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PEFSA is a campus
organization established in the Fall of 2006 to promote the interests of GLBT and
allied faculty and staff at UT Austin. All UT faculty and staff are
welcome to join. Help us to make a difference!
Purposes:
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To promote the welfare of GLBT faculty and staff and their allies at the University of Texas at Austin;To provide a mechanism for faculty and staff to network and support each other's work efforts;To offer opportunities for faculty and staff to meet in culturally and socially supportive gatherings;To organize informational workshops and training about GLBT issues;To share university and community resources related to GLBT faculty and staff;To provide a forum to exchange ideas and information with administration and the broader University community about GLBT issues on campus.
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To focus on strengthening recruitment and retention of faculty and initial employment and career growth of staff.
Stay up to date on PEFSA events and news: follow us on Twitter! http://twitter.com/PEFSA
DPB Rally photo gallery is here! Special thanks to Colleen Keating and Nadia Caffesse for the images.
What YOU can do to help get Domestic Partner Benefits at UT:
Print out our flyer and help us spread the word:
Get informed and inform others: read our report on DPB at UT.
Tell us about what the absence of DPB means to you by contributing to our blog.
You can also join our facebook group Domestic Partner Benefits for UT Now!
(You have to have a facebook profile to do this.)
How to Be an Ally
From the thought-provoking presentation by Shane Whalley, Education coordinator for the Gender and Sexuality Center on “How to be an Ally”:
The four levels of ally development are Awareness, Knowledge/Education, Skills and Action.
Specific ways allies can advocate include:
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Creating an atmosphere of acceptance
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Challenging homophobic speech and actions
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Challenging homophobic stereotypes
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Verbally expressing support
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Learning about GLBT issues and resources
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Asking questions
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Know the current language and honor/mirror GLBT language
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Understand heterosexual privileges
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Question policies that create discrimination
Domestic Partner Benefits: Report
We are proud to announce the release of the Domestic Partner Benefits Report, compiled by the PEFSA Domestic Partner Benefits Committee. Below is the Report Summary, however we encourage all UT community members to read the full report for further details.
Report Summary
Questions and Answers about Domestic Partner Benefits
In 2006 the Pride and Equity Faculty/Staff Association (PEFSA) was established as a University Resource Group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees at The University of Texas at Austin. As a result of concerns regarding workplace equity for GLBT faculty and staff, a PEFSA subcommittee was formed. The committee
conducted research, benchmarked peer institutions, and interviewed faculty and staff on
campus. After this yearlong study, the committee produced a 70 page report
containing questions and answers regarding domestic partner benefits (DPB). The
following summarizes the major findings of the report and the recommendations by
PEFSA to the President of UT Austin.
Findings
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UT Austin does not provide benefits to partners of faculty and staff members unless the relationship qualifies as a “marriage” according to Texas law. The consequences are an inequity in compensation and an inherent message that domestic partners are ‘less than.’ As a result, UT Austin is losing faculty and staff.
• Recruitment and retention: Tenured faculty and seasoned staff are leaving the University and potential hires are declining offers from UT due to the lack of benefits for Domestic Partners.
• Equity: Research indicates that a married employee enjoys significantly greater overall compensation than their non-married counterpart even though both perform identical work. › The estimated difference in compensation for a faculty member earning $80,000 per year is $8,108.
• Diversity: Because UT Austin does not offer DBP it undermines both its own non-discrimination policy and its ability to create and foster a diverse workforce.
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The estimated cost to UT Austin to add DPB is .0058 of the current budget amount for health insurance expenditures.
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Although Texas has a constitutional amendment limiting the definition of
marriage to one man and one woman, other universities with similar state laws
offer DPB to their faculty and staff.
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The Board of Regents is not prohibited from providing DPB and is obligated
under the Texas Education Code and Texas Insurance Code to provide benefits
competitive with those offered by peer institutions and businesses with whom UT
competes for employees.
•8 out of 10 peer institutions provide DPB
•304 universities including all Ivy League schools offer DPB
•9,374 employers in the United States offer DPB
Recommendations
PEFSA recommends that President Powers lead the effort to offer DPB at UT Austin by
working with the Office of General Counsel and consulting with other university
administrators, PEFSA, and Texas advocacy groups to:
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Develop a plan to implement domestic partner health benefits
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Immediately offer benefits not covered by the State Insurance Code (soft benefits)
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Supplement faculty and staff salaries to compensate for inequity until DPB are achieved
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