Editor,
A recent United Staff-UNM survey of issues for contract negotiations found that an overwhelming number of our bargaining unit employees feel that improving the reclassification procedure and creating more opportunities for career advancement should be the number one priority of the bargaining team during these negotiations.
United Staff-UNM has proposed that employees should have the right to substitute years of experience at UNM for educational requirements. The current UNM policy requiring degrees for certain positions presents an artificial barrier for employees who are interested in working their way up through University ranks.
Prior to January 1997 and the UNM pact reclassification process, UNM employees were allowed to substitute years of experience for educational qualifications in order to meet the minimum requirements for job vacancy announcements. But as part of rewriting staff job descriptions, UNM eliminated the practice of considering experience in lieu of education. UNM did this, it claims, in order to restore consistency in the employment screening process, and because the University felt it was too difficult to fairly administer the details of the substitution policy.
United Staff-UNM is concerned as well with the consistency and fairness, but eliminating the ability to substitute invaluable years of service and experience for straight educational requirements is depriving the University of its most valuable resource - employees that don't need to be trained.
There are many positions that would be better filled by an employee who has worked at the University for several years and knows how to solve problems and work within the system than a newcomer with a degree in hand. Of course, an employee needs certain qualifications in order to perform the duties required in higher classifications - there are certificates and licenses for such qualifications. But we believe that a difference exists between legitimate educational requirements and mandated requirements that may be irrelevant in an individual's ability to perform their duty. In fact, to the chagrin of many employees, the University has chosen to make selective exceptions to its own rule of education over experience.
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United Staff-UNM believes it is possible to place a value on years of experience that is consistent and fair for all employees in our bargaining unit and we will continue on finding solutions to these issues. We believe that the current contract negotiations present a perfect opportunity for UNM to work with the employees that are affected by these policies to find a solution that works for both parties.
Harry Norton
United Staff-UNM President
