Our WMU-AAUP bargaining team has been focused these past few weeks on the critical issues of workload and overall compensation, including salary and health care. While the work is arduous and movement on these contentious issues can be slow at times, our team is slowly but steadily making progress toward securing a strong contract for the faculty.
We will have more to report on these issues in the next few weeks, but here is a quick update on what’s been happening at the bargaining table:
Article 42: Work of the Unit.
The teams are close to a tentative agreement on Article 42, including new language that reinforces institutional support for faculty working with students with documented disabilities. The need for support has become a significant issue for faculty and students, and our team has worked hard to address it in the contract. They have also negotiated successfully to protect current contract language on workload maximums, which are preserved in the tentative agreement.
Articles 32 and 33: Economic Compensation and Health Care Benefits.
The two teams have presented their initial proposals for economic compensation and health care benefits. Given the complexity of these articles – perhaps especially health care, in light of recent and ongoing congressional activity – the teams remain far apart on both. However, our team is continuing their research into these issues and building a strong case at the table. Since these articles were introduced several weeks ago, our team has been standing strong and working determinedly to reach agreement on fair economic compensation and contain healthcare costs for faculty, and they have no intention of backing down.
WMU-AAUP Blog 