As we continue to make major progress in building our union, we wanted to provide an end-of-semester update. 

This fall, a majority of SVA faculty – over 600 of us across the school – have signed cards in support of forming our union. Throughout the semester, a growing number of faculty attended in-person and virtual town halls to learn more about our campaign and discuss improvements to our working conditions. Currently, we are continuing to build supermajority support to ensure we have the strongest voice moving forward.

Our campaign has not concluded, as we are continuing to build substantial support to ensure we have a meaningful voice in our workplace. Our goal this semester was to create a robust majority that can effectively establish collective bargaining at SVA. The more faculty we bring into our campaign, the stronger our position becomes for collective bargaining. 

By talking to our colleagues about supporting the union, we're not just organizing a local effort, but joining a growing national movement of UAW academic workers demanding fair representation and meaningful workplace improvements.

Please click here to share more on your experience at SVA, and why you support forming our union.

Recently, faculty also received updates on changes to our benefits, including healthcare premiums, and sabbaticals. These kinds of changes remind us why we’re organizing in the first place - currently, SVA can continue to alter our pay and benefits without our input. With collective bargaining, faculty would have a voice over our working conditions, and SVA could not make unilateral changes without our consent.

Updates from SVA on changes to faculty benefits: 

• SVA announced increase to healthcare premiums: on November 18th, faculty were informed of a 10% increase for the high deductible plan, and 5% for the open enrollment plan.
• Suspension of sabbaticals: SVA abruptly suspended all faculty sabbatical programs indefinitely, effectively freezing professional development opportunities.
• Additional information about our 401k benefits: Just this month, SVA has sent multiple emails informing faculty of our Savings or Cash Option Plan (401k). We are encouraged that SVA has begun sending more regular information about our benefits, and rights, to ensure clear and  transparent communication. 

To share more how you have been affected by either of these changes, please take a moment to leave a comment here. Please feel free to give any feedback about how these changes might impact our experience as faculty, and help determine possible next steps. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or thoughts, or to get more involved.

Best,

Justin Elm, Art History, Honors, VCS
Jensine Eckwall, Illustration
Merlin Ural Rivera, Humanities & Sciences

On behalf of SVA-FAC UAW Organizing Committee