AAUP WORKS FOR YOU

A publication of the 

University of Cincinnati Chapter, AAUP

May, 2005

DAVID STERLING:  1929-2005

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of David Sterling, Professor Emeritus of History.  Dave died May 1, 2005 following complications after heart surgery.

Dave was one of the founders of collective bargaining for the UC Chapter AAUP.  In 1994, Dave retired so that he could serve as the Chapter’s Executive Director when the Chapter suddenly found itself in need.  At the time, he assured Chapter President Maita Levine that he would always be there for the Chapter. We find it comforting to believe that, in spirit, he will truly always be there for us.  Dave remained as Executive Director for two years and then served as a consultant for the Chapter, working primarily on grievances, but also providing sage advice to the AAUP Board and staff.  We have relied on Dave’s wise advice on too many occasions to count.  For those of us in the AAUP office, Anne and Dave R. now and Ina and Luann before, with Dave we felt like we were a family.  He will be sorely missed! 

Dave had a law degree as well as a PhD in History.  Although he hadn’t practiced in recent years, he argued cases earlier including a case before the Ohio Supreme Court that resulted in doing away with chain gangs.  His sympathies were for the poor and the disadvantaged and he worked all his life towards improving their lot.

Dave was the father of collective bargaining on our campus.  As Chapter president he organized a dramatic ceremony to begin the collection of designation cards calling for an election.  With print and TV reporters present, the past Chapter presidents came forward, one by one, at a Chapter meeting to sign a card.  The rest is history, and includes some insightful anecdotes about Dave.  When the Administration agreed to an election, a myriad of procedural details needed to be negotiated with Provost Bob O’Neill. There were numerous long sessions and many disagreements.  At one point Dave, angry and red in the face, looked O’Neill in the eye and shouted, “You … (expletive deleted)!”  O’Neill calmly replied, “Now, now David” and the discussion continued.

Dave’s daughters have planned a memorial service for Saturday, June 4th at the Faculty Club.  The time is tentatively scheduled for 12:00 (noon).  We will send out further information as soon as it is available.   If you would like to send a card or note to Dave’s family, please forward it to the AAUP office and we will be sure that they receive it. 

INTERIM AAUP OFFICE STAFFING

With regret the AAUP Board of Directors announces the resignation of James Thompson as the Chapter’s Executive Director.  James came to our Chapter in March of 2004. He brought with him a passion for organizing our faculty and accomplished a significant increase in our membership during the year. 

We’ll begin a search for a replacement soon.  In the interim, Dave Rubin will serve as Executive Director and will increase his time to three days a week We are also trying to make arrangements for another individual who would be available one day per week to assist Dave.  Anne Feldman will take over many of the administrative tasks.

PARADISE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED

At the May 12th Chapter Meeting, the Paradise Scholarship was presented to Heather Sturgill, School of Planning, DAAP. 

The Paradise Scholarship is awarded in honor of James C. and Charlotte Paradise.  James Paradise was legal counsel for the UC Chapter through five years and three collective bargaining agreements.  He was an NLRB trial examiner, General Counsel of the Brewery Workers International Union, and President and Board member of the American Civil Liberties Union.  Charlotte was a teacher, active member of the Cincinnati Women’s City Club, and her husband’s legal secretary for more than a decade.  The scholarship honors their commitment to community service, concern for others, and willingness to defend human rights and civil liberties.  Demonstration of these characteristics is a requirement of the scholarship.

At the Chapter Meeting, Lowell (Bud) Leake (Emeritus, Mathematical Science) made introductory comments about the Paradises.  That was followed by comments about this year’s recipient by Carla Chifos, Professor of Planning and Heather’s advisor.  Heather was nominated for the Paradise Scholarship, separately by three faculty members in DAAP:  Carla Chifos, Jan Fritz and David Edelman.  Sally Dunn then presented the certificate and a check for $1000 to Heather.  Some of Heather’s volunteer efforts include working with the Northside Community Council, assisting the Yellow Springs Accessibility Committee with the Yellow Springs Smart Growth Weekend (she came up with a route for the “accessibility walk”) and organizing the second annual Northside Celebrates Voting event to increase voter awareness of issues and voter turnout.  Heather has also been a volunteer judge for the FIRST LEGO League Robotics competition.  This event showcases the many challenges faced by people with varying abilities and how technology and fresh thinking can make a difference in creating equal access for all. 

Congratulations to Heather on winning this year’s Paradise Scholarship!

BONUS AWARD GUIDELINES ALMOST READY

The UC/AAUP Joint Committee has almost completed its task of developing guideline recommendations for award of bonuses for the second and third years of the current Collective Bargaining agreement.  Those recommendations will be forwarded to President Zimpher for a final decision.  The Collective Bargaining Agreement specifies that individual bonuses of up to $2000, with a pool limit of $500,000, will be available each of the last two years of the Contract to be awarded based on recommendations of the unit head, dean and provost.  Aside from technical details, one last matter to be resolved is how to categorize librarians since they are spread over five different college units.  When the decision on final Committee recommendations is made by the President, the guidelines will be distributed to the faculty so that the bonus application and review process can begin early next academic year. 

