Bargaining Diary Archives

Before reporting to you on the latest developments in bargaining, we want to draw your attention to some other communications from the Association. Throughout the pandemic, Oakland administration has acknowledged the work and sacrifice of the university’s faculty. The Association will be featuring some of these messages in our social media posts in Facebook  Instagram and Twitter over the next few days.

Oakland has introduced two new proposals: a proposal on layoff and recall and their economic package.

Layoff and Recall

In our last post we mentioned that Oakland submitted a proposal on Article VIII, Layoff and Recall. Details about layoff and recall and Oakland’s proposal are below but the most significant part of their proposal is that they seek to give Oakland the ability to make layoffs for any reason.  Under their proposal they can make layoffs if they believe a certain program or discipline is no longer financially viable or valuable.  Since layoffs would be allowed for any reason, administration could effectively decimate an academic program or discipline by laying off the faculty in it, thereby circumventing the academic governance processes.

In our current Agreement, there are two conditions in which Oakland can lay off full-time faculty: (1) an over-ratio layoff when the number of full-time equivalent faculty (FTE) exceeds by a certain margin the number called for by the student faculty ratio defined in Appendix B, and (2) a position-shift layoff when Oakland concludes there is an overstaffing situation and eliminates positions in one academic unit while creating new positions elsewhere.  Oakland wishes to eliminate the position-shift section. The current Agreement includes a process of consultation with faculty before layoff decisions are made, priorities for which positions are laid off first in the case of layoffs, and procedures for recall. The Agreement also provides compensation and continuation of health insurance for a limited time for faculty on layoff. Oakland also wishes to cut these provisions.

Oakland’s Economic Package 

At the August 4th bargaining session, Oakland submitted their economic package to us. It is a very undesirable proposal in almost every way. Here is a summary of what Oakland proposed:

• No or low annual raises for full-time faculty.  In the first year of the agreement (this coming year) there will be no raises and each faculty member will receive $500 which is not part of base salary.  In all subsequent years the raise shall be 1.0% merit pool.
• Freeze minimum salary for all.  The minimum salary for both full-time and special lecturer faculty would be frozen at 2020 levels for the life of the Agreement.
• Reduction in retirement contribution.  Newly hired faculty will not receive contributions to retirement until after one year at Oakland. For all other faculty the amount that Oakland contributes to retirement, as a percentage of salary, would be reduced by four percentage points.  For example faculty who would have received a 14% contribution would now receive a 10% contribution.
• Eliminate faculty choice in online instruction.  Remove faculty choice in online instruction and introduce language that says Oakland may also designate courses to be delivered on an online/distance and/or hybrid basis through any combination of these methods. All online/distance learning in lieu of in-person instruction may only be provided with Oakland’s consent.
• Small increase for some promotion raises.  Increase the amount awarded for promotion to Full Professor from $7,500 to $8,000, but do not to increase the amount for any other promotion raises.
• Update to merit pay groups.  Update the list of merit pay groups to reflect the fact that the Department of Music, Theater, and Dance is now a School.
• No merit raises if no report.  Faculty who do not submit an annual activity report will receive no merit raise.
• No Market Adjustments.  No funds will be provided to bring faculty salaries in line with our peer institutions.
• Deletion of Chairperson Pay.  Oakland earlier proposed to remove department chairpersons from the Bargaining Unit. This is not a mandatory topic of bargaining and we have already informed them that we do not wish to bargain on it, but they continue to put proposals on the table as if this is going to happen.
• Change the formula for summer rate of pay.  Replace the current system, which is based on a minimum amount plus a percentage of regular annual salary, with the following per credit hour rates:
  • Visiting Professors  $1,600/cr
  • Full Time Professors of Practice  $1,600/cr
  • Special Instructors  $1,600/cr
  • Assistant Professors  $1,800/cr
  • Associate Professors  $2,000/cr
• Remove priority for bargaining unit members in summer teaching.  Delete the provision that, whenever possible, courses in the summer sessions will be taught by bargaining unit members.
• Increase the full-time faculty contribution to health care.  Increase the employee contribution to the comprehensive health insurance plan from its current 5% to 10% in the first year of the new agreement, 15% in the second year of the agreement, and 20% in the third year of the agreement.
• Allow changes to health insurance plans not mandated by providers.  Allow changes not mandated by the insurance providers to be made without consent of the Association.
• Dental and optical insurance.  Remove any commitments to specific providers or plans.
• Reduce the faculty tuition waiver.  Reduce the tuition benefit for dependents of faculty or other qualified adults from the current state where faculty pays 10% of the cost of undergraduate tuition (as a proxy for fees) to a system where the faculty only receives a waiver of 50% of applicable tuition. Add stipulations about performance in degree programs. Remove the stipulation that when this benefit is used, the enrollment in the section must be increased, thereby increasing the cost of the benefit to Oakland.
• Give Oakland sole control over retirement plan provider choices.  Rather than specifying Fidelity and TIAA-CREF as 403b providers, Oakland may select future providers as they like.
• Travel.  The amount allocated for faculty travel will remain at the 2020 level for the life of the new agreement.
• Research.  The amount allocated for faculty research fellowships will remain at the 2020 level for the life of the new agreement.
• Add paid parental leave.  Create 12-week paid parental leave for care of a child upon birth or placement by adoption or fostering if it overlaps with Fall or Winter semesters. We are in the process of comparing it to the proposal we previously put on the table.

The two teams will meet again Friday August 6th.

To all association members: please remember to join the General Membership Meeting on Bargaining which will be held Wednesday August 11 at Noon.  Details have been emailed to you.