March 13, 2024
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Please find updated drafts of the contract.
Draft Contract Clean Version (March 13, 2024)
Draft Contract Redlined Version (March 13, 2024)
We look forward to mediated bargaining tomorrow from 4:00-8:00 in the 2nd floor conference room in the Admissions and Student Financial Services Building. As previously discussed, the College will provide pizza for both bargaining teams.
Sincerely,
Logan Jay Eliasen
Attorney
March 13, 2024
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Attached, please find the data requested by the Union last week. We plan to follow up with an updated draft of the contract this afternoon.
Sincerely,
Logan Jay Eliasen
Attorney
March 6, 2024
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Thank you for reaching out. We look forward to bargaining tomorrow from 4:00-6:00 in the 2nd floor conference room in the Admissions and Student Financial Services Building. In anticipation of that session, I am following up on a few administrative matters:
First, per our prior agreement, tomorrow’s session will be livestreamed and recorded. The livestream may be accessed at the following link: https://grinnellcollege.webex.com/grinnellcollege/j.php?MTID=m9ce353b9b6d790c310570fb04142f637
Second, I am attaching a revised copy of the College’s proposed contract. I have also provided a redlined copy that reflects the revisions made following our 2/28 mediation.
Third, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your 3/5 information request, which our team is presently processing.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Logan Jay Eliasen
Attorney
February 21, 2024
Settlement of Unfair Labor Practice Charges
Dear Grinnell students, faculty, and staff,
We are pleased to inform you that the College and the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW) have entered into a settlement agreement regarding two Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges filed by the College and by UGSDW in May 2023.
Under this settlement, both the College and UGSDW have agreed to withdraw their respective ULP charges and resume collective bargaining. Both parties are working to identify mutually convenient times for bargaining sessions, which will consist of some sessions mediated by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and some non-mediated bargaining sessions, which will be live streamed with the recordings posted on the human resources web site.
As part of this settlement agreement, both parties have agreed on what actions constitute a strike, the definition of a protest, and a process for either party to declare impasse. The College’s bargaining team looks forward to working with UGSDW to negotiate a comprehensive contract.
Sincerely,
Jana Grimes
Vice President for Human Resources
February 6, 2024
Correspondence from Logan J. Eliasen at Nyemaster to UGSDW. RE: Case Nos. 18-CB-317836 & 18-CA-317847.
November 2, 2023
Dear Grinnell students, faculty, and staff,
We are pleased to inform you that the College has entered into a settlement agreement with the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW) regarding the August 2022 Unfair Labor Practice complaint regarding the College’s obligation to protect student workers’ personal data. We invite your careful reading of this important matter; we ask students to please note that new action will be required of student workers as a result of this settlement.
Under this settlement, if a student worker provides affirmative consent that their data may be shared, the College will provide UGSDW with information including the student’s name, college email address, employment status, dates of hire/termination, job titles, college post office boxes, and phone numbers. Student workers may choose to keep their information confidential, pursuant to FERPA, and must now complete a FERPA waiver request form as part of their employment on-boarding. The data will be provided to UGSDW in a secure manner that will not increase the risk that students’ personally identifiable information is disclosed to third parties without prior authorization.
Student workers’ employment-related records, beyond public directory information, are considered educational records that are protected by federal law and regulations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). As such, the College must receive student consent to disclose employment-related education records subject to the terms of FERPA; Titles IV, VI, VII, and IX of the Civil Rights Act; and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
For members of our community new to this conversation, Grinnell College did not challenge UGSDW’s expansion to include all student workers in 2022, instead entering into a neutrality agreement in May of 2022, and has remained supportive of the union’s efforts to negotiate a fair contract for student workers that defines wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.
Grinnell College supports UGSDW’s right to represent student workers and engage in collective bargaining with the College. As the only college in the U.S. whose full undergraduate workforce is represented by an independent union, we will continue to have an obligation to think carefully about where a precedent may be set, as well as potential long-term repercussions.
Below you will find answers to frequently asked questions that are also posted on the human resources web site. After reviewing this information, please contact studentemployment@grinnell.edu with any additional questions and concerns you may have.
Sincerely,
Jana Grimes
Vice President for Human Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What information has the College supplied to UGSDW?
