Campus colleagues,
As severe weather in the region continues, we’d like to thank the faculty and staff members who have taken extra measures to continue operations and to prepare the campus for a new semester and returning students.
Although the recent winter storm has ended, dangerously cold temperatures are expected to continue over the next couple of days so please remain sensitive to issues of safety.
Please remember to dress appropriately when walking in these severe weather conditions and to exercise caution during your commute. Continue to monitor forecasts, discuss with your supervisor the specific plans for your area, and identify backup child care options in case of school closure.
U-M buses and shuttles will operate as scheduled, but delays are possible. Parking operations and enforcement are expected to function as usual. The latest information on university parking and transportation will be posted at pts.umich.edu. If City of Ann Arbor buses deviate from schedule, information will be available on www.theride.org
For the next couple of days, please consider holding meetings by phone or video technology if they would require faculty and staff to travel or walk long distances while extraordinarily low temperatures persist.
Again, thank you for your dedication to the university and our campus community.
Laurita Thomas
Associate Vice President for Human Resources
iba m
I find it really disturbing and pathetic that UM Ann Arbor is still open in this severe weather. Eeven if all the shuttles are running, standing for 10-20 minutes in the lots waiting for a ride is dangerous. Does UM not care about your students and staff health and safety? Do you value productivity that much? I truly find this disturbing and unkind.
E Evans
I agree but no they don’t care.
This is business and employee safety is not a concern. These correspondences are posted to give the illusion that the university cares but people will below average intelligence may believe these correspondences. It is reality– unfortunately
Joe Salisbury
University of Michigan main campus will nevef close officially because the last time they did a student sued them and won stating that they are paying for classes and should be reimbursed for the lost day. Even though teachers can cancel class, the university won’t close.
W Ranw
Classes begin on Wednesday. The employees who are most at risk are those who don’t have the flexibility to telecommute, and either live in areas where the roads haven’t been plowed, need to take the highways, must wait for buses to take them to work, or have to walk long distances.
Vlad Wielbut
I wonder if this “student lawsuit” is just an urban legend? If it were true, why would UM Flint and UM Dearborn not be afraid to shut down? It bothers me that by operating in conditions for which state of emergency was declared in some Michigan counties, our beloved university is not being a good local citizen. Putting all these commuter cars on the roads only exacerbates the dangers and puts lives and property at risk.
Sue B
Even if the “student lawsuit” is true, there are no classes today. So if the university shut down, there would be no student to sue. The only people that need to be here today (and yesterday) are staff members.
E W
Staff members “need” to be here? For what? The phones aren’t ringing and we have no customers. Everyone else is HOME! The only plus is that the commute home is light since we’re the only ones working!
C L
Yes, Vlad, you are correct. The student suing the UM is a long-running urban legend. We were looking it up online yesterday and found it all to be false.
Norma Stevens
I am absolutely appalled at the decision of U of M to not postpone the start of classes. For being one of the top universities there seems to be a serious lack of good judgement and common sense. There comes a time where you have to swallow your pride about holding your record and put the safety of your staff and students first. My daughter is one of the many students stressing out about getting back there in time. We are one of the lucky ones having to only drive, but there is no way our vehicle is going to run today with it being this cold. It is not fair for anyone to have to go out on the roads today and take a chance of getting stranded and putting their life at risk. NO ONE should be having to make that choice! Stay home, stay safe and be smart about things. As far as the team who makes the decision at the university on if they should close or not…you should be ashamed of yourselves. You have a LOT of very upset parents and bad word of mouth spreads fast. And looking at your neighboring universities and the decision they made to cancel classes is making you look very bad and uncaring. If anything was to happen to a student or staff member trying to get back there in time I am sure you have enough money to cover any lawsuits, but you can not pay off your conscience and it will be something you will have to live with the rest of your life.
WNar Ranw
There is black ice on the highways; at present, frostbite will set in on exposed skin in less than 5 minutes; and cars anywhere but on the main roads are getting stuck in the 11 inches of snow from the weekend’s storm — even as they just try to turn corners. It would be interesting to see how many visits to the ER are a direct result of UM’s policy of staying open during very dangerous weather conditions.
Leslie Stainton
Maybe that was the idea–boost Health System revenues!
