-Temple negotiations have unnecessarily become much more complicated and turbulent than they need to be. With both sides seemingly in a stalemate, little progress will inevitably be made.

Both parties need to work actively to resolve the situation. And both should realize sacrifices will need to be made to reach common ground.

Letter: AFSCME responds to article

To the editor:

In an article dated March 3, 2009, Kathryn A. López wrote that Temple’s members of the American Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees union Local 1723 were “lashing out against their negotiation team after going without a pay raise for more than a year and a half” on the AFSCME47 listserv. What Lopez did not mention is that the AFSCME47 listserv is moderated by the university administration, not the union. What she also failed to uncover is that many AFSCME members attempted to post messages in support of the union leadership, only to wait hours to see their messages posted, if at all, while crude, abusive, anonymous anti-union messages were posted instantaneously.

The AFSCME47 listserv is merely another aspect of the university administration’s PR campaign against the union, yet another attempt by them to splinter the union membership. The listserv, like articles in the Temple Times and direct e-mails from the administration to the membership, is meant to inflame, rather than inform the union members.

The union and its members are opposed to the administration’s proposal to link pay increases to performance evaluations since, historically, this creates an inequitable culture of subjectivity and favoritism. The union is asking for a fair, across-the-board, annual increase for its members, with the option of an additional bonus on top. In its last negotiation with the university, AFSCME accepted a three-year contract for a 2 percent across-the-board, plus 1 percent bonus annual increase.

As the cost of living increases at an annual rate of more than 3 percent, Temple’s AFSCME employees are doing the same jobs year after year for less money. Giving each AFSCME member an additional 1 percent across-the-board increase would amount to approximately $300,000 per year for the university – a drop in the bucket of the annual budget, and yet a meaningful amount in the lives of dedicated Temple University staff making an average of less than $40,000 per year. The union leadership and membership are both eager to settle the contract with the university, but not in a way that inhibits their ability to support themselves and their families.

Michael Beachem
Robert Bookbinder
Rosa Brown
Belinda Christensen
Valarie Clemmons
Doris Clowney
Alexis Cogan
Craig Cohen
Alice Cortez
Eileen Council
Delois Corbitt
Delores Coyle
Vanessa Dash
Cassandra Doyle
Mary Etienne
Jacqueline Glago Divirgilio
Lydia Gonzalez-Colon
Sharon Goodman
Shantel Grant
Diane Green
Mick Gusinde-Duffy
Addisalem Hailu
Jacalyn Harriz
Justin Hill
Robert Hodges
Patrice Howerton
Gerard Hutchinson
Ritch James
Georgia Johnson
Steven Karashoff
Matthew Kull
Kathy Lehman
Martina Madison
Rozina McFadden
James McLaughlin
Richard Mensah
Tina Middleton
Edward A. Myers Jr.
Neal Joyce
Regina Neely
Antoinette Newton
Veronica Norris
Tamica Oglesby-Dorman
John Oram
Sergio Pagan Jr.
Vivyaine Palmer
John Pettit
Valerie Roberts
Darnell Ryans
Amy Schmitt
Doretha Starling
William Stout
Nam Tang
Eufrosina Tapales
Orphialese Taylor
Carla Thomas
Earldine Tolbert
Denise Upchurch Clark
Denise Watson
Marcia Whitaker
David Wilson
Lillian Wong
Karen Woods Wilson
Veronica Young
Gloria Zucker

Union Dissent

Temple’s members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union are lashing out against their negotiation team after going without a pay raise for more than a year and a half.

AFSCME union’s contract expired Oct. 31, 2007. AFSCME consists of more than 750 campus professional and technical employees, including laboratory managers, programmers, analysts and accountants.

“This is very frustrating for employees because we have no power or say. Both the university and AFSCME are at fault for not compromising,” an AFSCME member said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “There are people who would like the current contract to be signed and move forward rather than keep waiting. We’re concerned that this could continue for a year or more, which is very discouraging in this economic climate.”