Consistent with the neutrality agreement signed by both the College and UGSDW, the College has already provided UGSDW with all public directory information for student workers who have not opted out of the public directory. The College is also committed to working with the Union to provide student employment information in a manner that is consistent with the law and that will not increase the risk that students’ personally identifiable information is disclosed to third parties without prior authorization.
It is important to note that, while the College supplied limited student information to UGSDW on a one-time basis in 2022 to facilitate the election that expanded the bargaining unit to all student workers, students retain the right to approve or deny release of their education records for regular use in collective bargaining.
What data has UGSDW previously requested?
At various times during collective bargaining, UGSDW requested that, beyond public directory information, the College provide the following information protected by FERPA and other applicable laws including:
- Employee/ Student ID
- Employment status
- Gender
- Race/Ethnicity
- Department(s) of employment
- Job title(s)
- Job description(s)
- Workplaces
- Job duties
- Hours worked
- Work schedules
- Work locations
- Rates of pay
- Dates of hire
- Disciplinary actions
- Dates of resignation or termination
- Reasons for disciplinary actions and/or termination
- Records of investigations related to disciplinary actions and/or termination
Why did the College previously refuse to provide employment information?
Grinnell College is equally committed to compliance with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and to compliance with FERPA and its protection of student confidentiality and privacy. We maintain that the two are not incompatible if students are given the agency to sign a waiver making their information available to the union. Grinnell College firmly maintains that all students have a fundamental right under federal law to make informed decisions about who has access to their personal data and confidential student educational records.
Grinnell’s values hold that student self-determination and agency is a worthwhile pursuit. Disclosing student workers’ personal data without consent is inconsistent with the College’s general practices. Our values dictate that the College remain committed to transparency in how student data and private information is handled and disclosed.
Grinnell College also has an obligation to mitigate any risk of harm to students in instances of unwanted disclosure of personally identifiable information. This includes the usual concerns about identity theft and data security. However, UGSDW is unique in that union members and students who are not union members live, work, and study together in a residential college setting. Disclosing position, schedule, workplace, gender, or notes from disciplinary conferences between student workers and supervisors to the Union has the potential to be highly problematic or potentially dangerous in situations where Title IX applies (e.g., sexual harassment, dating violence, stalking, sexual misconduct). Any misuse of confidential data in this context has the potential to harm students.
Each student’s right to privacy and self-determination in deciding who may access their personally identifiable information is significant, important, and should not be relinquished lightly.
When can student data be shared without prior student consent?
Public directory information at Grinnell College includes name, class year, athletic participation, email address, and phone number. All student data that is not directory information is held in the strictest confidence and is considered an educational record. No data may be shared – even within the College – unless the requestor has a legitimate educational interest in the information. This applies to every student, faculty, and staff member at Grinnell College, up to and including the President and the Board of Trustees. All student data that the College shares, with student permission, must be stored securely and protected in compliance with Grinnell’s data security policy.
July 3, 2023
Dear Grinnell students, faculty, and staff,
We are writing today to update you on the expiration of the contract between the College and UGSDW for dining services workers on June 30, 2023 and the College’s temporary policy for all student workers while a negotiated contract is still pending. Important changes to student wages and just cause processes are discussed in detail below, and we thank you for your thorough reading of this message.
Temporary policy for student workers pending a negotiated contract
The contract between UGSDW and Grinnell College covering student dining workers expired on June 30, 2023. Although the parties have engaged in over 50 hours of collective bargaining during the last academic year, those negotiations have not resulted in a contract for all student workers. Videos of negotiations before mediation with a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service mediator are available in their totality at the Human Resources website . As the parties have been unable to negotiate a final contract on wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment, the College will put a temporary policy in place until such a time as a final negotiated contract is ratified.
Community Assistants
At the beginning of the academic year, the College voluntarily added Community Assistants (CAs) to the UGSDW bargaining unit. Due to the need to secure their employment early in the spring semester of 2023, CAs have signed a contract with the College covering the 2023-24 academic year. Grinnell College will honor those contracts for the upcoming academic year.
Wages
The College declared its intention to provide a significant increase to student wages in its opening statement in October of 2022 and presented its first wage proposal in November of 2022. Subsequent negotiations resulted in the College agreeing to the Union’s request of a uniform wage, doing away with the previous wage tiers. Under the temporary policy, beginning August 1, 2023, all student workers will be paid $13 an hour. This wage is slightly higher than the average wage ($12.66) offered by Grinnell’s peer institutions, and is higher than the wage offered by institutions in Iowa ($7.25-$11.25). For details and data on the College’s wage proposal and its discussion, please see the November 10, 2022 collective bargaining information.
