The AAUP office reopened on September 7, 2021. Contact information for all staff, including those working remotely or on a hybrid schedule, is available here.
The AAUP office reopened on September 7, 2021. Contact information for all staff, including those working remotely or on a hybrid schedule, is available here.
Impact bargaining: Faculty unions wishing to negotiate their institution’s changed working conditions through impact bargaining should consult our quick guide or our webinar on bargaining in times of economic uncertainty. For example, they might wish to bargain for paid training programs for faculty to learn online pedagogies or bonuses to produce courses designed to take advantage of online platforms. This document specifies what each college and university received from the CARES Act.
Unemployment: Faculty chapters, unions, state conferences, and associations can organize to get administrations to sign this pledge to support access to unemployment insurance benefits for contingent faculty. They can provide guidance to “nonrenewed” contingent faculty on applying for state unemployment benefits informed by state law and past practice, our pre-pandemic guidance on navigating the system, and AFT resources on the process under the CARES Act.
Leaves: For a limited time, public-sector and some small-college contingent faculty have the ability to receive limited paid sick leave. This AAUP guidebook on the Family and Medical Leave Act can help faculty unions and advocacy chapters navigate the complex process of reforming their institution’s policies. At the state level, now may be the time for chapters and state conferences to work in coalition with other groups to expand access to paid sick leave to all workers through legislative advocacy.
Intellectual property: Those faculty groups wishing to fight privatization of online education can find articles to educate colleagues, resolutions for governance structures to adopt, and sample handbook and collective bargaining–agreement language in this toolkit. AAUP members could plan a watch party to view this webinar on remote teaching’s impact on intellectual property. The Bowling Green State Faculty Association AAUP’s collective bargaining agreement has language that could be helpful in defining teaching materials, administrative use of materials, how substantial support affects intellectual property ownership, and what is and is not “substantial support.”
Academic freedom: The AAUP has developed a wealth of materials over more than a century to aid faculty groups in defending academic freedom.
Shared governance: This committee continues to advocate for expansion of shared governance participation.
Connection: One of the most flexible resources we can encourage AAUP members to take advantage of is our collective intelligence and experience. Our Facebook communities for AAUP chapter leaders and AAUP members can facilitate such ongoing discussions across chapters.