Throughout the course of the past few weeks, AFSCME members have been voicing their disdain with the union on a listserv created by the university.

Paul Dannenfelser, president of AFSCME, said the listserv is distracting.

“Members are trying to do their jobs and get work done, and they’re being bombarded with e-mails,” he said.

Many of the e-mails were sent anonymously, he said, although a source familiar with the listserv said many more AFSCME members voiced displeasure while using their actual names.

George Moore, university counsel, said the university initially sent out a communication on its listserv in response to inquiries from AFSCME members regarding the status of negotiations.

“When it became clear that AFSCME members were using the listserv to communicate amongst themselves, the university did not believe it was appropriate to interfere,” he said. “The university did not encourage or intervene in those discussions. AFSCME members have First Amendment rights to talk to their colleagues and share opinions. This is consistent with the usual exchanges of ideas on a university campus.”

Dannenfelser said Temple is not negotiating in good faith.

“They really want an anti-union atmosphere. They’re using tactics that are questionable in legality and ethics,” he said. “Most members didn’t even know that it’s a university listserv. It’s not a union listserv.”

Last fiscal year’s final proposal was made to the union on May 19, 2008, said Sharon Boyle, assistant vice president of labor and employee relations. This included a pay increase scheduled to take effect in November 2008.

She said AFSCME was asked to take the proposal to its members in order to obtain a vote. However, the union failed to obtain a vote and did not schedule another meeting with the university’s negotiating team.

“The membership calls for a vote, not management,” Dannenfelser said.

“Since [November] came and went, we met again Dec. 18 to touch base,” said Boyle, a university negotiating team member. “There is still no movement, but we’ve said that we’re open to listening.”

“I would certainly like to come to an agreement,” Dannenfelser said. “The university needs to negotiate and not dictate to us.”

Because AFSCME did not accept the contract, the previous offer of giving members retroactive pay for the 2007-2008 fiscal year is no longer on the table, Boyle said.

Dannenfelser said they want “an across-the-board raise and merit pay on top of that and fair-share pay.”

Fair-share means all members of the bargaining unit would be required to pay dues. The university, however, maintains that 85 percent of the bargaining unit must already pay dues in order for it to require that the remaining 15 percent do so.

Between 60 percent and 65 percent of the bargaining unit currently pays dues, Dannenfelser said.

AFSCME member Beverly Frantz, coordinator of the criminal justice initiative in Disabilities, said she has been trying to leave the union since the contract expired. She was told she could only leave the union if she had given notice 15 days prior to the end of the contract, she said.

Frantz said she then began trying to work with the executive board of AFSCME on broadening that.

“There should be some kind of means to allow members to leave,” Frantz said. “The contract really forces you to stay in the union. I can’t imagine why someone would want someone in the union who doesn’t want to be. It’s not even the money, it’s the head count. If someone decided now that they wanted to leave the union, they could end up waiting four or five years. They would have to wait for the contract that hasn’t even been settled to then expire. It’s forced membership. There needs to be a way for members to leave the union in a respectful way.”

“They need to meet with the membership and keep us abreast on a weekly basis,” another anonymous AFSCME member said. “I’m unhappy because we’re not allowed to know exactly what is going on.”

“We haven’t put out specifics as to numbers because we feel they shouldn’t be in public,” Dannenfelser said. “They should be at the negotiating table.”

Dannenfelser said they have communicated with the membership through brown bag lunches and six letters throughout negotiations. He said they personally met with more than 250 members and solicited input prior to negotiations. He said they also always respond to members’ phone calls and e-mails.
Negotiations began in September 2007, and Dannenfelser has been the president of AFSCME since January 2007. Elections are held every three years.

According to UnionFacts.com, the president of Temple’s AFSCME makes approximately $21,330 per year in addition to his salary. This statistic was recorded in 2006.

