LEOunion.org

 The LEO and administration bargaining teams met for a full day on Wednesday, June 30, at the School of Social Work in Ann Arbor,exchanging comprehensive package proposals. The sides have tentatively agreed on nearly all non-financial issues. New areas of tentative agreement identified in the June 30 proposals were a Collegiate Lecturer program on each campus to honor outstanding lecturers and a letter of agreement on issues relating to the employment of Lecturers on various types of visas. However, some signifcant areas of disagreement remain. These include salary, benefits, contract end date, and dismissal of the union's Vice President. 

SALARY has come down to three issues. First, there is the question of how annual raises will be determined for lecturers on the Ann Arbor campus. The administration now proposes giving Ann Arbor lecturers the average of the annual raises for the Dearborn and Flint lecturers. Their argument is that while Dearborn and Flint have campus-wide salary programs announced by the Provost of each campus, Ann Arbor does not have a corresponding campus-wide program. Historically, over the lifespan of LEO, such an annual raise plan would have given Ann Arbor lecturers slightly higher raises than they in fact received. But LEO is skeptical that this trend will continue, and sees no valid principle for so linking the raises of Lecturers on the three campuses when the campus budgets are otherwise separate. The union proposes annual raises for Ann Arbor lecturers that equal the total annual percent increase for tenured and tenure-track faculty of the College and LS&A, minus a pre-determined percent to account for promotion increases. Second, there is question of equity raises for lecturers, which LEO believes are needed to correct decades of systematic under-compensation of members of the bargaining unit. While the union scaled down its demands for equity raises, in the spirit of reaching an agreement, the administration has not budged from its offer of -- nothing. Third, there is the question of raises to the minimum salaries for lecturers. Once again, LEO's proposals have shown a willingness to reach a compromise on minimum salaries that the administrations proposals have not. In effect, the administrations view is that it has little difficulty hiring or retaining lecturers at the current salary levels (which start as low as $25,000 a year), and therefore sees no reason for increases beyond those that also go to the tenured faculty.

BENEFITS bargaining on June 30 focused on the compensation package for part-time lecturers. LEO has already accepted the new plan for full-time lecturers, but not for those lecturers with appointments of 50-79%, who face drastically disproportionate rate increases under the UM's new benefits plan. The administration offered partial (60%) and temporary (two year) compensation to this group; the union, having compromised on salary increases, stuck with its proposal for complete compensation through the life of the contract.

CONTRACT END-DATE is an issue that LEO views as linked to benefits compensation. In its package proposal, the union accepted the administration's proposed end date of April 20, 2013, but only contingent on the benefits compensation package for part-timers ending on that same date.

The DISMISSAL of the LEO vice president by the Ann Arbor English Department has opened a divide between the sides. LEO regards the treatment of Dr. Herold as unwarranted and unfair on an individual basis, and also as an attack on the union itself. Therefore, in its proposals, the union has included a memorandum of understanding demanding the reinstatement of Dr. Herold. At the table on June 30, the administration declined again to bargain the matter, noting that it was the subject of an on-going grievance process. Shortly after the conclusion of bargaining, LEO received the university's official grievance response, which rejected the union's claims and maintained the department's dismissal decision.

Negotiations will enter a seventh month with the next session on July 6.