2025 LEO Convention Recap
Group photo of Lecturers, Librarians, Archivists, and Curators from all three University of Michigan campuses.
On Saturday November 8 at LEO’s 2025 Annual Convention, lecturers, librarians, archivists, and curators played solidarity bingo, ate delicious food, had stimulating conversations, passed a budget & some constitutional amendments, and some folks even took home door prizes! Thanks so much to the Social Committee and LEO staff for planning, setup, and cleanup, and making sure the day went smoothly!
A highlight of the Convention was unveiling the Lecturers’ strategic plan to the membership, and outlining the top seven priorities over the next two years:
Increasing equity across all three campuses
Having a stronger voice in campus politics
Building relationships with other unions and the campus community
Engaging in political action at the state and campus level
Increasing member education
Increasing membership density
Strengthening the member to activist pipeline
Jenn Miller, Jamie Wraight, Andy Thompson, Jimmy Brancho, Ryan McCarty, Ian Robinson, and Cindy Giffen described the ways they hope to achieve these priorities. You can fill out the committees interest form to find out more about supporting the work.
Mark MacEachern & Justin Joque also talked about GLAM’s strategic planning process, happening now.
The Invest in MI Kids campaign is just one of the ways that LEO is engaging in political action. For this really important campaign to be successful, more volunteers need to be collecting signatures. If you are interested, please complete this form and an organizer will reach out to you!
Nathan Sadowsky gave an update on USU’s bargaining campaign. Members are encouraged to continue to show up in solidarity with USU as they fight for their first contract! Nick Geiser and Bethany Beekly gave an update about UM-PRO, the newly recognized union of post-docs at UM. They are currently awaiting the results of an arbitration hearing and hope to begin bargaining their first contract early in 2026.
Nathan Sadowsky gives updates about University Staff United’s contract negotiations.
Nick Geiser and Bethany Beekly talk about UM-PRO the newly formed union for postdoc researchers
Small group discussions were held to grapple with how parity is defined (individually and as a collective) and what needs to be done in the next few years to increase equity and build power going into bargaining, and who the allies and decision-makers are. Several attendees volunteered to be on the newly formed Tri-Campus Equity Committee (sign up to join).
The Constitutional Amendments Committee and GLAM Campus Council delivered a series of amendments to the membership that bring our constitution in line with current practice, align the constitution with some newly adopted policies, and bring LEO officer compensation in line with work expectations. All amendments passed!
Thanks to Mark Radosevich, a budget for 2026 was passed that takes into account our move to a new office, reduced bargaining expenses, and shifts in staffing. LEO will move to its new office at 150 S. Fifth Ave, Suite 301 in Ann Arbor on December 4, and will have an open house on Thursday, January 29. Mark your calendars!
In addition to all those mentioned above, many thanks to Meredith Kahn, Emily Newberry, John Buckley, and Aric Knuth for assistance with planning and execution of the convention, along with our invaluable LEO staff: Sheryl Edwards, Brianna Foraker, Julia Goode, Sarah Keeler, and Anthony Robinson.