Dannenfelser said he shares the feelings of bargaining unit members about not having a pay increase. AFSCME has not, however, submitted a proposal to the university since early in the negotiations, he said.
“They know what it will take,” he said.

Non-dues-paying members have voiced complaints on the listserv about being harassed by dues-paying members to join the union.

Frantz said she had a similar experience upon beginning her job at Temple.

“I’m not against unions,” Frantz said. “They play an important part in the economy, and we need them, but I don’t want to be a part of this union. I don’t think the union knows how to negotiate without bullying tactics and threats and badmouthing. That’s not the way you negotiate in the 21st century.

“I don’t see it doing anything except hurting me, and it’s costing me much more money to be in the union because we haven’t gotten pay increases. I understand that the university can be difficult, but I think they’ve been fair with what they’ve offered.”

Kathryn A. López can be reached at kathryn.lopez@temple.edu.

Professors’ union threatens strike, demands contract

Two of Temple’s large unions may have means to strike this semester.

The university’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Temple Association of University Professionals have attempted to come to a new contract agreement with the university to no avail for the last few months.

TAUP, which consists of 1,250 faculty members, had a contract which expired Oct. 15, 2008. AFSCME’s contract expired Oct. 31, 2007.

AFSCME met with members of the university once prior to winter break.

“They have not changed any of their positions,” said Paul Dannenfelser, president of AFSCME. “There is no progress. We’re disappointed that Temple didn’t have anything to offer us, and they didn’t seem interested at all in coming to a resolution. Now, there is also new information about the financial crisis, and we’re not sure what that means for us in terms of negotiations.”

The university placed a final offer on the table for AFSCME in May 2008. The offer included an increase that would take effect in November 2008.

“Since [November] came and went, we met again Dec. 18 to touch base,” said Sharon Boyle, a university negotiating team member. “There is still no movement, but we’ve said that we’re open to listening.”

“I’ve had a number of phone calls from my members who have been getting solicitation letters from Temple requesting a donation, and they are very upset that Temple’s asking them for money at a time when they haven’t had a raise in two years,” Dannenfelser said. “A lot of our members really feel Temple is exploiting the financial crisis.”

Dannenfelser said AFSCME’s action committee has been discussing future actions they might take.

“The people on the committee would like to act in a more organized way,” Dannenfelser said. “There’s a lot of anger building among people. They’re running out of patience. There’s going to be a lot more activity on campus this year. You’re going to see more action taken. A strike may be a possibility this year.”

On Dec. 5, 2008, TAUP gave management a revised offer and then met with officials in a meeting that didn’t make any progress, said Arthur Hochner, president of TAUP.

The negotiating teams met again on Jan. 7.

“They gave us a little speech about the economy and withdrew their economic proposal and said they would be willing to discuss other options with us,” Hochner said. “We were surprised. We asked them what options they wanted to discuss and they said, ‘We don’t know yet.’ We asked them what they did know and they said, ‘We don’t know that either.’ From our perspective, it was a strange way of negotiating because we were left in limbo.”

“We told them that the contract was subject to continuing economic circumstances,” said George Moore, another member of the university negotiating team. “We told them all along that we couldn’t guarantee keeping it on the table. When we got to January with all the news that had been transpiring over the past month, we determined that we could no longer in good faith keep that offer out on the table because of the strains it would put on the university.”

The university later sent TAUP an offer, but the two teams have not yet met to discuss it. They are scheduled to meet Jan. 21.

The previous economic offer made by the university guaranteed a roughly 3.75 percent per year increase for four years. The most recent offer is a five-year contract, guaranteeing 3 percent for the first fiscal year, retroactive to July 1, 2008 through the end of June 2009. There will be no increase the second year and a 2 percent increase each of the following three years.

This is consistent with the announcement made by President Ann Weaver Hart Jan. 15. There’s still the ability to give a salary increase to outstanding individual faculty members.

