Employees deserve Labor Day recognition
September 4, 2015
Deputy director, UAF Human Resources
It took an act of Congress to establish the first Monday in September as National Labor Day (S.730, 53rd Congress, first session), a day dedicated to the social and economic achievements of our nation’s workers. Although the character and forms of celebrations have undergone many changes since 1894, Labor Day remains a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the prosperity and strength of our country.
In these challenging economic times, it is both timely and especially appropriate to pay tribute to our workers: faculty, staff, student employees and volunteers. You make up the vital force that has been a significant factor in achieving our accredited tripartite international mission of research, teaching and service. Our commitment to shared governance has brought us closer to realizing traditional ideals of democracy, and nonrepresented employee groups work collaboratively side-by-side with five employee groups represented by labor unions.
Yes, UAF is a smaller institution now. Over the past three years (Spring 2013-Spring 2015), UAF has seen reductions in its workforce by headcount, equivalent to 205 positions, with most of those occurring over this past year. This represents about 5 percent of the total UAF Spring 2015 position headcount.
Our people are our greatest strength; each of you has a significant, vital role in UAF’s ability to meet our economic challenges, to innovate bold solutions and to transform into a stronger leading educational and research institution.
Thank you for your hard work and continued dedication. Enjoy your weekend.
Anita Hartmann has served as interim director of UAF Human Resources during the past several months. Brad Lobland will return to the director's post on Sept. 8.