2005-2006 CHAPTER MEETING SCHEDULE

Regular meetings of the UC Chapter AAUP have been scheduled for the following dates and times for 2005-2006: 

Department and college meetings generally should not be scheduled for these times.  Article 21.7 of the UC/AAUP Contract states, “no bargaining unit member shall be required to attend any meeting which conflicts with such regularly scheduled AAUP meetings.”  Department Heads, Directors and Deans have recently received notification of this schedule.

AAUP BENEFITS STUDY COMMITTEE

REPORT: May 20, 2005

The AAUP/UC Benefits Committee has met twice this calendar year. Two new faculty have joined George Bishop and Daniel Langmeyer on the Benefits Committee: Nancy Moss from the College of Nursing and Bob Cluxton from Pharmacy. The key items discussed by the Committee so far this year have been the following:

• A request for data on health care costs for faculty in 2004

• Problems arising from changes in the prescription drug formulary precipitated by the switch from Caremark to Humana/Walgreen

• Other problems in processing claims with Humana and the need for faculty to contact the Benefits Office directly to handle various issues

• Fitness/Wellness Initiatives for faculty to reduce health care costs in the coming years

• The need for faculty to become more familiar with their medical plan and prescription drug benefits by using the Humana website more frequently

A summary of health care cost data provided by the Benefits Office for faculty in 2004 shows the following:

1. Total cost for the PPO Plan, including medical claims, prescription drugs, mental health care, and all administrative fees = $9,934,117. The average cost to the University in 2004 for members of the PPO was $8,564 (using an average of 1160 members in 2004). This represents an increase of approximately 3.2% compared to the average cost in 2003.

2. Total cost for the HMO Plan = $7,336,339. The average cost to the University in 2004 for members of the HMO was $8,702 (using an average of 843 members in 2004). This represents an increase of approximately 9% compared to the average cost in 2003.

3. Note that the average cost of the PPO plan in 2004 ($8,564) was a little less expensive than the average cost of the HMO in 2004 ($8,702):  lower by approximately 1.6%. 

No data are available yet on dental care costs for faculty in 2004. However, Adam Benedict of the Benefits Office has informed us that MetLife has sent an Annual Maximum Utilization Report to the University, but it has been sent back for revision to include only the AAUP members, their family, and to be broken out by AAUP Basic/AAUP Ortho plans. The Benefits Office expects a response with correct information within a few weeks.

As to the prescription drug formulary issue, we have been informed that Humana has yet to provide the University of Cincinnati with the prescription drug disruption-analysis report that the University requested on the Humana prescription formulary in comparison to Caremark's formulary in 2004. We are not sure when this report will be completed.

On the fitness/wellness initiative, we have been told that the Benefits Office has not yet had an opportunity to follow up on the extensive list of faculty members we identified as having the health, wellness, and fitness expertise to help the University in reducing health care costs in the years ahead. We expect to get a response to this initiative by the end of the academic year.

For contact information regarding the various health insurance plans, please see page 4 of this newsletter.  It contains the telephone numbers and website information for Humana, Eyemed, and Metlife, as well as the telephone number for the UC Benefits Division.   The AAUP encourages you to contact the Benefits Office to assist you in difficulties with any health insurance claims.

UC BENEFITS PROVIDER RESOURCES

(Please clip and keep this information in a handy location!)

Humana

To obtain information through Humana for your medical plan, including prescription drug benefits, log on to their Web site www.humana.com, or use the UC link at http://uc.humana.com (do not use “www”). As a Humana member, the following online features are available:

To speak with a Humana customer service representative, call toll free at (800) 448-6262 for the HMO and (866) 500-2548 for the PPO and First 1000.

EyeMed

To obtain information through EyeMed on discounts available for the purchase of eyeglasses, contact lenses, and Lasik vision correction, and to use the Online Provider Locator, for all medical plans, log on to www.eyemedvisioncare.com. Go to “Members’ Access/Member Benefits,” scroll down, and click on “H.” Select “Humana-Primary Plus Plan” to see the discounts/benefits and providers.

For assistance with the EyeMed Vision Discount Program call Customer Service toll free at (877) 226-1115.

MetLife

To obtain information through MetLife for your dental plan, log on to their Web site at www.metlife.com/mybenefits. As a MetLife member, the following online features are available:

 To speak with a MetLife Dental customer service representative, call toll free at (800) 942-0854.

If you have questions or concerns, contact the UC Benefits Office at (513) 556-6381.