UConn Advance - January 22, 2007 - UCPEA members ratify new four-year contract ratified

Members of the University of Connecticut Professional Employees Association (UCPEA) on Jan. 12 ratified a new four-year contract.

The contract, which will run from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2011, was ratified 634-26.

It must now be approved by the Board of Trustees and the state legislature.

"It's a very good contract," says M. Kevin Fahey, president of the more than 1,500-member union.

"I think it's indicative of the respect the University has for the work our members do."

The contract calls for general wage increases of 3.25 percent in each of its four years.

It also includes a flat dollar increase equal to .24 percent of the wage package, and merit increases worth 1.5 percent of the total salary pool.

Slightly more than 27 percent of the overall merit pool will be distributed as performance merit, awarded to staff who receive very good or outstanding evaluations, and the remainder will be distributed as University merit, which is distributed at the discretion of managers and supervisors.

The pact also gives the University the flexibility to change staff working hours within the parameters of the customary workday - between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. - in order to better respond to staffing needs.

Don Williams, second from left, state senate president pro tempore, speaks with Ed Marth, executive director of the AAUP, during UCPEA’s annual legislative luncheon. They are joined by Pat Sheehan, chair of the UConn Advocates, second from right, and Kevin Fahey, president of UCPEA.

Photo by Peter Morenus

UCPEA members also gained flexibility, by securing the right to use up to 10 of their "as if banked" sick days to care for children, parents, spouses or partners who are ill, if they've already exhausted their annual sick days.

The contract also gives the University access to 10 percent of the professional development pool to create collaborative training programs that will be open to all UCPEA members, and that respond to the needs of members and the University.

"I was very pleased with the process," says Donna Munroe, associate vice president for human resources.

"The negotiations were constructive and mutually respectful. I think both sides feel good about the results."

UCPEA members ratify new four-year contract ratified

by Richard Veilleux - January 22, 2007