HPAE Rowan-SOM Labor-Management Report
On August 19, 2014 our HPAE – Rowan/SOM Labor Management Committee met with management from the University for our first Labor Management meeting since the dissolution of UMDNJ.
Present from the Union:Tammy DelleFave, Lori Galiano, Mary Kosciuk and HPAE Staff Rep, Christine Munck.
Present for management: Ken Kuerzi and Henry Oh from Labor Relations and Josh Lubin, COO-SOM and James Lovegrove, Facilities.
Job Security: Management assured the Committee that there are no plans for layoffs related to the integration of SOM and Rowan. They believe they did not get enough staff in the reorganization and there is no issue of overlapping services between SOM staff at Rowan. Management may consider some academic changes to phase out programs in the future but they do not expect those changes to affect the HPAE professionals at SOM. The University has plans to expand SOM which will, in turn, create new opportunities for employment within the departments.
Inclement Weather: Management confirmed that the former UMDNJ policy for emergency closings still applies to SOM employees. The committee recommended that the University officially notify staff of their essential/non-essential designation to prevent any further confusion. Management agreed to speak with department heads and plan to have notification out to employees by September/October.
Continuing Education: All SOM employees are entitled to attend all trainings, with supervisor approval, offered internally at Rowan University. Trainings such as Emergency Disaster Preparedness and Terrorist/Disgruntled Employees are currently offered by Public Safety and can be found on the website. Public Safety will also e-mail training information to all employees on the Glassboro and Stratford campuses. If there is a training you are interested in that is not currently offered, please contact a union representative or Melanie Cloyd with the University.
Science Center: We’ve experienced issues with the maintenance of the facility including power outages, leaking roof and subpar parking conditions. The University reports that power issues have been resolved by Atlantic City Electric. Management will look into installing emergency lighting in the building’s bathroom, but in the event of a power outage, staff should evacuate as soon as possible after care is taken for samples and experiments. The Science Center roof will be replaced, the gravel parking lots will be paved and the trailers will be moved to provide more parking. Management expects work to begin next summer. The University is considering replacing the current parking lot lights to assure adequate lighting in the evening and night. That project has not yet been approved.
Safety and Security: At our behest, management agreed to look into the cost of swipe readers for the side entrances of the UEC and UDP buildings. New ID’s should be available to all staff in September. Rowan is using an outside vendor for the ID tags.
Plumbing/bathroom maintenance: Management will look into plumbing issues throughout the campus and make any repairs that are necessary. If you believe your area requires attention, contact your department representative.
Negotiations: Our contract with the University expires on September 30th. Unlike in years past when we negotiated directly with UMDNJ management, we must now negotiate directly with the N.J. Office of Employee Relations (OER) for our successor contract with Rowan. Negotiations have not yet begun, however we were informed who will be conducting those negotiations for the State and we are reaching out to schedule those talks.