NFA urges all faculty to be voting advocates
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With mail-in ballots arriving and early voting only days away, the Nevada Faculty Alliance reminds its colleagues that the 2024 election will be the most consequential for Nevada higher education in decades. Please consider being a campus voting advocate and urge your students and colleagues to verify their voter registration to ensure their vote counts. |
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Additionally, the Nonpartisan College Voter Registration and Education Project aims to increase student voter registration and turnout. The project asks faculty to allocate five minutes of class time to a local, experienced, nonpartisan presenter who will share key information on voter eligibility requirements, voter registration procedures, and how to access the ballot. Complete the online form for more information and/or to sign up to be connected with a presenter.
Not only will items on the Nevada ballot, such as Question 1, have a direct impact on faculty and students, but turnout also influences the actions of those who are elected. Lawmakers pay attention to constituent turnout, and they are more likely to support higher education funding, including scholarships, when students and faculty vote in large numbers.
Although you must not advocate for specific candidates or issues when encouraging your students to vote, we hope you will have candid and respectful conversations with colleagues about the initiatives and races on the ballot.
READ MORE >> NFA Endorsements for 2024 Elections |
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Faculty response delays PEBP decision on EPO/HMO elimination
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The strong showing by faculty who responded to NFA's call to action, succeeded in delaying a decision by the Public Employees' Benefits Program (PEBP) Board to eliminate from state health insurance the Health Maintenance Organization option in southern Nevada and the Exclusive Provider Organization option in northern Nevada.
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The Board intended to make the decision at their last regular meeting on September 26, but dozens of faculty members submitted public and written comments urging the Board to reconsider. Instead, the Board directed staff to provide information about enrollment and providers in the plans and to provide a detailed proposal for modifications to the low-deductible PPO plan if the HMO/EPO is eliminated. It will review the results at it's next regular meeting on November 21.
Concerns cited by faculty included losing long-time family medical providers, limited selection of specialty services in the preferred provider network, and substantially higher out-of-pocket expenses for special medical needs under both the high deductible and low deductible plans. The NFA will continue to monitor developments and keep our members informed as the next PEBP Board meeting approaches. |
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Unger to present policy ideas to White House Office for Prevention of Gun Violence |
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UNLV-NFA's acting president, Doug Unger, has been asked by the American Federation of Teachers to share policy ideas with the White House Office for the Prevention of Gun Violence based on his experiences stemming from the December 6, 2023 shootings on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. Unger will make his presentation during the week of October 14. |
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Dr. Unger was at work on the UNLV campus during the shootings on December 6, 2023, that claimed the lives of three professors and seriously wounded another. He is a faculty representative on the NSHE ad hoc committee on campus safety. For the White House presentation, he will join three other educators from schools across the United States that have experienced active assailant attacks that claimed the lives of students and/or colleagues. |
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Members asked to urge their faculty senates to act on collective bargaining policy proposal Collective bargaining for faculty in the Nevada System of Higher Education is governed by Title 4 Chapter 4 of the Board of Regents Handbook. Originally written in 1975, the last major revision of these policies was in 1990, leaving them dramatically outdated. Over three years ago, the NFA submitted proposed changes designed to create parity between NSHE professionals and other state employee groups, but multiple circumstances over time sidelined the process. This year, however, there has been progress.
Upon the advice of the Board of Regents chair, the Council of Faculty Senate Chairs, consisting of the senate chairs from all NSHE institutions, is currently reviewing our proposal. We hope the proposal will be taken up by the Board in the coming months, but we also know the likelihood of it passing increases dramatically if we have support from the Senate Chairs, and we are asking our members to promote the proposal with their faculty senate representatives. Unfortunately, there are some misconceptions about the proposal. Although it clarifies the process for how new bargaining units are formed, it would not in itself cause new units to be formed. Nor would it change any existing policies on campuses where the faculty have not elected to form a bargaining unit, such as the two research universities. CSN, TMCC, and WNC are the only institutions that currently have bargaining units and, the revisions would affect them only when they re-enter negotiations. We urge all members to reach out to their senators and ask them to support our proposal so it can finally get a hearing before the Board of Regents. Encourage them to contact any NFA officer if they have questions, concerns, or suggestions.
READ MORE >> Collective bargaining policy update overdue |
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In Brief
Full contract negotiations began at CSN on Friday, October 11th, when representatives from both the NFA and administration sat down for the first time to initiate conversations, establish procedures, and set rules of engagement for the process. The first proposals will be exchanged beginning November 1st. The current collective bargaining agreement at CSN remains in effect until June 30, 2025. |
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