Labor Day negotiation update and chapter meeting Friday, Sept. 5

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Please plan to attend a special chapter meeting this Friday, September 5, at 1:30pm, to discuss negotiations. We will meet in rooms 105-107 of the Bernhard Center.

As most of you know, the administration presented their compensation proposal last week:

  • Across-the-board salary increases of 1.5, 1.5, and 1.75 percent over the next three years.
  • Substantial increases to faculty healthcare premiums.
  • Reduction in the employer contribution to retirement from 11 percent to 9 percent without a 3 percent faculty contribution.

In other words, they are asking us to accept a substantial pay cut.

And when the teams returned to the table this morning for a special Labor Day session (accompanied by a large contingent of faculty, students, alumni, retirees, and staff), the administration brought a new healthcare proposal that would increase our costs even more significantly than their initial proposal. They threatened to impose this new plan if our team does not agree to the reduction and eventual elimination of employer-supported retiree healthcare.

The message from the administration is clear:

They intend to cut our overall compensation in the 2014-17 contract.

The subtext is just as clear: They have little respect for what the faculty contributes to Western Michigan University.

We cannot not allow their plans for a pay cut to go forward. And we must insist that the faculty of this university be respected. But the team can’t do it without your support.

There are several opportunities this week to show your support for our team and for what the faculty means to the university:

  • Annual BBQ on Tuesday at Montague House, 5-7 p.m.
  • Special chapter meeting on Friday at 1:30 p.m. in rooms 105-107 of the Bernhard Center.

Please also be on the alert for additional calls to action this week. Email can be slow and unreliable, so please follow the WMU-AAUP on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the blog. In other words, stay connected. Talk to your colleagues.

We have to be ready to act quickly.

#StrongerTogether              #GoWMUAAUP

labor_day1WMU-AAUP Labor Day Rally, September 1, 2014
Photo by Allison Hart-Young