Ann B
Tell me, if classes don’t resume until Wednesday, and closing would be in the best interests of the staff, what it would have hurt to close during this dangerous weather? When it is colder here than in Antartica, or Anchorage Alaksa (posted on the news this morning), why are we here today? Seems a wanton disregard for the safety of the staff in what is a rare winter event for Michigan.
Sue B
I completely agree. The University does not care about the needs of their staff members. It seems that they only care about their reputation and the needs of their faculty members and students.
K R
I agree! To make matters worse the “lowest” of staff have to report that being the non exempt staff that do not have the “luxury” of working from home! Not sure how many staff are able to “work from Home” with just a laptop. If that is the case anyone with a laptop should have the option, Not if we do not come in we have to either use a vaca day and if you don’t have any take the day without pay! Now that almost seems fair! UM is shedding itself in a very bad light with these decisions of keeping the Ann Arbor campus open! At least be fair those of us that felt we had no choice but to come in and drove for 2 hours on a normal 30 minute commute should not be made to feel they do not have a choice! Very unfair to staff, at least be fair and those that are “working from home” should be made to take a vaca day or unpaid!
Cynthia Glovinsky
In today’s high-tech world, there should be a way to keep the UM “open” without people actually having to go anywhere. Classes could be held online, and many faculty and staff could work from home. It’s all a matter of planning.
MJB B
I thought the last time they closed UM for 3 days (early 1978) there was a lot of chaos and partying and THAT was the reason they won’t do it again.. I know that they also closed on two other occasions in the early 1980’s for a half day each time.
Karen Dymond
I remember that snow day. I don’t remember parties. There were so few people that you just took care of what you could. This weather is life. Threatening and with no classes, and most people can work remotely, they could have closed. State did.
jkl jkl
The University does not care about the staff. It is quite evident due to the fact of the severe weather we are experiencing and they expect the staff to come in. I chose to take a vacation day today because the University is not worth the chance of getting injured on a long commute. I’m sure the Provost, Martha Pollack, Associate VP for HR, Laurita Thomas, and President, Mary Sue Coleman are home doing work from the warmth of their homes. That is a luxury the staff don’t have. U of M you need to wake up and realize the hierarchy of Student, Faculty and then Staff is not the way it should work. I think the safety of all three today should have been a top priority and it was not. Shame on you University of Michigan!
Kari Dumbeck
I agree with everyone above. Under these dangerous conditions we should not have to work when the students are not here. I waited for day light to drive through unplowed roads yesterday and icy highways both yesterday and today. My husband could come in as his truck would not start this morning as my car was in the garage. But now that I’m hear I wonder if I’ll get home due to my car not starting under these cold conditions later today. Add heavy colds and flu’s going around these are not the times to be fighting mother nature.
L P
Let’s not make it strictly about students, as they are the reason we all are here. The University should also worry about it’s employees who commute from 1/2 hr to a hour away on icy roads and cold temps. I think the lack of concern for faculty, staff and students is a slap in the face. This is over a fear of being sued? Perhaps when an employee is frost bit from waiting for a bus (as not enough parking is available) or an accident due to icy roads as a faculty member is trying to get to class a law suit may occur that would force the University to look at thier reasons for staying open a little closer and be a little more concious of faculty, staff and students and realistic in thier expectaions of staying open.
Anon Anon
Who in the university administration can receive and respond to these very valid concerns? Is it Laurita? Who makes the call? Who decides that U-M won’t be a good citizen and provide for the basic welfare of its employees?
One of the most disturbing aspects of the past 2 days is that lower-compensated staff who already get less vacation time are expected to use a vacation day (!) while others are permitted to work from home and stay safe. How is that ethical? So now we have a caste system?
B R
I doubt very highly anyone reads these posts and if they do they don’t care! It will all fall upon deaf ears sadly! I completely agree the non exempt staff are treated very unfairly! How can exempt people work from home, when we have the same access as they do but we are made to feel we have to come to work. If we do not we have to take a vaca day or if we have none the day with out pay! Very sad!
J W
The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, simply do not care about any of us. Period.
