To: Presidents, State-operated Campuses
From: Donald G. Dunn
Subject: Union Use of E-mail

In this round of negotiations, UUP demanded access to e-mail and other communications media at the campuses. The State did not accede to this demand, but responded to UUP that this was an appropriate subject for labor-management discussions at the campus. This is to advise you of the standards to be applied in the course of those discussions.

The State's policy is that the State facilities, including e-mail, should be used for State purposes. Nevertheless, campuses are able to authorize union access to campuses e-mail for communication purposes within certain limitations. At the bargaining table, the State reserved the right to terminate these arrangements at any time. The State is concerned that given the dynamic development of electronic communication technology, campuses should ensure that the permission to use e-mail be revocable within the discretion of the President. Factors that should be taken into account in determining whether to enter into such an arrangement are the campus's operating needs, volume of anticipated activity and any impact on the system. If e-mail is used for posting schedules similar to bulletin boards, the standards for paper postings on bulletin boards as found in Article 13 of the State-UUP Agreement should be observed. This article provides:

13.1 UUP shall be permitted to post notices of its activities and matters of UUP concern on one bulletin board in each department at a College. Such material shall be signed by a designated official of UUP or its appropriate chapter. No material shall be posted which is derogatory of any person or organization, or faction thereof, except that election material relating to internal UUP elections may be posted on such bulletin boards.

13.2 Any bulletin board material objected to by the State or its representatives as being in violation of the Article shall be promptly removed. Within two working days after such removal, the local UUP chapter president will be provided with a written statement of the reasons. Such removal may be contested pursuant to the grievance procedure contained in Article 7 of this Agreement.

In all cases, the establishment of such an arrangement must be by means of a written revocable permit. The permit will provide that the access is not permanent, but reviewable periodically, and revocable in the discretion of the President or Chancellor as appropriate. A copy of a sample permit is attached for your use.

Please call if you have any questions regarding access to e-mail or tailoring the permit for your campus.

cc: Dr. Ryan
Executive Council
Vice Presidents for Finance and Business
Human Resource Directors