Just Cause
UGSDW and the College have bargained in good faith over issues of just cause – a common standard in employment law that refers to how and when a student worker’s employment can be ended for misconduct or another sufficient reason. These issues include notice of discipline, progressive discipline, grounds for immediate end of employment, and special provisions for student workers in academic positions, service leadership work study, and student government leadership. These provisions are outlined in the revised comprehensive proposal based on the mediation session that took place on April 6, 2023. The College will adopt these provisions [see Article 4] for student workers, effective August 1, 2023.
Next Steps
Grinnell College is supportive of UGSDW’s rights to represent student workers and engage in collective bargaining with the College. We will continue to update the campus community as developments warrant. Please contact studentemployment@grinnell.edu with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Anne F. Harris, President
Jana Grimes, Vice President of Human Resources
May 17, 2023
May 11, 2023
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Our understanding of the NLRA is significantly different from the interpretation you offered in your message this morning.
As a preliminary matter, your email below misquotes federal case law. Specifically, the direct quotation that you attribute to NLRB v. Insurance Agents’ International Union, 361 U.S. 477 (1960) cannot be found in that decision. This is because that quotation appears to have been taken from a book on labor relations and not the cited Supreme Court decision itself. Specifically, the quote may be properly attributed to Bruce S. Feldacker & Michael J. Hayes, Labor Guide to Labor Law §6.C (5th ed. 2014). That source certainly is not binding on the parties.
Turning to the referenced legal decision itself, we do not believe Insurance Agents’ International Union addresses the issue that you reference. First, the case does not serve as precedent regarding the legality of strikes because the union in that case did not strike, but rather engaged in “slowdown” and “sit-in” tactics. Therefore, any commentary regarding strikes in that case is non-binding dicta rather than legal precedent.
Additionally, that particular decision was made 63 years ago. Since then, the landscape of labor law has significantly changed. Specifically, more recent decisions indicate that a strike may not be lawfully implemented until after the parties have reached impasse. For example, Mail Contractors of America v. N.L.R.B., 514 F.3d 27, 31 (D.C. Cir. 2008) states, “When an employer and a union reach an impasse over a mandatory subject of bargaining, either side may resort to economic warfare—a strike, a lockout, etc.—and ‘the employer's statutory duty to maintain the status quo during post contract negotiations ... end[s].’”
There are several other examples of case law that make it clear that there is a material and legal difference between a strike and on-the-job concerted action. This precedent demonstrates that initiating a strike before impasse is reached on wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment both signals impasse and is unlawful. These cases also make it clear that UGSDW cannot cite the College’s refusal to negotiate on non-mandatory subjects of bargaining as evidence that good-faith impasse has not been reached.
Your statement that “The UGSDW bargaining team had sent an updated bargaining proposal as of May 9, and remains committed to negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement,” is inconsistent with your actions--specifically, actively voting on and initiating a strike, preparing for, and participating in picketing.
The College has not unilaterally declared impasse. The UGSDW has done so by voting on and initiating a strike. Our bargaining team will gladly return to negotiations once you end the strike and make a commitment that you will not strike again until both parties have reached an impasse.
Warm Regards,
Jana Grimes
May 11, 2023
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Throughout our negotiations, we have discussed at length whether collective bargaining has reached impasse. During each of those conversations, you have repeatedly stated that impasse has not been reached. As a result, we continued to bargain and participate in mediation in good faith.
Recently, you have informed us that UGSDW has authorized a strike, and you have communicated this to me as the Human Resources contact for Grinnell College, as well as on social media and to multiple individuals on campus. Additionally, Union members have engaged in strike activity over the course of Wednesday, May 10.
As a result of your decision to strike and picket instead of bargaining in good faith, we must conclude that we have now reached impasse. A strike is a fundamental action and acknowledgment of impasse. During impasse, the parties’ duty to bargain is temporarily suspended. In light of this current impasse, the College’s collective bargaining team does not believe that mediation would be a good use of either party’s, or our FMCS mediator’s, time. As such, we will not be attending mediation today.
