Lecturer Bargaining Update: Bargaining Recap for 4/2/21
Not a lot happened this week, largely due to the number of proposals that remain in management’s court. Mostly we fielded questions. In the morning, many were able to watch the special Regents Meeting to consider censuring Regent Ron Weiser. See the Union Council's recent statement on the matter.
We did receive counters on Computers, Layoff & Recall, and Job Security. We’re moving closer to an agreement and understanding around the Computer needs. On Layoff & Recall, Admin has struck the benefits for those on partial layoff who lose their benefits eligibility due to falling below 50% appointment, at least until they are able to meet with representatives in benefits. On Job Security, it seems like Admin is unwilling to budge on guaranteeing interviews to those on layoff for staff positions.
The Workload committee passed back MOU 2 (Full-Time Opportunities) and some clarification on “range” in MOU 7 (Title Bridge between I/II to III/IV). The committee reminded Admin that this proposal is just to make it easier for lecturers to request a special conference and does not mean an automatic title change. We also answered some clarifying questions on our salary counter and the order of operations for calculating our salary request.
Lunch with LEO was filled with powerful stories from lecturers on their experiences with bias in evaluations. The Comms committee will be compiling the stories into a video to share and shed light on this important equity issue.
If Admin is serious about wanting to finish up contract negotiations by the end of April, there will need to be a huge amount of movement on their side! This week we should expect their next Salary counter-proposal. It’s really important that we show up on Friday in numbers to demonstrate our support for across-the-board raises, as well as parity for Dearborn & Flint, and greater raises for long-serving lecturers.
The Communications Cmte has made an interactive kanban board showing all of the proposals brought to the negotiations table, how many times they’ve been passed back-and-forth, and whose court they currently are in. Click through to learn more! https://trello.com/b/rZkPRl7h/leo-2021-negotiations
