The Temple Association of University Professionals reached a tentative agreement with the university on Sept. 16 after 33 negotiation sessions that spanned almost a year.
The parties signed the agreement after TAUP negotiators presented Temple with their version of the contract. The tentative agreement did not include a revised sick leave policy, the key sticking point that prolonged negotiations. TAUP remains committed to improving the policy despite the agreement.
“I’m very happy with where the tentative agreement is,” said Jeffrey Doshna, president of TAUP. “I’m confident that the union’s executive committee will endorse it when it meets [this] week, and that when it’s put to the full dues-paying membership for ratification it will pass.”
The agreement outlines a five-year long contract between the university and TAUP. Union membership and Temple’s Board of Trustees will vote to ratify it this week. The TA will not go into effect until ratified by both sides. From the day the table team signs the agreement to the vote, the ratification process takes approximately 30 days.
Recent tentative agreements between Temple and other unions have failed in the ratification phase. In February 2023, after reaching their first agreement with the university, 92% of the Temple University Graduate Student Association voted to reject their TA. TUGSA ratified their second agreement a month later.
“I think it’s a great agreement for both sides,” said Sharon Boyle, vice president of human resources. “I think every part of [TAUP] got a little something out of it. I think it’s a great agreement for the university too.”
The agreement achieved historic wins for the union, including increased wages, extended bereavement leave and improvements in job security. Raises across the board have been less than three percent since 1990.
TAUP still hopes to resolve other sections of leave not included in the agreement. The union wants to tackle getting more full-time faculty hired as well as secure days off for faculty on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth.
The university does not get days off on federal holidays, so MLK Day is treated as a regular working day, according to the university website. However, other unions at Temple, like Service Employees International Union/Brotherhood of University Employees Local 612, are given a paid holiday on MLK Day and are entitled to take that day off. There is no information listed about Juneteenth.
Sick leave has been one of TAUP’s recurring demands throughout negotiations. The union launched the “10 means 10” campaign to gather members and outside supporters, including political allies, on board to achieve their goal of using all ten sick days.
Temple allows 10 sick days per year, but TAUP claims faculty is disciplined after they use five. The union decided to separate the issue from their demands in job security and wage increases following support from non-bargaining employees, faculty, alumni and students.
The next step is to engage other unions on campus as well as elected officials in city and state government to fix the policy, Doshna said.
Temple administration held their ground that the policy affects not only the union but every single member at the university. Changing the policy means the university would either have to implement two different sick leave policies or rewrite the policy for everyone to be fair, Boyle said.
The current sick leave policy only applies to full-time employees.
“It’s twofold,” Boyle said. “[The sick leave rule] allows the university to manage attendance and also encourage accrual of sick time, so if somebody ever has a long-term illness, they can use their sick time to cover all their pay and benefits during that time, and they also have available things like [Family and Medical Leave Act] and other leaves of absence during that time.”
TAUP is concerned about the discipline processes after someone used five of their 10 sick days. This “verbal and general counseling” includes conversations with the employee, Boyle said.
Current city policy states that sick leave, paid and unpaid, is mandated by law. An employer cannot retaliate against an employee who uses their provided leave. If this occurs, the employee can file a sick leave complaint form to report a violation of the law.
The Temple employee manual states “employees are cautioned to use their sick days sparingly.” The university may also ask for any necessary documentation. No additional information is listed on any Temple platforms regarding the different steps of punishment in sick leave cases.
“When you’re brought in by your boss and told of a policy about discipline for taking sick days, that has a chilling effect,” Doshna said. “And it means that when you’re sick and you are deciding, ‘Do I come into work? Do I not come into work? Do I take the time to heal?’”
Be the first to comment