No other details on the most recent economic proposal are available until after the teams meet Wednesday.

“It doesn’t make sense that Temple can’t afford a halfway decent pay increase for faculty,” Hochner said. “We don’t think that’s true.”

Hochner said they have been talking to TAUP members about “what it will take to get a fair contract.” He said a strike is becoming a greater possibility, if the members agree to it.

TAUP is also planning more picketing and other similar activities in the coming weeks.

“They’re continuing all of their construction projects,” Hochner said. “It seems to me that Temple would much rather keep all of its projects going than give their faculty a fair pay increase. Reaching an agreement with us is not their priority. We want to have something that’s mutually agreeable and not just take whatever they’re offering.”

“We’re doing what other schools and colleges around the country are doing,” Moore said. “We have from the very beginning tried to be fair and reasonable and as generous as we could while being fair to our students. In our economy, we can’t make promises to just one part of the university.”

Several other colleges and universities have recently taken actions similar to that of Temple.

“We want to have a contract,” said Ray Betzner, assistant vice president of university communications. “We’ve wanted [a contract] since the spring. We’re ready.”

Kathryn A. López can be reached at kathryn.lopez@temple.edu.

Mompremier vetoes Senate resolution

On Wednesday night, Nadine Mompremier, president of Temple Student Government, sent an e-mail announcing her veto of a resolution recently passed by TSG Senate.

The resolution declared TSG’s alliance with members of the Temple Association of University Professionals and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in support of recent contract negotiations.

The Student Labor Action Project wrote the bill, and it was sponsored by Senate President Jeff Dempsey.

The resolution passed unanimously at Monday’s Senate meeting.

“To veto a bill that was unanimously passed speaks a lot,” Dempsey said.

Mompremier acknowledged that there was a lot of support for the bill, but she did not approve of how the resolution was passed.

She sent a list of her arguments along with the veto notification to the Senate.

Mompremier’s arguments detailed the procedures that were not followed in order for the resolution to officially be passed.

The resolution was not sent out by 9 a.m. on Monday. Instead, it was sent two hours before the meeting. By not passing the resolution before 9 a.m., the Senate violated a requirement cited in Article 2 Section 2.12 of Senate by-laws.

It was also read as second-read legislation instead of first-read. First-read requires the Senate to decide what committee the bill will go to, so it can be worked on further. Second-read requires debate and a vote. The Senate passed the agenda agreeing to count the legislation as second read instead of first.

“If you get mired in those [procedural] details, you’re turning your back on what is important,” Dempsey said. “You have to take a stand and not hide behind procedure.”

Mompremier argued because the legislation was passed two hours prior to the meeting, senators could not discuss it with their constituents.

She said senators would not be able to know how students felt about the contract negotiations.

“It is my job to make sure the Senate accurately represents the student body,” Mompremier said.

Dempsey said there is a level of trust between students and the senators who represent them.

“I feel as if my Senate as a whole has been sullied,” Dempsey said. “They were called stupid in so many words, which I think was abhorrent.”

Mompremier said senators did not have the time to research both sides of the arguments.

Senators did not have more time prior to the vote to research both TAUP and AFSCME platforms.

“You have to take into account both sides. It’s about fairness, and it’s about integrity,” Mompremier said.

Representatives from TAUP, AFSCME and SLAP attended the meeting where the resolution was passed.

Mompremier said their attendance may have pressured the senators to vote quickly.

Mompremier said she believed the senators did not think about all the implications that could come from this resolution.

The possibility of the university’s tuition increasing in order to pay for union raises was one of her concerns.

If this were to happen, she said it would seem as if TSG supported an increase in tuition.

“It isn’t about not supporting the issue. It’s about the way we support it and taking in all sides,” Mompremier said.

Dempsey plans on fighting the veto in an emergency Senate meeting, which will occur after the Thanksgiving break. He mandated a cool-down period so the senators would not let their anger decide for them. The veto can be overturned if two-thirds of the Senate votes against it.

