September 25, 2020

Dear Western Community,

Across the country, Covid-19 is affecting faculty labor conditions in multiple ways. Faculty organizations and unions have published brief but important studies showing how, as a result of this crisis, faculty labor conditions have deteriorated with the onset of Covid-19 and, in some cases, to the point where it is difficult to accomplish the essential tasks of teaching, research, and service. Faculty are working under exceptional circumstances. At WWU these are some of the most significant factors affecting faculty labor conditions at this moment:

1. Research and scholarship have been drastically disrupted in multiple ways. On-campus research in laboratories has been difficult and at times impossible to perform. Faculty who need to go out of state or out of the country to pursue research have developed some temporary strategies to continue their research, but often have not been able to pursue their work to the same degree and this has resulted in major challenges to productivity. At Western, access to library collections has been recently restored. Meanwhile, summer is often the time for faculty to carry out sustained work on research projects, which was not the case for Summer 2020. Faculty members who often carry out field work—broadly defined—overseas have not been able to do so. These factors impact all faculty but, in particular, these conditions have increased stress and anxiety for untenured faculty who are vitally concerned about their ability to make progress toward tenure and promotion.

2. We, as faculty, have been very responsive to the current crisis and we have worked with the administration in order to address the needs and concerns of students, focusing on the university’s central mission. As we know, online teaching will never replace the quality of face-to-face teaching that we do at Western, but faculty have worked energetically and swiftly to switch to online teaching in incredibly difficult circumstances. Faculty have taken workshops on how to make online teaching better, they have completely revamped course materials to increase access for students, and they have collaborated with each other to provide the best possible educational experience for students. For many faculty, this switch has doubled their workload and preparation time and has significantly impacted labor conditions. This cannot be the “new normal” for faculty and must be only temporary.

3. Tele-working—that is, the labor invested in online teaching and the need to comply with service requirements remotely—has also substantially transformed faculty working conditions. Faculty have needed to set up “at home” offices and classrooms. Many faculty have needed to invest in new technologies (software, computers, speakers, and cameras) and telecommunication services (broadband and internet connections). Overall, this shift has meant that, in many cases, work-life balance has substantially suffered as well.

4. With the shift to tele-work and online teaching, faculty with dependents have significantly increased their caregiving responsibilities. Most notably, with local K-12 schools switching to online instruction and many daycare facilities closed or limiting their access, faculty with children have been wrestling with unprecedented double duties of work and care. Already, as various studies have shown, women historically bear a much larger percentage of caregiving responsibilities. The current situation has exacerbated this long-term situation.

As an effort to address some of these conditions, we’d like you to know that

1. UFWW and WWU have signed a new MOU regarding students’ evaluation and research presentations.

2. Leave options. As we enter the beginning of Fall quarter, we want to remind you about the resources available for any faculty who encounter urgent medical conditions. We benefit from a strong CBA that offers resources and protections for faculty in these circumstances. For a description of these options, please see here

3. Faculty are also eligible for Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Rules are stipulated here

4. Unions across campus and the administration, in conjunction with COVID-19 Planning groups (Incident Management System), have been working on the development of an afterschool youth program. This program will be in place soon. Also, an online tutoring program is being explored for near-term implementation. (We will provide more details on these two programs as they become available).

5. Faculty have approached the union with some concerns about access to good quality internet service. The administration has sent out a survey to see what the most important challenges in this regard are. Given that this is a working conditions matter, the university is working on addressing this situation as follows

1. Following safety protocols, faculty will have the opportunity to have access to their offices. Please contact Brian Burton at the provost office if you have any questions about this.
2. Making hotspots available to have access to good quality internet speed/service.
3. University will make available some financial resources to have access to good quality internet speed/services

As we see how this situation develops, we will revisit some of these accommodations and adjustments either to extend these services or to enter into new MOUs

Ricardo López-Pedreros, President, UFWW

UFWW Executive Board

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