JSU Fall 2023 Membership Invitation

Jacksonville State University has a union!

We, the employee members of United Campus Workers of Alabama (UCWAL), are university employees committed to building an institution where our labor is compensated fairly, working conditions are healthy and safe, all employees have health benefits, and we each have a say in transparent and open decision-making. We love JSU and are committed to transforming this campus into a place where workers are happy, have agency, and can comfortably stay for the duration of their careers without great personal strain or sacrifice.

We believe that accountability and transparency are integral to a healthy workplace. To that end, we would like to call your attention to the JSU Open Alabama website. This site allows you to view university spending and browse compensation information for all employees at the university. Click on “Spending” and you can search by category or payee. This will allow you to locate current and past salary information for employees across the institution and track changes in the university’s budget over time.

JSU advertises job opportunities boasting “innovative policies and programs that give our employees the freedom to focus on their families while advancing their careers,” a commitment that can feel hollow when workers do not receive basic benefits like paid parental leave. Many of us work without health insurance or a living wage, which leads to financial hardship, reduced health and wellbeing, lower morale, and increased turnover. What changes would you need to see to feel better supported at your job?

We invite all current JSU employees to participate in a short, anonymous survey aimed at helping us better understand your working conditions and job satisfaction here at JSU. The information you provide will inform the issues we prioritize for the 2023-2024 academic year: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JSUunion

If you share some of the values outlined above, we invite you to join us as we work together to improve wages, working conditions, and benefits for all campus workers at JSU, in the state of Alabama, and at public universities across the Southeast. In this endeavor, JSU joins the University of Alabama and Auburn, which both have active UCW-CWA chapters. The university cannot function without its workers, and it better serves students when its employees are treated fairly. All university employees––faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and student workers––are welcome. If you have questions, reach out to us at jacksonvillestate@ucw-cwa.org.

Here are some recent UCW victories in our region:

UT-Knoxville won $6,000 base pay raises for Academic Advisors and $9,000 raises for non-tenure track instructors
University of Kentucky won a $15 minimum wage across campus in 2021
University of Southern Mississippi significantly increased their minimum wage in 2022
Workers at LSU, UGA, and UT-Knoxville organized to eliminate onerous fees for graduate students

We look forward to working with you to build the campus community we all deserve!

Sincerely,

United Campus Workers of Alabama Local 3965