The College is eager to return to the table, should UGSDW demonstrate a willingness to bargain in good faith. When you are prepared to do so, you may email me with your team’s availability to bargain.
Warm Regards,
Jana
May 9, 2023
UGSDW Strike - read the full message here.
March 23, 2023
Dear UGSDW,
We have added two additional agenda items to your agenda proposals for tomorrow’s bargaining session, which are listed below. In addition, as we agreed to provide, please find attached our written rationale response to your proposals. Also, attached is an updated draft contract (red-lined and clean copy).
- Collective Bargaining Status
- UGSDW Office Space
- Reviewing outstanding unpresented proposals (based on our proposal document)
- Wages
- Information to the Union
- Sanctuary Campus
- Leaves of Absence
Listed below is a link for use for tomorrow (3/24) morning’s bargaining session.
Date and time:
Friday, March 24, 2023 9:00 AM | (UTC-05:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
Join link:
https://grinnellcollege.webex.com/grinnellcollege/j.php?MTID=mbc95531aed58be559d53957e759f11e0
Warm Regards,
Jana
March 16, 2023
Dear UGSDW,
As we indicated during prior bargaining sessions, and again on Tuesday during our small group meeting, the College requires outside entities who receive student data from the College, even with a FERPA waiver, to attest to having specific data security measures in place. We are prepared to discuss possible options with you during this afternoon’s bargaining session.
Attached for your reference is the College’s Data Security Addendum which outlines these security responsibilities. The ITS department can make themselves available to answer any questions and provide clarification or assistance.
Warm Regards,
Jana
March 15, 2023
Dear UGSDW,
This is confirmation that we received your March 12th email response regarding proposed weekend and spring break bargaining sessions.
We propose the following agenda items for our bargaining meeting tomorrow, March 16th in the HSSC room S2314 from 4:15 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Please let me know if you have additional agenda items. Additionally, we look forward to receiving your comprehensive proposal, which you indicated we would receive sometime today.
Agenda
- Bargaining during spring break and mediation
- Student Data Privacy and Security
- Wages
Consistent with our practice regarding bargaining meetings, this meeting will be live streamed and recorded.
Warm Regards,
Jana
March 14, 2023
Dear UGSDW,
We plan on meeting with you this afternoon, March 14, in JRC 226 from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. In addition to the two topics you propose to discuss today, union and union rights proposals, we’d also like to discuss securing an outside mediator and the status of your comprehensive proposal.
We do not share your recollection and assertion of the College’s refusal to meet, as the College proposed the small group meetings, and has been attending these meetings, in addition to collective bargaining on Thursdays, for months now. We have done this in the absence of a full proposal from you that would enable an overall assessment of the issues and tradeoffs necessary to reach a fair contract.
With respect to future weekend bargaining sessions, we are able and willing to meet in-person on Saturday, March 18, 2023, if we can agree on an agenda that will lead to substantive progress based on a comprehensive proposal from you. While the College and Union may have met virtually when working on the current Dining Contract, the College is no longer willing to engage in virtual negotiations. You have, as you indicate in your email, also stated on several occasions that there are things about the current contract that you the Union would do differently. Likewise, meeting in-person is one of the items that the College wishes to do differently.
We look forward to seeing you this afternoon
Warmest Regards,
Jana
March 10, 2023
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Thank you for your willingness to meet on the weekend. Unfortunately, due to the short notice, our bargaining team is not available to meet during the mid-day time slot you suggested during the weekends due to other commitments. Therefore, we propose that instead we meet again, as tentatively planned, on Tuesday, March 14 for another small group meeting from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. in JRC 226. We remain open to weekend bargaining sessions but given the weekend and family commitments of our team, we will need to finalize any Saturday sessions by the previous Tuesday to ensure that our team can make themselves available and may need to meet in the morning or the late afternoon.
We have considered your proposal to meet virtually over the upcoming spring break and do not believe that meeting virtually is an adequate alternative to in-person bargaining as we try to make progress on coming to agreement on a contract. Instead, we propose that you provide us with your comprehensive proposal prior to the beginning of spring break, as you indicated you would, and we use this time to review over the spring break period.
