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.

We saw Article XII: Promotion of Librarians, Archivists and Curators, move back and forth across the table thrice, and we got it across the finish line to a Tentative Agreement! We’ve shortened the window for promotion review eligibility to 3 years at the Assistant rank, 4 years and the Associate Rank, and 5 years at the Senior Associate rank. This is a considerable gain for our early career members, and we think that coupled with clarification about dates and timelines, it will be a major improvement for our bargaining unit. We also asked some questions at the table about the Salary counter that we received from the Employer last week, namely about the new language the Employer added permitting them to withhold annual increases for performance reasons including not meeting expectations outlined in an Annual Review. Next week is an exciting one, as we’ll be holding our final in-person bargaining session, this time at Pierpont Commons on Ann Arbor’s north campus on Wednesday, April 16th. Click through to read all the details.

At our April 2nd bargaining session, we were once again bargaining in-person, this time at the Dearborn campus. It was wonderful to have so many of our allies in the room with us despite the rainy weather, including a fantastic lineup of faculty members offering glowing testimony about the importance and value of LACs. In our afternoon members-only bargaining session, we received several counters from the Employer, most notably (surprise!) counters on Salary and Professional Development. Admin presented a disappointing first sally on Salary, with zero increases to minimum salaries and a paltry 1.5% annual increase each year. Click through to read all the details.

Our March 26th bargaining session was a full and busy day back on Zoom. In the morning we presented our counter on Article XII: Promotion. Our goal was to continue to add clarity to the process and to reduce the minimum number of years in rank. Our conversations at the table were productive, and both sides expressed a sincere desire to reach agreement on this article given its importance to both members and management. While we haven’t reached the finish line yet, we are getting closer. Management presented counters on Article XI: Appointments, as well as on our new (and thus unnumbered) articles on Artificial Intelligence and Security and Surveillance. Next week, we’ll be bargaining in-person once again, but this time on the Dearborn campus! Click through to read all the details.

At our March 19 bargaining session, we were in-person on the Flint campus, and also welcomed UM community members to join us for a portion of the day for open bargaining. It was excellent to see so many LEO-GLAM members and allies packing the room! Click through to read all the details.

At our March 12 bargaining session, we presented our very first “package” which bundles multiple articles in a “take it or leave it” approach that gives us some leverage to make deals. This package included a counter on Article XI: Appointments and Annual Reviews, together with MOU 5 and Article I: Recognition, which both seek to add Research Museum Collection Managers to our bargaining unit as reclassified LACs. We also received counters from management on Article XII: Promotion of LACs and Article B: Artificial Intelligence. Click through to read all the details. 

Next week, on Wednesday, March 19th, we’ll have our first IN-PERSON bargaining session on the Flint campus, which includes an open community bargaining session that other members of the UM community (including students, faculty and staff) can attend.