Contract negotiations begin today between University of Michigan, lecturers union
University of Michigan administrators and lecturers union representatives are at the negotiating table starting today to work out the terms of a new three-year contract.
The Lecturers' Employee Organization represents 1,500 lecturers and other non-tenure faculty who primarily teach undergraduate students. Its members work full- and part-time at U-M's Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses.
In a statement, Bonnie Halloran, the LEO president and an anthropology lecturer at the Dearborn campus, said the union intends to ask for protection of benefits, an increase in job security, and equity pay adjustments - as well as more respect.
"We know that these are tough economic times, but our members have been underpaid and undervalued for years," Halloran said. "Our long-term goal has been to increase the respect for the work we do as educators at the university."
Lecturers make up 30 percent of the faculty in Ann Arbor; not counted in that mix are about 1,800 graduate student instructors. LEO members make up to 50 percent of the faculty in Dearborn and Flint, where there are fewer graduate programs and student instructors.
Previous negotiations ended with the ratification of a three-year contract in 2007. The next contract will be the group's third.
The 2007 contract included annual pay increases between 2 percent and 3.5 percent on the Ann Arbor campus, enhanced benefits, clarified language about job security and more professional development support, said Jeffery Frumkin, the associate vice provost and senior director for academic human resources. The contract raised the pay of the LEO's lowest-paid members, which in Ann Arbor stands at $34,000 per year.
Joseph Walls, a Stephen M. Ross School of Business lecturer and the group's spokesman, said the LEO wants to boost the bottom salary of its Ann Arbor lecturers to around $40,000, which is comparable to the starting salary for a new Ann Arbor Public Schools teacher with a master's degree. Dearborn and Flint's starting lecturer salaries would compare to the public school teacher salaries in those communities.
The university hasn't supported the idea in the past, said Frumkin, who has preside over past negotiations for U-M.
"The union has raised that metric in the last two rounds of bargaining, and the university hasn't found it to be a viable comparison," he said.
Negotiations will include weekly meetings over the course of the semester. Both sides hope to ratify a contract in May.
Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528.
Comments
Bonsai
Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 8:37 a.m.
Mac, you seem to have an interesting definition of the term "collusion." If several employers conspired to set wages, that would be collusion. When employees collectively seek better working conditions from their employer, it's called "negotiation." I also note that your argument shifted from "they shouldn't seek better wages in a down economy" to "unions make people lazy." I'm sure you believe both, but neither is a valid reason not to unionize or get the best deal possible. Perhaps you're referring to auto workers... I don't think anybody with any specific knowledge of UM would call its lecturers lazy.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 : 10:30 p.m.
Not bitter. Just sad that our work force could be so much more effective than it is. Unions are causing serious harm to our economy, sending jobs to other countries and rewarding poor work habits. There are individual exceptions, of course, but the system has failed. I'm glad that I don't have to deal with one in my work.
Patti Smith
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 : 9:31 p.m.
Gee thanks for judging me (and other union teachers), Mac. Bitterness isn't attractive, dude.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 : 7:48 p.m.
Unlike a union job, you have to earn tenure. Sorry to burst your bubble. Unions reward laziness and seniority. The schools are a mess because incompetent teachers can not be removed and budgets destroyed because negotiators are spending taxpayer money and can't be bothered to behave responsibly. Unions truly are only for workers without individual value.
uawisok
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 : 6:52 p.m.
mac....Professors have something even better than a union...it's called tenure!! Your low opinion of Unions or those who are members is unfortunate, sorry about your socio insecurities in the mail room....now be a good little boy and get back to work..LOL
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 : 6:10 p.m.
It should be illegal to collude to raise wages. Anyway, these aren't professors, these are lecturers. Professors don't have unions. Neither do professionals, or anyone else who wants to be taken seriously as a valued employee.
Bonsai
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 : 4:22 p.m.
Hey Mac, I'm not sure why professors *shouldn't* band together to seek the best deal they can get. They should accept below-market pay because there's a recession?
xmo
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 : 1:39 p.m.
With everyone else facing pay cuts or job loss, it is nice to see a world where reality does not matter.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 : 1:36 p.m.
I'm not sure why a union believes it can increase compensation in this economy, while there's double-digit unemployment and a long-term recession in Michigan. If you don't like your job, quit. And don't marvel at the line formed to interview as your replacement.