Bargaining Session Report
The two sides met Tuesday, July 27, and we presented our counter-proposal to two previous proposals from the Oakland team.
Oakland’s Package Proposal. One item on the table is a “package proposal” from Oakland incorporating several language items that we described in our July 18 diary post. Today we presented our counter-proposal. The key elements of our counter are that we:
- keep the maximum number of credits that can be taught by graduate assistants at 4,
- change the parameters for defining special lectures so that they will not lose their status if they teach a three-credit class instead of four-credit,
- propose modifications to new language regarding joint appointments (an area where the two sides are close to agreement),
- continue to press for guarantees of due process if faculty are removed or barred from campus,
- strike one of their proposed names arbitrators in the list of arbitrators for tenure grievances to make a list more balanced between names proposed by the two sides,
- and propose an alternative formula for full-time adjunct positions and hold the line on drastic increases in number.
Oakland’s proposal to greatly increase the number of full-time adjunct faculty (or professors of practice as Oakland is currently proposing) continues to be a major area of dispute. Our colleagues who hold these positions are full and respected members of our bargaining unit, but we must resist attempts to erode tenure through creation of more full-time positions that offer neither tenure nor job security. The current Agreement caps the number of allowed positions at 10% of the number of tenure-track faculty except that the total in the School of Health Sciences and School of Nursing is capped at 15 positions, which has been reached. In fact the number of full-time adjunct positions in the SON is approximately 55% of the number of tenure-track positions. Oakland first proposed that there be no limit and then more recently proposed a limit of 55 with no restrictions on the above schools. We have countered with language that keeps the cap on these positions expressed as a proportion relative to the number of tenure-track faculty and keeps the proportion roughly where it is at this time but allows the number of these positions to grow if the number of tenure-track faculty grows. Our proposed numbers are 5% in any given school or college that has these positions except for the School of Nursing, where the cap would be 60% to fit the reality of the number of such positions in that school.
Workload Policy Review. Our other counter was to Oakland’s latest version of proposed changes to the process of workload policy review in Article 10 of the Agreement, which we first described in our July 11th post. The two sides are still very far apart on this issue. Oakland continues to press for conditions such that, at the end of a thorough review process involving both the faculty and their dean, the Provost can unilaterally impose a workload policy on any unit. The other objectionable element of their proposal is that it creates a standard where the teaching component of workload is expressed in credits (in contrast to current workload policies of almost every academic unit at this university) and has the potential to create higher teaching loads for full time faculty. Our counter-proposal offered compromise on procedural matters of the review process, but we struck the two objectionable items described above.
Our Economic Package. Oakland did not give any response to our economic proposals which we put on the table at the last meeting.
Unpaid and Partial Leave. The two sides agreed not to make changes to Article XXI Unpaid and Partial Leave.
Gender and Pronouns in the Agreement. At the beginning of bargaining we proposed to remove gendered pronouns from the agreement. Oakland indicated support for this in principle, but we spent some sessions disagreeing about exactly how to make the changes. (See the July 2 diary post.) The two sides have since come to an understanding on this and have moved forward revising text to replace he/she as we go through articles. This is important because a faculty member’s ability to do their job has nothing to do with gender and the language of the Agreement should be such that all faculty members can see themselves represented.
The two teams will meet again on Friday, July 30.
Save the Date: A Bargaining Rally will be held (online) Wednesday, August 11, at Noon. We encourage all members to attend. Please watch your email for messages from the chapter with details and the link.