We are pleased to announce that the contract was ratified by an overwhelming majority of 98.4% with a total 123 votes cast out of 135 eligible voters!

Now that we have our contract, it’s time for implementation! We’ll also be planning a ratification celebration very soon.

It is only through the action and commitment of all of our members that we have achieved these gains and won our very first fair contract, but our work continues!

After over seven and a half months of bargaining, we are so proud to announce that the Bargaining Team has reached a full Tentative Agreement!

We achieved several important wins in the salary article, including parity in minimum salaries across all three campuses in the first year of the contract, guaranteed annual increases in each year, and equity increases to address historical disparities in our salaries. Over the three years, the contract will result in an overall increase of 17% to the salaries of LACs. This is an impressive figure for a first contract and a small bargaining unit.

Click through to read all the details.

It’s been a busy week for your Bargaining Team! On Wednesday, July 6th we reached a tentative agreement on Professional Development. Some of our big wins include clear definitions of discretionary vs. programmatic PD, and getting memberships in professional associations covered. Every member of the bargaining unit will now be guaranteed a minimum individual allocation to use for PD annually, and will be able to apply to a shared fund for larger expenditures. With professional development done, we turn our full attention to salary. Click through to read all the details.

Professional development was the focus of our session on July 1. We did not reach a TA; however we achieved important wins. Click through to read all the details.

At our June 24th session both LEO-GLAM and admin passed salary proposals. In our proposal, we made movement on the equity steps, the annual increase in year 3, and kept the starting salaries constant over all three years. In response, administration’s counter reverted to minimum salaries that were raised by $1,000 from their previous offer (taking the assistant starting salary to $51,000) and added a quarter of a percent to the annual raise in year 3 bringing it to 2.75%. Overall, they brought an additional $42,908 in this pass compared with their last one. Click through to read all the details.

Our June 17th session featured lengthy conversations about budgets and costing. At the end of the day, administration gave us a counter proposal on salary that was only $33,000 higher (for all three years of the contract!) than their last offer. Click through to read all the details.

On Wednesday afternoon we received upsetting counters from administration on both Salary and Professional Development. Click through to read all the details.

First off, a huge thanks to everyone who showed up for the walk-out on Thursday—in Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint, and online.

We made a strong showing away from the table, which gives us the confidence to hold our position at the table. We put forward a salary counter that continues to demonstrate our commitment to improving salaries for our members across all three campuses. We have not yet reached agreement on the activities professional development funds may be used for, and are troubled by administration’s unwillingness to acknowledge that $700 is insufficient. Click through to read all the details.

Our June 7th session brought us a TA on Recognition, as we were finally able to come to agreement on a definition of LACs that includes the nature of our work and qualifications, and is not solely based on a tautology. The only items still on the table are Salary and Professional Development. Click through to read all the details.

Our June 3rd session covered the remaining issues on the table—salary, professional development, and recognition. We’ve also scheduled an additional bargaining session for Tuesday. Click through to read all the details.

Happy Memorial Day! Our May 27th session featured productive conversations with administration on our salary structure and the need for greater investment in LAC compensation. We learned more about administration’s position and how we might compose an effective counter to address their concerns while achieving our equity goals. We also exchanged a “supposal” on Recognition, and that conversation brought us closer to agreement on the composition of the bargaining unit. Regarding professional development, each side exchanged counters and came closer to agreement on language describing how these funds will be distributed and used. Click through to read all the details.

Our May 20th session featured a TA on Package #8 (Promotion; Appointments & Annual Reviews) that cements four equal ranks for all members of our bargaining unit, a major win! We were also able to secure longer notification periods for members on term appointments, and we are proud to say that we now have a clear and consistent promotion process for all LACs in every unit. We believe the process outlined in the Promotion article will provide greater equity, accountability, and transparency. Click through to read all the details.