Today’s meeting with the employer did not yield a new contract. We started the day by sharing an economic proposal, but after several hours, the employer informed us they were not willing to respond with any economic proposals today.
Following the mandate set by our members at Friday’s meetings, our proposal kept the merit pool percentages and market adjustment funds where they had been in our last economic proposal. The only changes were a slight decrease in the one-time payment and a small decrease in the summer pay maximum for Year Five of the contract.
The two teams agreed to a number of small items including a small change to a reporting process. The most important thing to come from today’s meeting is that the employer has retracted its effort to construct a universal workload policy. The faculty was unequivocal in its opposition to this idea and the clear message you sent staved off this violation of the principle of shared governance.
We will meet again on Tuesday with the assistance of the mediator. We will do our best to update all of you throughout the day as to our progress. The negotiating team appreciates the support of our members as we continue to fight for a contract that fairly rewards faculty for doing the vital work of the university.