“I will fight for this resolution because it is the right thing to do,” Dempsey said.

Rebecca Hale can be reached at rebecca.hale@temple.edu.

Support faculty unions, graduate on time

Dear Editor,

While most students are aware of the current contract dispute between two of Temple’s unions and President Ann Weaver Hart’s administration, many may not fully understand the main causes of the dispute or the implications of labor unrest for us as Temple students. AFSCME, the union that represents a variety of support staff such as our advisers, financial aid specialists and housing staff, has been without a new contract for a year, and the contract of TAUP, the union that represents our faculty, expired on Oct. 15.

The two unions’ main objections to the university’s contract proposals concern the substitution of across-the-board raises for a pay-for-performance system. The objective of a system of across-the-board raises is to keep pace with the rise in the cost of living for all employees covered under the contract. In other words, this system attempts to keep employees from making less while doing the same work they have always done. Under the university’s proposed plan, yearly raises would be based solely on the subjective judgments of supervisors. In addition, all employees would not receive pay-for-performance raises.

As students, we must question the affect a pay-for-performance plan could have on the academic and professional integrity of our faculty and staff, as well as the possibility of favoritism and discrimination against the university employees who deal most directly with us. Dissatisfied professors and support staff directly affect the quality of education we receive. In addition, we must worry about the affect labor unrest, like a strike, would have on our breaks and our graduation dates. In her speech at the TSG State of the Campus address, President Hart stated Temple is committed to strong unions. If the university truly is committed to strong unions, as well as the satisfaction of the student body, President Hart must do everything in her power to ensure these contracts are settled fairly.

Temple Student Labor Action Project

AFSCME to rally with TAUP today

Temple’s faculty and other employees will rally for new contracts in front of Sullivan Hall outside the Board of Trustees meeting at 3 p.m. on Oct. 14.

The university’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Temple Association of University Professionals have attempted to come to an agreement with the university on new contracts.

TAUP, which consists of 1,250 faculty members, has been negotiating terms for its contract scheduled to expire tomorrow. AFSCME’s contract expired on Oct. 31, 2007.

AFSCME consists of more than 750 professional and technical employees on campus including laboratory managers, programmers, analysts and accountants.

Twelve negotiating sessions between AFSCME and the university were held during the past year.

A final proposal was made to the union on May 19, 2008, said Sharon Boyle, assistant vice president of labor and employee relations. She said AFSCME was asked to take the proposal to its members in order to obtain a vote. However, it failed to obtain a vote and did not schedule another meeting with the university’s negotiating team.

“We are open to meeting with them again, but they have not scheduled any sessions,” said Paul Dannenfelser, president of AFSCME.

The university’s last proposal does not guarantee that employees will receive across the board living increases, Dannenfelser said.

The last offer made to AFSCME included the merit pay proposition, as did the last offer made to TAUP, but it also gave AFSCME members a non-merit pay option, Boyle said.

Dannenfelser said AFSCME also disagrees with the university’s desire to increase employees’ share in the payment of health insurance.

“We’re just interested in getting a fair raise,” Dannenfelser said. “It’s only right being that Temple has done so well in the past few years.”

“Our hope has always been to come to a final resolution,” Boyle said. “We have a final proposal out there.”

“It’s clear that they’re encouraging a hostile relationship,” Dannenfelser said. “They don’t want to sit down with us and negotiate.”

“We’re interested in coming to a fair resolution,” Dannenfelser said. “It’s not in the best interest of the staff or the students to insist on an unfair pay plan, which denies employees a fair raise, especially in the current economic situation.”

Although AFSCME is attempting to unite with TAUP, it is two separate bargaining units, Boyle said.
“They’ve just lost a lot of time by doing that,” Boyle said.

Temple’s Student Labor Action Project has been working with AFSCME since its contract expired last year.

