By Kolby LaMarche

This week, the University of Vermont (UVM) kicked off “Research Week”, celebrating a major milestone for what the university has been chasing for years. 

UVM has earned the Carnegie R1 Designation, which now means it’s recognized as a top-tier research institution with a high number of doctoral degrees and significant research projects and technology on campus. 

UVM leaders have been talking up what this means for the school’s future, saying it will help them do more than just advanced research, it will “enhance undergraduate and graduate recruitment and attract new faculty members in the years to come”.

It’s the kind of achievement that re-affirms UVM as a serious, competitive player in the academic world, and the administration was understandably eager to show it off with events, workshops, and announcements all week long.

But the celebration hit a sour note just one day in, when UVM’s administration made a decision that left its staff dumbfounded. 

The university told its staff that it was delaying raises that had already been promised to unionized workers, pointing to problems with their technology as the reason for the holdup. 

UVM’s staff union, UVM Staff United, has been locked in contract negotiations for over a year, ever since their last contract expired back in June 2024. After months of back-and-forth, the union and UVM finally came to an agreement on April 14, 2025, ratifying a new contract that included a 4% raise on base-pay for union members who were employed before the contract was finalized. 
This raise was supposed to be retroactive, meaning workers would get back pay for the time they’d been working without the increase. On top of that, the contract promised longevity bonuses, which were set to show up in paychecks by April 30, 2025, according to an email the union sent to its members obtained by Burlington Daily News. 
For staff who had been waiting for this money, it felt like relief was finally on the way. Then came the bad news. UVM’s administration backtracked on the timeline, saying they couldn’t make the retroactive payments as planned. 
In communication obtained by Burlington Daily News, the university’s payroll department blamed their software system, claiming it wasn’t capable of handling the retroactive pay right now. Instead, UVM proposed pushing both the back pay and the new raises all the way to June 2025, combining them into one payout. 

The email also said the union would follow up next Tuesday with more details about what workers could expect in their upcoming paychecks. 
The timing of this decision couldn’t be worse. According to records seen by BDN, during the contract negotiations, many workers shared stories with UVM leaders directly about how hard things have been for them financially. 
Some admitted they’ve had to use the campus food pantry, which is supposed to be for students. Others have been relying on local food shelves in Burlington to get by, while many are working second or even third jobs to cover their bills. 
These workers were, one anonymous staff member said, counting on the retroactive pay to help ease the burden, and now they’re being told to wait even longer. 

BDN has reached out to the University of Vermont for comment. This article will be updated if any comment is received.*