{
	"type": "rich",
	"version": "1.0",
	"provider_name": "Action Network",
	"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
	
	"html": "<link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/protect-lgbtq-and-immigrant-students-staff-and-faculty-at-uvm?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-protect-lgbtq-and-immigrant-students-staff-and-faculty-at-uvm' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div>",
	"author_name": "AFT Vermont",
	"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/united-professions-of-vermont",
	"title": "Protect LGBTQ+ and Immigrant students, staff and faculty at UVM!",
	"thumbnail_url": "https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg",
	"description": "Our unions, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 267 (UE), Graduate Students United (GSU), Staff United (SU), and United Academics (UA) are concerned about the safety of immigrant students and colleagues, especially those with legal status that may be called into question by the Trump administration (refugees, asylum seekers, DACA); the safety of queer students and colleagues, especially trans and nonbinary individuals; and our ability to conduct the research and education work of the University under a discriminatory and anti-science federal administration. It is crucial that the UVM Administration demonstrates leadership and enacts the policies and procedures proposed (see letter below) by our four unions in the letter that we sent to them earlier this week. Here is the full letter we sent to President Prelock: February 4, 2025 Dear President Prelock, We write to you as a coalition of four labor unions that represent employees of the University of Vermont (UVM) to urge the University to take initial steps to protect employees and students under the new federal administration. Our unions, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 267 (UE), Graduate Students United (GSU), Staff United (SU), and United Academics (UA), together represent the majority of UVM employees. Our members are hungry for leadership and clarity from our employer. In particular, our members are concerned about the safety of immigrant students and colleagues, especially those with legal status that may be called into question by the Trump administration (refugees, asylum seekers, DACA); the safety of queer students and colleagues, especially trans and nonbinary individuals; and our ability to conduct the research and education work of the University under a discriminatory and anti-science federal administration. Our unions have agreed on the below proposed initial steps we urge UVM to take. These items largely concern internal policies and communications with students and employees. We believe that in some cases the policies we recommend may already exist, in which case we ask for these and other relevant policies to be clearly communicated to students and employees. We agree that the University needs to move with caution to preserve the federal funding that enables much of our work and employment. At the same time, we understand that the federal administration seeks to eliminate much of this work altogether, such as climate science, or make it impossible, like medical research that requires recruiting diverse populations for validity. While we do not think it wise for UVM to take bold public stances at this moment, we propose that UVM coordinate with other research institutions to develop protections for research and higher education. Moreover, our unions promise to stand with the administration to defend immigrant and queer students and employees and preserve our ability to conduct valid research and educate students across subject areas. We propose that UVM take the following actions: 1. UVM will adopt as its own policy Vermont law 20 V.S.A. § 4651, which states that public agencies shall not “knowingly disclose personally identifying information to any federal agency or official for the purpose of registration of an individual based on his or her personally identifying information.” This information will be inclusive of, but not limited to: -Immigration status -Gender, sexuality, lived name, and pronouns -Disciplinary history, including participation in protests 2. UVM will create, implement, and share guidance for what students and employees should do if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enters campus. This guidance shall include: -Guidance for FERPA and HIPAA compliance -Clarification on public vs. private spaces on campus -Instructions for what to do should ICE seek to enter a private area on campus, including providing suggested verbal scripts. UVM will communicate this guidance via: -Written document in English and in languages spoken by non-English-speaking employees, to be determined in conjunction with UE. -Synchronous training sessions in English. At minimum, UVM shall provide at least two virtual and one in-person session in English. These sessions shall be conducted during working hours. -In-person training session(s) with translation made available to non-English-speaking employees. Timing, frequency, and content of the training session(s) shall be determined in collaboration with UE. These sessions shall be conducted during working hours. UVM shall provide all employees with a single point of contact for all questions related to immigration and ICE presence on campus. 3. UVM shall not instruct Police Services, nor any employee or group of employees, to cooperate with ICE for the purposes of entering any private spaces on campus or detaining any student or employee. 4. UVM shall not discipline employees or students for refusal to cooperate with ICE. 5. If an employee has any legal status and is called into question by immigration authorities, UVM shall testify to that person&#x27;s employment in good standing and, if necessary, seek other legal means to retain that employee. 6. If UVM employees are detained or arrested by ICE or border patrol in the course of performing their jobs, UVM shall provide legal defense. 7. UVM will coordinate with other research institutions and institutions of higher education to act in defense of sound science and academic freedom. UVM will keep students and employees informed of its efforts to engage in sector-wide actions protecting targeted issues including climate science, sexuality and gender studies, race and ethnic studies, education, counseling, social work, vaccine research, health equity, and the ability to recruit diverse populations for human subjects research. UVM shall not prevent students or employees from organizing within their own professional networks to preserve their ability to conduct rigorous research. We look forward to your response, and to working with the UVM administration to protect our community and our ability to conduct the work of the University. Signed, The governing boards of: Graduate Students United Staff United United Academics United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 267",
	"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/letters/protect-lgbtq-and-immigrant-students-staff-and-faculty-at-uvm"
}