UVM faculty prepare for contract renegotiation

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(Host) Among the big concerns the University of Vermont faculty union will raise in contract talks next week is class size. Speaking on Friday in a campus press conference, the union for full-time faculty explained their priorities.

Professor David Shiman is the union’s chief negotiator:

(Shiman) “President Fogel seeks to increase the size of this university, to increase the student enrollment as a means of generating income. And unless that increase in enrollment is accompanied by concomitant increases in the faculty – the instructional faculty, in particular – there will be long-term negative effects on the quality of learning at this institution.”

(Host) The union says other topics will be prominent in their negotiations, including job security, health care benefits and salary. David Shiman says he doesn’t expect the negotiations to be too contentious, but he says class size and job security may be the most difficult points of agreement.

About two-thirds of UVM’s full-time faculty are union members. The current contract for full-time faculty members expires in June. Part-time faculty members are beginning to organize their own union. Their first contract negotiations also begin next week.

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