2007 was a successful year for the University Staff Association, we bargained and ratified a successful contract and began work on our reclassification system.  We had several wins in the greivance arena and we are forging new ground in working in coalition with other unions on campus. Our members that have come forward and asked for our assistance in upholding our contractual agreements have received the help they need and in the cases we concluded we have upheld our contract.  We are continuing to work on issues such as bullying and respect in the workplace, but we still have work to do and will continue in 2008.

I continue to believe that our union can only be strong if we all work towards that end.  Issues that are clearly defined in our contract are much easier for us to identify and rectify, the issues that blur the lines are the ones that we are beginning to make progress on but we need your help. In order for our cases to be strong we need to know about what is happening in your work area.  If you have any problems or you have questions about your rights and after reading the contract you aren't sure please contact your area steward or the union office.  We can't help if we don't know there are problems. Areas like the Library, UHS, Parking, and Microbiology, to name just a few, are reaching out to the union and our presence has begun to make a difference in their workplaces.

2008 is definetly going to be a challenge for all state workers as the budget outlook just keeps getting more dismal.  I don't expect that bargaining is going to be easy this time around and I am hoping that as a call goes out for us to act on the issues we face that I can count on all of you to help out.  We don't know what the financial package will look like but I am concerned that it will not be acceptable and on top of that we are fighting the state over the increase in health insurance premiums.  In the

upcoming weeks I will be sending you important information about how you can help so please keep an eye out for this.  And then there is the ballot initative to eliminate the state income tax!!! This would be so devastating to our ecomomy never mind what it would mean in terms of budget cuts to this University and we all know that budget cuts = layoffs of support staff.

I know that 2008 can and will be a year that we can become even stronger as a union and I am hoping that we can work together to make this happen.  It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I look forward to continuing this venture.

Donna Johnson, President