Lecturer Bargaining Update: Rally for a Fair Contract!
ALL LECTURER FACULTY AND LEO ALLIES ARE INVITED to tell U-M Admin to RESPECT THE LECS! at the Quit the Contract Rally THIS MONDAY, 8/9, from 11am-1pm.
Meet in front of the LSA Building at 500 S. State St. in Ann Arbor to listen to speakers, rally, and picket for a fair and equitable LEO contract. Please RSVP so we get enough food!
AFTER NEARLY EIGHT MONTHS OF BARGAINING, the U-M administration continues to bring forward inadequate salary offers and refuses to make reasonable movement on issues such as governance, felony disclosure, and teaching professor. As a result, LEO AFT-MI Local 6244 will be giving the administration 30 days’ notice effective August 9 that we are quitting the existing contract. We will continue to bargain for a new agreement that wins dignity, parity, and respect for all University of Michigan lecturers, and 30 days after this announcement the union will no longer be in contractual violation of its “no strike” clause, should the union members vote to strike.
PLEASE REFER TO THIS FAQ to understand what quitting the contract means for LEO across all U-M campuses (Flint, Dearborn, & Ann Arbor). The short answer is: not very much for individual members.
AND YOU CAN GET SOME FAST FACTS HERE AND HERE about how LEO bargaining is going and why U-M CAN AFFORD to pay lecturer faculty fair, equitable, and professional salaries. See this presentation about U-M’s financial health and more member videos at the LEO You Tube channel. And find many more updates and info on our social media pages and at LEO2021.org.
Classes taught by Lecturers across the campuses bring in about $500M per year.
U-M has access to $3.1B in unrestricted reserves and $12.5B endowment.
The Administration has no trouble compensating upper-management administrators at very high salaries, while claiming they are not able to pay lecturer faculty fairly. And while university funds going to lecturers have increased some over the past 15 years (with a ~25% increase in our ranks), the number of administrators making over $100,000 and their total cost have TRIPLED.
WE HAVE ALREADY COMPROMISED A LOT, AND OUR CURRENT LEO SALARY DEMAND TOTALS A MERE $19M! It sounds like a lot of money, but it’s really just peanuts in relation to U-M’s financial health and ability to pay.
Quitting the contract is an important step in increasing the pressure on the administration and is necessary to win a fair LEO agreement. Your participation at the rally is vital. Families are welcome to join and light refreshments will be provided. If you will require child care assistance, please contact Alex Elkins (alex@leounion.org).
If you have any questions, contact Steven Toth (stevenxbox13@gmail.com), your local steward, LEO President Kirsten Herold (fogh@leounion.org), or LEO VP Eric Beuerlein (leovp@leounion.org).
Make sure to Follow LEO and share our posts on social media.
Twitter, Instagram, & Youtube: @LEOUnionUmich
Facebook: @LEOLecturersEmployeeOrganization
And find more info at LEO2021.org and Leounion.org