At our May 5th bargaining session, we concluded our negotiations for this contract in a rousing chorus of cowbells–we have reached a full Tentative Agreement! We were able to negotiate additional $1,500 lump sum payments in years one and two of the contract on top of the 3% annual increases in each of the four years of the agreement. We were only able to compel the Employer to return to the table with those lump sums thanks to the support of our membership. We will now begin the process of ratification, including sending the entire Tentative Agreement to membership for a vote. Details about the TA and ratification will be shared with members at our upcoming General Membership Meeting on Thursday, May 8th at Noon. With utmost thanks to the Bargaining Committee and Bargaining Team for their work at the table, as well as to the Organizing Committee for their work in the field, we sign off on our final recap for the second LEO-GLAM contract. Onward to ratification!

At our April 21st bargaining session, we entered the final phase of negotiations, with our two major articles left to be settled: salary and term of agreement. We have some good news to share–we were able to reach agreement that they would completely strike this new language about the Employer withholding annual increases in exchange for agreeing to a 4-year term. And, while we continue to make movement that brings us much closer together, we still have more work to do. We anticipate that because we are very close, WE WILL HOLD ADDITIONAL BARGAINING SESSIONS THIS WEEK, and that the schedule may be a bit unpredictable. Click through to read all the details.

At our April 16th bargaining session, we held our final in-person bargaining session, this time at Pierpont Commons on the Ann Arbor campus, where we were joined by a healthy contingent of both LEO-GLAM members and community allies filling the seats of the bargaining room gallery. We also held a spirited lunchtime rally on The Grove featuring a “Price is Right” game show, ally speeches, and even an old union tune sung by the ACLC Labor Choir. It was an exciting day, and we reached several important TA’s representing some big wins, but we also have some big decisions to make and will be holding a General Membership Meeting TOMORROW (Thursday, April 17th) at NOON to talk about next steps. Click through to read all the details.