After the University of Vermont (UVM) announced an audit in July to verify the eligibility of workers’ dependents to be on their health insurance plans, UE Local 267, which represents UVM’s service and maintenance workers, took immediate action. The local filed a step three class action grievance, demanding that UVM bargain over the unilateral change, and joined with other unions on campus to hold a rally to protest the audit.
When UVM attempted to implement the audit, all university workers were told they would need to submit identifying information such as birth certificates, marriage records, mortgage statements, and other private documents. The documentation was to be submitted to Willis Towers Watson, a third-party contractor UVM paid over $100,000 to run the audit.
In conjunction with UVM Staff United and UVM United Academics, members of Local 267 held a protest on campus on August 14. The rally had significant turnout from members of all UVM unions and received press coverage. Local 267 Recording Secretary Aurora Nowark spoke at the rally about member concerns, including a 2023 data breach of Willis Towers Watson that compromised names and security numbers. The local and other UVM unions assembled testimony from hundreds of employees expressing their concerns and fears regarding data security, privacy, their worries about potential immigration issues, and safety concerns for LGBTQIA+ members and their families. These statements were delivered to human resources and the office of the university president.
The actions of Local 267 and the other campus unions won several important modifications to the audit process, including an option to complete the audit in person with an HR employee to avoid uploading sensitive documents and written confirmation that no eligible dependents would be removed from coverage regardless of deadlines. UVM also confirmed that none of the information collected would be moved out of the country by the third-party contractor, and that no information would be shared with immigration officials or the government in any capacity. This was critical for the significant number of Local 267 members that are immigrants.