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.

Our May 13th session centered around powerful member testimony about salary from two of our members, Terese Murphy (Librarian, Clements) and Zia Davidian (Librarian, Flint). We are grateful to both of them for bravely and honestly sharing the impacts of low and inequitable salaries and illustrating how important this issue is for our bargaining unit. We continue to show movement on our salary article while adhering to our principle of equity, and have converted our equity table into narrative prose to achieve this goal. We were glad to have reached a TA on package 4 (Management Rights; Union Rights; Scope of Agreement), which means that there are just 5 outstanding articles left on the table. Click through to read all the details.

Our May 6th session saw more progress and movement in the right direction, which is encouraging. We reached a momentous TA on Package 6, a 6-article package that includes the right to Grievance & Arbitration, which we have been fighting for since the beginning of negotiations. The package also included some movement from admin in the Conflict of Interest/Conflict of Commitment article. Click through to read all the details.

Our April 29th session demonstrated admin’s reverence for the status quo. They seem to like the way everything is currently done—including underpaying LACs across the board—and are resistant to changes that relate to salary, promotion, and professional development. However, we didn’t form a union to accept the status quo. We’re here to advocate for meaningful changes that will impact our working conditions. We presented counters on Salary and Professional Development articles, and we proudly delivered our petition signed by an overwhelming majority of members in support of our bargaining platform. Click through to read all the details.

Our April 22nd session was notable because we finally received counters on our Salary and Professional Development proposals. These “first counters ” were rather disappointing, and demonstrate that administration hasn’t fully heard our demand for equity. Click through to read all the details.

Our April 15th session featured packages galore, and a high score for the number of TAs in one day. While we continue to make progress on reaching TAs, there are still many significant issues on the table. Click through to read all the details.

Our April 8th session was a 2-TA Day! It is hopefully also the last time that we have to talk about bathrooms in this recap, because we were able to reach a Tentative Agreement on Workspaces Health & Safety with a new MOU on Bathrooms! Click through to read all the details.

Our April 1st session (no fooling) was largely centered on big packages. Administration has been passing us a series of ever-larger packages, this time bundling 7 articles together. Click through to read all the details.