Bargaining Session Report
The two sides met this week on Wednesday, July 21.
Continued discussions on contract language.
There are several “language” items on the table that we have mentioned in previous posts. These items were discussed and we are preparing counter proposals.
Our economic package.
Today we presented our economic proposals to the Oakland team. All members of the Oakland University faculty excel in the teaching, scholarship, and service that make this university successful. On top of that, over the past year and a half, we have all made great sacrifices to keep our programs successful with no raise in pay. Many of us have incurred personal expenses to meet the challenges of teaching through the pandemic. We deserve to be compensated fairly for our work. Below are the key elements of our proposal:
- Raises. We proposed 3.5% across the board raises for both full-time and special lecturer faculty for each year of the new Agreement. All faculty deserve these raises.
- Minimum Salaries. We proposed to update the minimum salaries for both full-time and special lecturer faculty.
- Making up for last year. We proposed that all full-time non-visiting faculty receive a $1,000 addition to salary, and those who received a merit score of 4 or 5 at least once in the past two years receive additional raises of $750 or $1,000 respectively. Department chairpersons, who are part of a separate merit pool, should receive a $1,000 raise as well.
- Better benefits for special lecturers. We proposed to increase the employer contribution to medical benefits, to create retirement benefits, and to expand the tuition benefit to 16 credits for special lecturers.
- Paid parental leave. We proposed up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for purposes of care of a child. This applies to birth, adoption, and fostering, and is for either parent.
- Increase promotion raises. We proposed significant increases to the raises given at promotion in rank.
- Faculty Travel. Travel is essential for faculty to fulfill their responsibilities of presenting at conferences, performing, holding exhibitions, and conducting research. Travel is also critical to enable all faculty to keep up to date in their field, and our students deserve such faculty. Based on information we received from the faculty about the actual cost of travel, we proposed to increase the annual amount allocated for faculty travel from $565,000 to $1,000,000, and we have proposed an annual fund of $175,000 for travel for special lecturers.
- Increase research fellowships. We proposed increasing the amount allocated for research fellowships from $340,000 to $400,000.
- Protect special lecturers from credit loss. In order to remain competitive with other universities, many undergraduate programs have reduced their credit total to 124 or 120 credits. One way to do this is to convert 4-credit courses to 3-credit courses. This is a valid approach to help our students and their parents, and the programs with 3-credit courses maintain the same instructional value and rigorous requirements as those with 4-credit courses. However, unintended damage can occur to special lecturers because their status is defined by the total credits taught per year, which means that a reduction of course credits from 4 to 3 could result in some of our colleagues losing special lecturer status. Therefore, we proposed that for purposes of determining their status, a 3-credit course should be counted the same as a 4-credit course. This should also be reflected in how they are compensated because a special lecturer should not be penalized in pay when they are assigned to teach 3-credit courses.
- Presumption of renewal for special lecturers. We proposed an appendix that states that qualified special lecturers have priority over non-bargaining-unit hires for available course sections and presumption of renewal of their contracts if work is available
- Market adjustments. In the 2015-2020 Agreement there were funds allocated to raise full-time salaries to make them competitive with peer institutions (market adjustments). At that time all of the funds were distributed but fell well short of what was needed. Therefore we proposed another round of market adjustments with double the amount of funds.
- Merit reports only if there is corresponding merit pay. One aspect of the current Agreement that has frustrated many of us is that it requires the filing of merit reports every year, regardless of whether there will be merit raises forthcoming. We proposed language that if merit is adopted then merit reports will be required only in years when funds exist for merit raises.
The two teams will meet again on Tuesday, July 27.