Bargaining Session Report
After our last bargaining session both sides contacted the Michigan Employment Relations Commission and requested a mediator who will be joining us this week. As we wait to continue negotiations, we’d like to share more perspective about one of the items on the table:
Academic Choice in Online Instruction and Paragraph 92 of our Agreement. Even before the pandemic, online instruction as part of our course offerings has grown; some departments have even created fully online programs. This growth has been successful because the faculty drive the decisions about course modality. Our faculty Agreement protects that choice.
Paragraph 92 of our Agreement is key to the success of our mix of modalities including online/remote instruction. First it says that faculty may voluntarily engage in the development and delivery of online course delivery, thus protecting their role in these decisions. However, paragraph 92 goes further. It also has language to ensure that online courses are of the same quality as their in-person counterparts. The process of development, review, and approval must be the same, and the faculty workload expectations are the same. It is our position that this paragraph not be changed.
Oakland’s current position in bargaining is to delete paragraph 92 entirely from the agreement. They first proposed to change this paragraph by inserting language to give Oakland the decision-making power on course modality. When we challenged them on that, they retreated to simply strike the word “voluntarily” from the clause. When we challenged them on that, they countered with striking the paragraph altogether. Their latest position would take away both contractual protections of faculty choice and protections of course quality.
We wish to note that when the pandemic first hit in the middle of the Winter 2020 semester and Oakland desired to move in-person classes online, the Association was a fully cooperating partner and rapidly granted a contract exception for online instruction, further indicating how our contractual language has never stood in the way of meeting student needs. Rather, the faculty worked with the administration to sustain the university’s mission through the crisis.
We return to the table Tuesday and will continue to seek a fair and equitable contract.