“The university is doing to AFSCME what they’re trying to do to TAUP,” said Wes Weaver, president of SLAP. “SLAP has always been supportive of AFSCME, but in our opinion this new policy merit pay is deplorable.”

Weaver, a junior geography and urban studies major, said merit pay promotes a work environment in which the staff is forced to fight against each other for raises that the union has no power to negotiate.

“As students, it is in our best interest for staff to work together, otherwise they will not work as effectively,” Weaver said. “The quality of our education would suffer.”

SLAP will be present at the rally. Weaver said SLAP has been working with other student organizations such as the Student Peace Alliance, Students for Environmental Action and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.

“The university is causing a lot of labor unrest on campus,” Weaver said. “As students, we must get behind our faculty, staff and employees and fight for fair and beneficial conditions for them.”

Kathryn A. López can be reached at kathryn.lopez@temple.edu.

Union workers rally over stalled negotiations

Temple’s professional and technical employees’ union took their complaints to the street on Tuesday, marching and chanting down Broad Street over the insertion of merit pay in their new contract.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees local 1723 were supported by Temple’s faculty union, graduate assistant union and students in Temple’s Student Labor Action Project in the demonstration, which began with a rally at the Bell Tower and ended outside of Conwell Hall.

The union has been deadlocked in negotiations with the Office of Labor Relations since their contract expired at the end of October. The last negotiation session was in January.

AFSCME is demanding that it receive the same benefits of non-bargaining employees, such as increased vacation time and funeral leave. Temple is conditioning the demand with a performance-based pay system to mostly replace the current annual 3 percent across-the-board pay raises.

“This is a time that Temple is doing extremely well. The upper administration is getting big raises and bonuses, and we think that this is a very unfair system that can really lead to a lot of favoritism and can really hurt a lot of people,” AFSCME president Paul Dannenfelser said.

The proposed contract would also gradually increase the percentage that employees pay for family coverage in health care. Currently at 13.5 percent, it would increase to 17 percent after four years.

Art Hochner, president of the faculty union Temple Association of University Professionals, spoke at the rally in support of AFSCME. TAUP experienced similar stalls in its negotiations in 2005 over merit-pay and held a rally which AFSCME members attended in show of their support.

“We think every employee deserves a living wage and no one should go without a pay increase,” Hochner told the crowd. “If they’re good enough to work here, they’re good enough to get a raise.”

The protest took place during the Student Labor Week of Action sponsored by SLAP and Jobs with Justice. The week-long event is mostly a run-up to a demonstration for AlliedBarton guards on Sunday, but it was organized in concert with AFSME’s demonstration.

“We pay obscene amounts of money to the administration for education, thus we have the right to demand justice and equality for our workers,” SLAP President Wes Weaver said. “This university would be nothing without these workers.”

Sharon Boyle, vice president of the Office of Labor Relations for Temple, said she did not immediately have information on how much of the proposed pay-raise system would be based on performance and how much would be guaranteed. But the pay-raises would be more across-the-board in the earlier years of the contract and then gradually move toward merit-pay, she said.

“[AFSCME is] asking for a lot of benefits that are offered to non-bargaining groups, and we’re willing to give them those,” Boyle said. “It’s just the university’s concerns are not being addressed.”

The Office of Human Resources sent a letter to all AFSCME members on March 24 giving a rough outline of the university’s proposed contract. The letter also stated that were a performance-based system in place, “more than 90 percent of the AFSCME bargaining unit would be eligible for base increases greater than the annual across-the-board base increases the university and the union negotiated in the last contract.”

There are currently no more scheduled negotiations. Both Boyle and the letter sent by Human Resources said the university continues to remain open for discussion.

“President [Ann Weaver] Hart should get involved in negotiations,” Dannenfelser said. “It’s time for her to get involved and for her people to come to the table and get an agreement.”

Andrew Thompson can be reached at andrew.thompson@temple.edu.