1/15/24 Newsletter

What it means to sign a union card

This academic year, we’ve been asking you to sign your USU union card. But what, exactly, does that mean, and what are the implications?

First of all, your union card is private! It’s visible only to the USU organizing committee. When we file for recognition of our union, our cards will be counted by an independent person unaffiliated with UM, not by management. Only after we finish negotiating our first union contract and gain its protections will we send our cards to UM payroll to have our dues deducted from our paychecks.

You’ll see on the form that our union cards accomplish three things:

1. We become members of USU, which gives us the right to vote, attend meetings, and participate fully in our collective decision-making. The more established we become, the more decisions we’ll need to make together: about our priorities, electing leaders, taking action, and so on.
2. We petition management to recognize our union. This is our vote to establish a legal relationship between USU and UM. Once a majority of staff in a bargaining unit sign cards, we’ll become recognized and we can start making improvements through bargaining. This is why it’s so important that we sign our cards now – we can’t move ahead until we do!
3. We agree to pay our dues by payroll deduction. As we explained last month, this is how we’ll keep our union strong and effective – but even though we’re signing now, we won’t start paying until the same time we get our first negotiated raises.

So don’t put it off; take five minutes and sign your card right now! The sooner we all do, the sooner we can be winning better pay, workload protections, opportunities for advancement, and all our other goals.

Staff Voices

One of the best ways to help others feel at ease in joining the union effort is to share your story about why you support USU. Please fill out this form or contact us to set up an interview.

USU Button Visibility Week 1/29-2/2

Wear your USU Button at work or use a USU Zoom Background each day from Monday Jan 29 through Friday Feb 2 to show your support for our union! You can pick up a button at an upcoming tabling event:

• Flint Campus: 1/23, 11am-3pm, University Pavilion Food Court
• Dearborn Campus: 1/16 & 1/23, 11am-3pm, University Center
• Ann Arbor Campus: 1/19 & 1/23, 11am-3pm, Mason Hall Fish Bowl Area

USU Internships Available

Applications are now open for AFT organizing internships. Internships are available for January through March of this year. This program is designed to help you build your skills and develop as leaders while also contributing to your union campaign. We would like to encourage folks who have not done this before to sign up. This time, we have 2 slots available in Ann Arbor, 1 in Dearborn, and 1 in Flint. 

You can read the key details here; to apply, send an email describing your interest to Ariel Mallett at amallett@aftmichigan.org. Applications are considered on a rolling basis now through January 19th. 

Upcoming Events

Save the Date! Leo Open Bargaining

Dearborn Friday 2/16/24

Flint Friday 3/15/24

Ann Arbor Friday 4/5/24 

Join union siblings of all types to observe union bargaining with management. Learn what a union can fight for and how we win! Review the LEO Lecturer Bargaining Platform Summary in advance. More information will be available in our next newsletter – including social events for USU members after open bargaining.

Contact us to ask for meeting info