April 15th, at last some progress at the table

So today at the table was a landslide of Tentative Agreements (T.A.s). We reached 12 T.A.s! (for the most part, still agreeing on the tweaking of a word or two). The signing of these T.A.s marks the end of non-economic issues. You can now breath a sigh of relief.

...sigh...

Alright, now that you have rested, it is time to get down to business. We start negotiating economic issues on Monday, and these promise to be…difficult…at best. Imagine that you walk into your chair’s office and asked they give you a raise and a multiple year contract. The response that you would get is similar to what we will probably get.

Regardless of how articulate or logical we are, we will get nowhere without your support and participation. One of the main reasons we organized was the fact we are more powerful as a group than as an individual. As a group, we can demand that based on favorable evaluations we gain increased security. As a group, we can demand that we be paid what is equitable for our training. As individuals we can ask for these things, and we will be denied.
How can you participate in the group you ask?

Tomorrow, Friday the 16th, 8:45am Rally at the Board of Trustees Meeting, Hannah Administration Building

Write a letter to Lou Anna Simon telling her you support the UNTF

Write a letter to the Lansing State Journal or the State News, saying that UNTF supports high-quality education

Thursday, April 22nd, 1pm, attend the Bargaining Presentation on Security Provisions and Wages, Nisbet Bldg 125

Demonstrate, Wednesday May 5th, location and time TBD, Our last chance for a contract this term

These actions may seem small, but they tell the University that we are a cohesive group that means business. Today’s agreements are significant, but what happens in the next 3 weeks could have profound implications on your career (group), or not (individual). Your choice.