4.22 Bargaining Update – Compensation, Academic Classification, & More
BARGAINING UPDATE
REGISTER FOR TODAY’S BARGAINING SESSION
JOIN THE UAOSU BARGAINING UPDATE TELE-TOWNHALL
COMPLETE THE FACULTY SENATE’S FACULTY PULSE SURVEY
BARGAINING UPDATE
The UAOSU bargaining team and the administration team met 11–2:30 on Wednesday, April 22 on Zoom.
The Administration provided a Compensation counterproposal that:
- accepted our most recent proposal on salary minimums that would provide salary increases for ~20% of all fixed-term faculty, including substantial raises for many of the lowest paid;
- reaffirmed previous commitments to distribute a 3% merit pool to bargaining unit faculty (including those <0.50 FTE and those who moved positions within the university) retroactively effective to January 1 (for 12-month appointments) and February 1 (for 9-month appointments);
- suggested faculty “may” receive merit increases in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, with the amount, if any, set by the Provost ;
- rejected any proposal on across-the-board raises (meant to address the changing cost of living) or equity increases for the next four years based upon a “principled objection” to any non-merit-based salary considerations; and
- rejected our proposal to provide small subsidies to support child care.
Our bargaining team acknowledges the uncertain and unprecedented time in which we are bargaining. For this reason, we let the Administration know that we desire to:
- agree to a version of the memorandum of understanding we have previously proposed that fully settles the terms, conditions, and timing of the FY 2020 merit raises now, in advance of reaching full contract agreement. This would provide stability to those faculty waiting for raises they’ve already been promised and allow units to complete review processes necessary to achieve a fair distribution of these raises this term; and
- establish a limited economic reopener negotiation to allow us to postpone negotiation over salary increases in the later years of our agreement. Doing so will allow us to smartly negotiate raises for those years at a time where fewer uncertainties exist.
Even with these in place, we will need to negotiate a compensation proposal that addresses fiscal year 2021 (those raises that would ordinarily be distributed in January/February of 2021). Our bargaining team has crafted a compensation proposal for fiscal year 2021 that balances uncertainty in funding and enrollment with the need to invest in faculty. This proposal, along with an MOU on fiscal year 2020 raises and a proposal for a limited economic reopener will be presented in our session today (April 27).
We also exchanged proposals on:
- Academic Classification & Rank (UAOSU’s Proposal | Admin’s Response)
- Tenured Instructors Memorandum of Understanding (UAOSU’s Proposal | Admin’s Response)
- Research Associates Postdoctoral Memorandum of Understanding (UAOSU’s Proposal | Admin’s Response)
After our in-session proposal exchange, we feel very close to agreement on these articles and hope to reach tentative agreement in today’s session.
Our website provides a table with links to all of the articles exchanged in the course of bargaining.
Our next bargaining session is TODAY 9am-12:30pm on Zoom (register here). We plan to present articles on Compensation and expect the administration’s team to bring a proposal on Leaves. Even if you can only drop by for half an hour, your attendance matters: show the administration that faculty are watching this process.
Become a member of UAOSU, attend next Monday’s bargaining session, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter & Instagram! These actions all strengthen our ability to win a strong contract for each other. Also take a moment to fill out the Faculty Senate’s Faculty Pulse Survey to help inform the Faculty Senate’s efforts to improve support during the COVID-19 disruption.
UAOSU will be hosting a tele-townhall Thursday, April 30, 4:30-5:30pm. Your bargaining team will be sharing information about what we have achieved and what we’re still looking to win at the bargaining table. There will be time for your questions – if you want to learn more about UAOSU’s next steps, this is an opportunity you won’t want to miss! Here’s the registration link to join the call.
In solidarity,