Union supporters to gather in Lansing on December 11

Having gotten the go-ahead from Governor Snyder, Republicans in the Michigan House and Senate hurriedly passed so-called "right to work" bills on Thursday. The bills were introduced without committee hearings and little debate was permitted.  At one point, State Police closed the Capitol to keep out the public.  Democrat law-makers walked out in protest and filed suit to re-open the building.

The new legislation would allow workers to receive the benefits of a union-negotiated and union-enforced collective bargaining agreement without contributing to the support of the union. For this reason, unions typically refer to such measures as the "right to freeload."

In October we ratified an ambitious bargaining platform for our 2012-13 contract negotiations. We want equal pay for equal work, improvements in job security, continued relief from the rising cost of health benefits, and some other issues besides. So, what is the process by which we make gains in a new contract? You can see what happens first-hand by attending bargaining. While most unions and employers negotiate behind closed doors, the LEO bargaining team encourages you to participate in the union caucus, where you can have a direct voice in strategy and decision-making. Here are some of the features of bargaining that you might see.

Is the vast difference between what lecturers are paid and professors are paid for teaching the same courses justified by a similar difference in the quality of teaching?  If not, why does the pay gap exist? What can and should be done to close it? 

These are among the questions probed in a new report entitled Teaching Equality: What the Principle of Equal Pay for Equal Work Means for Lecturer Pay at the University of Michigan. 

 The report, authored by Ian Robinson of the UM Department of Sociology and the Residential College, demonstrates that the "current gap in pay for the teaching component of faculty work is very large" and argues that the gap represents a violation of the principle of equal pay for equal work. The report calls for a new, equitable model of faculty compensation for teaching that would enhance the educational mission of the university without requiring an increase in student tuition. 

Union solidarity and determination on display at Annual Convention 

LEO members filled the Anderson Room in the Michigan Union on Saturday, October 27, 2012, pledging support for their bargaining team in the upcoming contract negotiations and Proposition 2 in the November 6th elections.  

On Monday, October 22, the Student Government at UM Dearborn held a student forum with the candidates running for University of Michigan Regents. Attorney Mark Bernstein and physician, Dr. Shauna Ryder Diggs, introduced themselves to the 25 or so students in attendance, and fielded several questions from the audience.

Issues raised by the students included extending hours at the Mardigian Library, preferential access given to Ann Arbor student government in comparison to the student governments at Flint and Dearborn, and rising tuition costs.