Our February 4th session might seem deceptively spare compared to some of the rapid-fire activity of past weeks, but in fact was very productive with the LEO-GLAM Bargaining Team making strides on a number of important economic proposals that we are preparing for the table in the coming weeks. As you may know, our ground rules stipulate that all proposals be on the table by February 18th. Click through to read the details.

Our January 28th session was a productive one. In addition to passing two new proposals, we reached a TA on Union-Employer Meetings (aka Special Conferences). For the first time we also had a “sidebar” conversation away from the bargaining table involving a subset of both bargaining teams to allow for more informal discussion. The conversation was productive, and we look forward to admin bringing counters that reflect the shared understanding achieved in the small group. Click through to read all the details.

Our January 21st session was an action-packed day that involved multiple new proposals and multiple counters on both sides. We were able to reach a TA on the Holidays, Season Days & Emergency Closures article, after 7 passes back and forth! We’re pleased that Admin agreed that when our buildings are closed (on Christmas Eve, for instance) we should have the option to work remotely without being forced to take a vacation day. We were also able to reach a TA on Accessibility & Accommodations, which made this a 2-TA day. Click through to read all the details.

Our January 14th session started with a TA on the Ground Rules proposal to guide negotiations—after 11 passes back and forth!

We were glad to see that administration affirmed our faculty status and our right to the protections of academic freedom. We are proud of some of the new proposals that we advanced, which asserted the agency of LACs as professionals who can best decide how and where to accomplish our work, asserted that our workspaces should be accessible, and set guidelines to ensure that those in term appointments are treated fairly.

However, we were dismayed by several other proposals put forward by the Admin bargaining team. Click through to read all the details.

At our January 7th session LEO-GLAM resumed passing both new proposals and counters, and continued to make good progress, including reaching a TA on the Personnel Records proposal. Click through to read the details.

At our December 17th session LEO-GLAM received the first proposals passed to us from admin including Special Conferences (meetings between the Union and the Employer), Term of Agreement (length of the contract), Scope of Agreement (stipulating when particular articles may be renegotiated and what outside the contract may be enforced), and Printing/Distribution of the Contract. We were able to reach a TA on the latter. Click through to read the full recap.

We will return to bargaining in the new year, on January 7th, 2022 and invite members to join us.

December 10th marked the first bargaining session at which LEO-GLAM passed proposals, and welcomed members to join as observers at the table and actively participate in our caucus sessions. Click through for more details, and join us next Friday for another bargaining session.

We had strong turnout at our first LEO-GLAM Bargaining Kick-off event, and spent our first day at the table getting to know each other and giving some opening statements. Read the full post for details and get ready to join us for bargaining on Friday!

Our LEO-GLAM members overwhelmingly voted to adopt our bargaining platform and elected a slate of representatives to be our Bargaining Team. LEO Lecturers also voted to amend the union constitution to add LEO-GLAM to the campus committee structure; we will now work to draft internal bylaws and welcome members to be part of that work.

Our GLAM organizing effort began in earnest during the summer of 2020, while many librarians, archivists, and curators (LACs) were working remotely and concerned about the university’s reopening plans for the Fall 2020 semester. Our effort received an unexpected boost that summer when the Regents voted 6-1 to recognize new bargaining units by “card check” rather than requiring an election.