Several hundred clerical and technical workers at the University of Vermont have voted to unionize with the American Federation of Teachers.
Nearly three-quarters of workers voted in favor of unionization, which passed 333-122. It’s the third time in a decade that the same group of employees has voted on unionization and the first time the effort has succeeded.
“We are excited to join our colleagues at UVM who have already organized and won their union contracts,” Norman Medina, an employee of UVM’s psychiatry department, said in a press release Wednesday.
“We now have the collective power to negotiate to protect and improve our wages, benefits and working conditions, and to organize for equity, justice and respect at UVM,” he said.
The new union, UVM Staff United, will represent about 720 UVM employees, including laboratory technicians, program specialists and library workers. The vote marks the end of a yearlong organizing drive among the workers.
In April, UVM management drew criticism when it deemed 100 of the clerical and technical workers ineligible to join or vote on the new bargaining unit. After 200 people gathered for a virtual “speak-out” against the move, the university and AFT Vermont reached an agreement on union membership, avoiding the need for a hearing.
UVM spokesperson Enrique Corredera said that the university “supports the right of our colleagues to vote on their potential representation.”
“The university values and relies on all of our employees, and remains focused on providing a great work environment for everyone, whether they are organized or not,” he said in a statement provided to VTDigger on Wednesday. “We will engage with this new bargaining unit and negotiate a fair contract.”
Another 700 staff categorized as “professional” at UVM will also soon vote on union membership with AFT Vermont, with an election planned for May 28.
“Like our colleagues who just won their union vote, we look forward to proving our majority and winning the right to a real voice at UVM,” Rachel Wallace-Brodeur, a staff member with UVM’s pediatrics department, said in Wednesday’s press release.
Staff at UVM have had a turbulent year. Nonunionized employees saw significant pay cuts, which have since been reversed. The administration’s plans to cut some liberal arts programs sparked months of protests by faculty.
Some employees have said they see unionization as a way to have a voice in the administration’s decisions.
The union will negotiate “to make UVM better for ourselves as employees, for students, and for all Vermonters who engage with the university,” UVM worker Alison Nihart said.