Time is running short

Today: got administration counters to our proposals on workload (general issue of how many courses/credits taught make you full time, part time, etc.) and on leaves of absence (paid and unpaid: vacation, bereavement, short term and long term disability, military service, etc.), and on transportation issues.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE. They had indicated last Thursday general agreement with our leave proposal, which basically asks that current policies in the Faculty Handbook be maintained. After some negotiating about how to say this (we want to specify the Faculty Handbook in effect as of next week; why next week you ask? Because they are finalizing some ongoing revisions regarding when you can take a leave for the funeral of “Other Eligible Individuals”). But basically we got what we wanted: preserving the generous MSU benefits for eligible employees. Given the slow pace of negotiations and current atmosphere of cutbacks, we felt this is an achievement.

WORKLOAD. We had presented a workload proposal that asks that MSU preserve whatever workload arrangements currently exist. We acknowledge the diversity of practices across MSU so we do not impose any rigid formula. The basic idea instead is to avoid units unilaterally increasing our members’ workload using the excuse of budget cutbacks—we’ve already seen examples of this.

TRANSPORTATION. Last Thursday we had also discussed transportation issues. Two of our requests we will not get. For many reasons, MSU is unable to deduct monthly parking fees automatically (and using pre-tax dollars) from all members’ paychecks. Similarly, MSU will not provide free bus passes to use the campus buses (run by CATA) to employees hired at less than 50%. Strangely, it seems some individuals do get these benefits and it is not always clear if they are eligible, but the administration at least is not interested in taking these away from them. However, we did get language stating that mileage reimbursement must follow guidelines laid out in the MSU business procedures manual; it seems in some cases members’ supervisors were not following these.

WHAT'S NEXT? We will put together a counter-counter proposal on workload. Also, some of our bargaining team members will informally discuss our key issue, an appointments system, with some of their members. We found that these informal discussions help each side better understand the other side’s concerns.

NOT A GOOD SIGN: Disturbingly, the administration asked that we schedule additional bargaining days after our original last day of May 6. We had offered to meet on additional days next week but they seem to want to prolong negotiations into the weeks after spring term ends--which is not a good time for us since many members will be gone.

Pictures from April 22nd Bargaining Session

Thursday, April 22nd

We had 35 members show up to bargaining today! It scared them out of the room. They refused to come in and negotiate for almost a half hour. This is just the kind of pressure we need to put on them in order to get the contract we deserve!

After the finally came in, Stephen Thomas from Zoology gave a brilliant presentation on our Job Security provisions to the assembled members and the administration's representatives.

Pictures forthcoming!!!

Plan on attending one of the three remaining sessions. Monday the 26th 1-5pm, Tuesday the 4th 1-5pm, and Thursday the 6th from 9-5. Be there at the Nisbet Building, room 125. Contact us at (517) 203-0880 or at office@untf.org for more details.

RALLY at Board of Trustees' Meeting!!!!

We had a great turnout today at the rally today at the Board of Trustees' meeting! In addition to the dozens of UNTF members that attended, we also had support from tenured professors, undergrads, and other labor organizations! Check out these great pics!

RALLY at Board of Trustees' Meeting!!!!

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.

One members recap of Thursday March 25 bargaining session

Today felt to me as one of the more positive sessions we've had. Both sides seemed to actually dialogue and respond to each other on some points and said they "heard" (even if did not necessarily agree with) the other side's perspective on a few things. I don't think any tentative agreements were reached today though. A partial summary follows hopefully other folks who were there can chime in.

KEY THING I noticed (somebody else pointed this out): their level of willingness to hear us out and dialogue with us seems correlated to the presence of UNTF observers in the room, there were 2 such folks today. So it is crucial that different UNTF members come to at least 1 bargaining session; the ones who come always find it interesting and you don't have to say anything, just sit quietly in the back row (you can even be like your students and slyly read your State News during the boring parts...).

Discipline section: frank exchange on what a process for discipline should look like. Our proposal describes a 3 step process, they seem to want a more informal process which of course would leave the union out of the loop.

Grievances: they still really seem to want the union member to sign a grievance but conceded the union does own the grievance. One of their team expressed the concern about having an "out" for a member who REALLY does not want a grievance filed on their behalf. We responded with our concern that out of fear and powerlessness a member may be afraid to press a grievance but does that mean they don't want to? Other people who were there may wish to clarify my explanation of this.

Health and safety: they had given us a counter proposal deleting major portions of ours: our request for some kind of process to ensure employees know the basic MSU resources re: these issues. They repeated their view that health/safety issues vary by unit and that maybe we should develop these in an ongoing conversation with the administration outside the contract. Seems to be a misunderstanding on their part about what we are asking for: we are not asking to develop detailed instructions re: classroom violence etc. we are just asking that MSU (either centrally or via its colleges or units) commit to ensuring employees know some basics and where to go for help and information.