The AAUP and administration’s negotiating teams (ANT) met on September 21. The AAUP had worked on two counter-proposals and submitted them to the ANT prior to the meeting. The ANT did not bring any counter-proposals to the table so the the session was devoted to discussion of these two important proposals:
- Grievance — We were pleased to reach tentative agreement on a process by which to resolve contract disputes. The “final” article offers multiple opportunities for grievances to be resolved within our own institution, and informal and formal stages before going to arbitration. While we wanted to make sure the process was not drawn-out, we also worked to ensure that faculty have time enough between the time a grievance has occurred and the time to file a complaint in order to gather information, witnesses, and advice.
- Workload — As we’ve mentioned in several previous recaps, the faculty ranked Workload as their most pressing concern when we surveyed them last Fall, and so this is the proposal that has received the most attention by the negotiating team. The AAUP has submitted multiple proposals and counter-proposals since we first introduced this article in early April. At this session, the ANT agreed with all parts of the current proposal save one: how to allot credit for teaching experiences such as performance studies, science labs, student-teaching observations, practica, etc. When we first inquired about these sorts of work in December, we were told by the administration that “this information is not kept centrally” and that we would need to contact the individual departments. Our Workload Research team contacted every department and confirmed that the administration and departments have evolved a surprising number and variety of ways to address the problem. Unfortunately, that means some faculty get paid for work that other faculty are forced to do without compensation (or with unequal compensation). The AAUP has offered several suggestions to account for such work with greater transparency and consistency. The ANT has not, to date, offered any suggestions of their own–though they promised to do so soon so we can complete our work on the Workload article.
Our next bargaining session is scheduled for October 5.
Below is a list of the proposals that have been resolved and those that are still on the table:
|
Proposal/Topic |
| X Shared Governance Refused (ANT) |
| X No Strike or Lockout Refused (AAUP) |
| √ Recognition Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Union Rights Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Non-Discrimination Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Savings Clause Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Safety Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Faculty Rights Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Personnel Files Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Academic Freedom Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Appointments & Rank Tentative Agreement Signed |
| √ Grievance Tentative Agreement Signed |
| Discipline ONGOING |
| Professional Development Funds & Leaves ONGOING |
| Promotion, Tenure & Evaluation and Post-Tenure Review ONGOING |
| Retrenchment ONGOING |
| Salary ONGOING |
| Workload ONGOING |
| Agency Fee ONGOING |
| Management Rights ONGOING |
| Benefits ONGOING |
| Intellectual Property ONGOING |
| Definitions ONGOING |
