Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Always More Work to Be Done...

Since last week’s article in the Spectator about equal rights for limited term employees, I’ve received an inquiry from someone at UW-Madison who is the “convener for the UW-Madison LTE Advisory Committee” and the “chair of Wisconsin State Employees Union (WSEU) LTE Committee.” She said the article was forwarded to her by the President of AFSCME, WSEU Local 1914. She shared some information about the process and steps taken at UW-Madison to address the concerns of LTEs and their working conditions.

She has also offered to come to our campus in June to talk with us about how they got where they are with their landmark LTE Reform Plan! Madison, as far as I know, is the only UW-System school to take a stand on LTE positions, and to recognize the work of their long term LTEs by setting up a system for converting their positions to permanent status and organizing a committee to oversee LTE grievances, among other things.

I am tremendously excited about this opportunity and all that will result from our information sharing with those who have been through this process. This is all great news but an event this week reminded me that just when you think you’re making progress there’s more to be done!

There is an LTE on campus whose position was converted to permanent status, so this person took the Civil Service exam, scored high enough to get an interview for the permanent position, interviewed twice for the permanent position, and yet a “failed search” was declared by the hiring supervisor and no one was hired. This LTE had worked in the position for several months, so she knew the job and the responsibilities involved. This is an example of the discrimination LTEs face, and the true difficulty of advancing into permanent positions. This person did all the right things, as dictated by the system, and yet a failed search was declared for her position. This also shows the lack of support for advancing LTEs into permanent, equitable positions. The education and awareness needs to start, first and foremost, with hiring managers and supervisors who--whether they realize it or not--take advantage of the fact that people who work long term in "limited term" positions have no rights or protections.
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