I’ve been out skiing while I await the decision on my grievance for wrongful denial of reappointment at UVM. The Vermont Labor Relations Board should be making its decision in the next couple of weeks. It has already been two weeks since both parties filed final briefs (Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law). I am under no illusions about how difficult the Board’s decision is – they must find a clear procedural violation of a contract right (pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement). It is rare to win a grievance for wrongful denial of reappointment, as the Board typically defers to the administration side on these matters.
STILL GOT MY CHOPS – WAITING FOR GRIEVANCE OUTCOME from John Summa/RISEUPfilming on Vimeo.
The Board now has seen evidence of the hostile work environment I faced, as well as what I believe convincingly shows use of exaggerations and mischaracterizations by the Chair and her peers when describing my teaching, and heard of verbal attacks on my teaching in front of students and years of my denied access to department meetings and retreats, plus attempted suppression of an associate Dean’s letter describing me as “a huge asset to UVM,” and on and on. But the Board may not conclude a contract right was violated. However, I argued that four contract rights were violated (each of these four conclusions of law will be posted here soon, along with the evidence). If the Board decides in my favor, meanwhile, UVM will immediately appeal to the VT Supreme Court, which will drag this out another 6 to 18 months. Yes, indeed, the wheels of justice turn slowly, if at all.
Meanwhile, I have been out enjoying the sun and snow to keep my wits about me. If you want to get your skiing in shape, watch my video above to get a taste of what you could be doing, and then go to coachup.com and check out my private lesson packages. Hey, after all, it’s Vermont. To survive here you need a multi-pronged survival plan. Fortunately, I have many skills to monetize. More on this later. This is allowing me to expose what UVM is really about, to tell the truth about the hidden deep state of UVM, to expose its fake liberal brand and reveal rampant academic cronyism, ideological nepotism, and moral hypocrisy. ~JS