Warmest Regards,
Jana
March 1, 2023
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Thank you for your willingness to meet on the weekend. Unfortunately, due to the short notice, our bargaining team is not available to meet during the mid-day time slot you suggested during the weekends due to other commitments. Therefore, we propose that instead we meet again, as tentatively planned, on Tuesday, March 14 for another small group meeting from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. in JRC 226. We remain open to weekend bargaining sessions but given the weekend and family commitments of our team, we will need to finalize any Saturday sessions by the previous Tuesday to ensure that our team can make themselves available and may need to meet in the morning or the late afternoon.
We have considered your proposal to meet virtually over the upcoming spring break and do not believe that meeting virtually is an adequate alternative to in-person bargaining as we try to make progress on coming to agreement on a contract. Instead, we propose that you provide us with your comprehensive proposal prior to the beginning of spring break, as you indicated you would, and we use this time to review over the spring break period.
Warmest Regards,
Jana
March 1, 2023
Hello UGSDW Leadership,
Listed below are the proposed agenda items we’d like to discuss during tomorrow’s bargaining session, if you will please let me know what other agenda items you’d like added. We will see you tomorrow, March 2nd in the HSSC room S2314 from 4:15 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Agenda
- Adding additional collective bargaining sessions on Saturdays
- Third-party external mediator
- Wages
Similar to last semester, this meeting will be live streamed and recorded.
Warm Regards,
Jana
February 20, 2023
Dear UGSDW Team,
Thank you for getting back to me. Our team is not available for a small group meeting this Tuesday, so we will plan on seeing you on Thursday, February 23 for our collective bargaining session.
I propose the following agenda for our bargaining meeting this Thursday in the HSSC room S2314 from 4:15 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.. Please let me know if you have additional agenda items.
Agenda
- New UGSDW Proposals
- Wages
Similar to last semester, this meeting will be live streamed and recorded.
Warm Regards,
Jana
February 15, 2023
Dear UGSDW,
Attached please find revised DRAFT contract language (red-lined and clean copy) based on the 2/9/2023 bargaining session and our 2/13/2023 small group session meeting.
Have a good evening,
Jana
February 14, 2023
Hello UGSDW Leadership,
Based on your feedback during our small group meeting today, I propose the following agenda for our bargaining meeting on Thursday, Feb. 16, in the HSSC room S2314 from 4:15 p.m. until 6 p.m. Please let me know if you have additional agenda items. Also, if you will please send me the two new proposals you mentioned today by the end of the day tomorrow for our review prior to this meeting.
Agenda
- New UGSDW Proposals
- Orientation sessions
- Immediate Termination
- Union Rights
Similar to last semester, this meeting will be live streamed and recorded.
Warm regards,
Jana
February 7, 2023
Hello UGSDW Leadership,
Based on your feedback during our small group meeting today, I propose the following agenda for our bargaining meeting on Thursday, February 9th in the HSSC room S2314 from 4:15 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Please let me know if you have additional agenda items. Also, if you have new, or revised proposals, if you will please provide them to us by end of the day tomorrow for our review prior to this meeting.
Agenda
Orientation sessions
Information to the union
Negotiation training
Similar to last semester, this meeting will be live streamed and recorded. As the UGSDW agreed last semester, a livestream that is recorded and posted to a public web site provides transparency and accountability without the presence of in-person observers. The College does not agree to in-person observers due to the previous disruptions to bargaining and to the livestream meeting.
Warm regards,
Jana Grimes
January 30, 2023
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Thank you for your timely response to my email.
The College bargaining team is unable to meet on February 2 for small group sessions, due to prior commitments.
We may have availability for a small group session focusing on orientation and information to the union prior to February 9 – please let us know your availability February 6-8. Prior to a small group session on this topic, please review the Contract Proposals with College Response, previously shared with the UGSDW Collective Bargaining Team.
As a reminder, under the Section 7(B) of the Neutrality Agreement, individuals participating in bargaining are required to have completed collective bargaining training. Our records indicate that some UGSDW Leadership listed on the UGSDW “about” web page have not completed training and thus may not participate in bargaining until they have done so.
UGSDW agreed last semester that a livestream that is recorded and posted to a public web site provides transparency and accountability without the presence of in-person observers.
The College does not agree to in-person observers due to the previous disruptions to bargaining and to the livestream meeting the desire for transparency.
Thank you for agreeing to share agenda items and new proposals 24 hours in advance. We can discuss the process for doing so next time we meet. We are confirmed for February 9, from 4:15-6 p.m.; I will be in touch about the room as soon as we have confirmed it.