MTC CTM
At the very least UM should authorize, and even encourage, individual offices, units, and departments to close in such conditions, and have some other option in place besides “feel free to use one of your vacation days.” I feel poorly treated, as a professional educator, by the U’s macho “we never close” approach. Why the grandstanding, at the expense of the safety of your employees? And I don’t see how UM could really fear the ghost of some lawsuit from the 70’s; seems to me the U could be setting itself up for a brand-new lawsuit …
Vlad Wielbut
There is a quite a bit of anger in the comments left here, with some of that anger (mis)directed at those staff members who may be able to do their work from home. I’m afraid that the outcome of these angry voices may be that the University will henceforth place an explicit ban on working from home. I’m not sure this will make the lives of those who complain any easier, while certainly taking away the last vestiges of flexibility from the rest of the staff. If greater “fairness” means bringing everybody down to the “lowest common denominator”, I’m not sure this is worth fighting for.
Angie Stewart
I don’t believe any of the comments are directed at those staff members who are working from home. Quite frankly, I am thankful for those who have the ability. The complaint is rather at the University policies, which allow some to work from home, while others do not have this luxury. Blaming staff who are working from home is quite silly and pointless.
B E
Vlad
I am sure you fear this, because you are one of those that are working from home! Put the shoe on the foot of those that had to come to work today! I am sure you would feel the same way! I think the outcome should be looked at and changed to be fair to ALL STAFF not just those that have a choice. I am sure it will not make the lives of those complain easier but will make it fair for all staff!
So while you are sitting in your nice warm house think of those that took the risk of having to come into the office today!
Vlad Wielbut
No, I’m not working from home – I took a day off today.
Vlad Wielbut
Also, I am certain my office is much warmer today than my house. 🙁
d l
I will support you up to the point where you attack me. Were you told you must come in? Did someone threaten to fire you? Unless you are in an essential services unit I am guessing you had a choice to stay home – you came in because you did not want to lose pay. There are people whose work could be done on computers at home who came in as well. In the end we all had a choice. I am hoping that your distress is due to the fact that the University, by not closing, forced you to make a difficult choice. Many of us are upset that our lives seem to be worth nothing to those who hold the power in this institution. Let us not attack each other. Your quest should be to move everyone up to a higher plane, not to drag others down.
Vlad Wielbut
One thing that I can’t wrap my head around is this: in whose interest is it to reinforce the unfortunate and unfair (in my opinion) perception that the University does not care much about its staff? The Administrative Services Transformation is still on many people’s minds. Planned in semi-secrecy, it made a lot of staff nervous about their jobs here. Now the intransigence in the face of very severe weather… This at a time when the University is launching a major fundraising effort. Staff donations, while not huge, are certainly not insignificant. It seems rather counter-intuitive.
c c
Some folks don’t have the luxury of having a job that can be completed from home. I see custodians, trades people, mechanics, grounds crew and many more folks working to make this campus run. They took their life into their own hands to make it in today because the “U of M doesn’t close”. The thing that got me was in the letter to the staff, it didn’t say take care of your kids and keep them safe, it said find daycare options in the event your kids school is closed. Really! I don’t even have kids and I find this appalling.
I think that UofM should do as their peers are doing, close if it is unsafe. Give the folks extra pay that have to be here to keep the Hospital running, the sidewalks near the hospital safe and keep the heat going.
B E
I am not sure where you got that I was attacking you! Yes we were told we had to come in or take the day with out pay. So yes those that choose to come in because some people do not have the luxury of a 2 paycheck household, or the luxury of making enough money that they can afford a day off without pay, or have not been with the University for years to rack up a ton of vacation days. Most staff positions can be work from home but those that are non exempt do not have that luxury! So if you feel you are being attacked by that luxury maybe taken away from you, sorry but that is not trying to drag anyone down, just a statement of the University being fair to all staff.
sk sk
I’ve had it happen multiple times that the University won’t close but individual professors will cancel class. That way it isn’t a University policy but people still don’t have to come in.
M W
I’m an employee who slid down Washtenaw yesterday to get to work. We got on the interstate to go home and I was scared the whole time – 23 was clear but 94 was ice covered. We used Washtenaw again this morning and will this afternoon. Our usual 20-25 minute commute has taken over an hour each way. Very very unsafe.
I should add that I “can” work from home with the total support of my boss. My husband doesn’t have that luxury, so if he comes in, I come in.