This Wednesday the UW Staff Senate held a “meet and greet” prior to their first meeting.
UW Staff Senate President Rachel Stevens stated:
“We are having this meet and greet because not many of the benefited workers know we exist,” UW Staff Senate President Rachel Stevens said. “We also need to fill the 23 vacancies on the senate.”
The Staff Senate is responsible for representing the benefited staff of the University of Wyoming. It began in 1977, then called the staff council, as a way for UW employees to petition for better working standards, such as better vacation time, higher pay and work safety issues.
They meet every second Wednesday of each month in the senate chambers on the second floor of the Union. The meetings are open to all.
The Staff Senate debates work issues, and if there is a consensus to take action they will petition the specific vice president of the department responsible for remedying the issue.
Staff Senate members are nominated by their peers from their specific department of employment. After the nomination process the nominees are voted on and elected by the senate, and serve for two-year terms. Senators must wait a year in-between terms.
Heather Earl, a senator representing the Administration Department, said the senate is working on creating a new human relations evaluation survey. This survey is designed to give consistent input to the UW Staff Senate, so representation can be more accurate.
The data from this survey will track how much time employees of the university are working, and gauge if they are getting appropriate vacation hours.
Recently the senate passed regulations prohibiting e-cigarette use indoors on campus. The staff senate used the Laramie City Council ruling of the same nature as a guideline. The senate also concluded that e-cigarettes are harmful to university employees, and should not be used in closed spaces.
For more information such as members of the staff senate, the bylaws, meeting minuets and proposed resolutions you can visit the UW Staff Senate website at http://www.uwyo.edu/staffsenate/.