I look forward to receiving your availability for a small group session between February 6 and 8.
Thank you,
Jana Grimes
January 27, 2023
Hello UGSDW Leadership,
I am writing to introduce myself as the new point of contact for the collective bargaining process. Moving forward, please address all communication relating to collective bargaining directly to me. I’m hopeful that we can work together to come to an effective resolution on a mutually agreeable contract. At the beginning of Collective Bargaining in the fall, the College outlined a set of bargaining interests that will continue to guide decision-making during ongoing bargaining. Both parties have reached a few agreements in principle during the fall semester. This spring, the College hopes to resolve outstanding issues related to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment, rather than reopening or renegotiating issues already agreed upon.
The College’s request for a neutral, third-party mediator (to be contracted at the College’s expense and with agreement of both parties as to selection) comes after a careful reflection on the progress of bargaining to date. Upon review, there are ongoing difficulties with communication and process that we believe a third party would be able to help both the College and UGSDW overcome current obstacles to reaching agreement. While we hope you will reconsider the introduction of a neutral, third-party mediator, we are grateful for your shared interest in the utilization of small group sessions for efficient bargaining.
To this end, without current agreement on other issues, we suggest the following:
- The resumption of official bargaining sessions on Thursdays from 4:15 – 6:00 PM, with the first session taking place on February 9, in a location to be determined. As agreed last semester, these would continue to be broadcast live via WebEx, with only collective bargaining team members present.
- The sharing of agenda items and any new proposals at least 48 hours before each bargaining session that outline the issue or issues requiring agreement during each bargaining session.
- Small group sessions focused on individual issues prior to official bargaining sessions, to discuss potential solutions to issues to be discussed at bargaining.
As a point of information, the College team participating in official bargaining sessions will be reduced this semester in order to focus subject matter experts on small group sessions. We look forward to discussing these and other issues at our first session this semester. We remain interested in negotiating a contract that includes an increase to student wage rates, provides workplace protections, and ensures student confidentiality and worker agency in the process.
Warm regards,
Jana Grimes
January 3, 2023
Dear UGSDW Leadership,
Thank you for your message, I hope you are continuing to have a productive and restorative break. Unfortunately, due to travel and scheduling conflicts the College’s bargaining team will not be able to meet virtually in January. Instead, it’s our hope to work towards scheduling small group and in-person collective bargaining sessions upon your return to campus.
As you are aware, throughout the first semester we have been able to come to only two partial tentative agreements after over 14 hours of bargaining. At the current rate of bargaining, we are concerned that a final contract will not be in place until the middle of the next academic year at the earliest. There is significant ground left to cover, and important issues to discuss and agree upon. We are more committed than ever to collaborating with you to bring a fair contract to conclusion.
To this end, we propose the following course of action:
- Each team will provide a comprehensive set of proposals to the other by no later than Friday February 3.
- UGSDW and the College will collaboratively identify proposals to bring to small group meetings with the goal of bringing ideas and proposed compromises to the full bargaining team for consideration.
- We will make every effort to ensure that small group meetings, as well as full bargaining sessions, will follow agendas set prior to the meeting time with the goal of coming to final agreement on the items listed in the agenda. This will enable UGSDW to gather feedback from members for each issue on a predictable time frame and come to the table with an understanding of their priorities. It will also enable the College to better understand your priorities with the goal of finding areas for collaboration and compromise.
- To assist in this effort, the College and UGSDW will identify and agree upon a fully-independent third party mediator to assist in the bargaining process. This mediator will facilitate bargaining sessions with an eye towards compromise and agreement. The College has identified a number of potential mediators but is open to suggestions from UGSDW. As we know resources are a concern for UGSDW, the College offers to cover all costs associated with the mediation.
We wish to schedule a small group meeting to jumpstart this process upon your return to campus. This meeting could focus on two issues, perhaps orientation and just cause, with the express purpose of coming to final agreement on the agenda items. Would Thursday, February 2nd at 4:15 PM work for this purpose? Regular collective bargaining could then continue every Thursday at 4:15. We can work on scheduling small group sessions after proposals are received and reviewed.
For your consideration,
Brad Lindberg
Associate Vice-President of Institutional Initiatives and Enrollment