LEO-GLAM Bargaining Recap for 3/19/2025
At our March 19 bargaining session, we were in-person on the Flint campus, and also welcomed UM community members to join us for a portion of the day for open bargaining. It was excellent to see so many LEO-GLAM members and allies packing the room! Did you know it was the very first time that LEO-GLAM bargaining has taken place in person? Achievement unlocked!
We heard from two esteemed speakers about the importance of the Thompson Library to the Flint campus community, including librarian Paul Streby, who manages electronic resources and happens to be the longest-serving LAC on the Flint campus. His statement made clear the negative impact that the attrition in hiring has had in Flint over time. We also heard from former Flint Provost and Tenure-Track Faculty member Doug Knerr about how critical LACs are to student outcomes and retention on campus. He emphasized that the partnerships between LACs, Faculty, and Students form the foundation of teaching and learning on campus and make our university great. We were immensely pleased that the pressure we exerted through MOU 6: Appropriate LAC Staffing for the UM-Flint Community, and the related testimony helped to get 3 LAC jobs posted in Flint, where LACs have not been hired since 2019. We celebrated this victory by officially withdrawing MOU 6.
Highlights of the bargaining session included:
Experienced our very first in-person bargaining session as LEO-GLAM!
Passed counters on Articles A and B, about Security and Surveillance, and Artificial Intelligence respectively.
We also had a fantastic tour of the archives at the Flint Thompson Library’s Genesee Historical Collections Center and a lively teach-in/lunch in collaboration with our sibling union, the UMF AFT-AAUP. Many thanks to the folks who came out to Flint to participate in open bargaining and show solidarity together with our Tenure Track colleagues as they engaged in info picketing.
Next Wednesday we’ll be back on Zoom, but on April 2nd we’ll have another opportunity for you to join us in-person, this time on the Dearborn campus! Please register if you’re able to come join us, and we’ll send you all of the details.