Negotiators at the table with FAM crowd behind them at Voice of America campus ahead of bargaining session

First Day of Bargaining!

Today, our faculty-librarian negotiating team sat at a long table across from two outside lawyers, a couple of lawyers from the Miami General Counsel office, and three deans from 10am till almost 7pm on the VoA campus. We had a collegial discussion and reached agreement on several items. Much remains to discuss!

We can tell you more at the inaugural FAM Membership Meeting on Friday, September 8, 12-1pm — enjoy pizza with your bargaining update! RSVP here.

Highlights

  • Successfully decided on ground rules to FAM’s liking: all bargaining unit members are welcome to observe bargaining sessions in person or on Zoom!
  • Introduced our MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on extending the 2% raises (already budgeted for by the university) to unit faculty and librarians as well as other faculty and staff
  • Introduced proposal for the librarian and faculty units to bargain together for the same agreement, which would be more efficient and a significant cost savings for the university at what they are saying is a challenging time for spending (read Ginny Boehme’s passionate and convincing speech)
Across all divisions, the messaging from university administration is "we have to tighten our belts' we can't hire new lines; we don't have money." But somehow we have money for two different law firms to do largely the same work?
  • Formalized agreement that professional development funds can continue as normal in the various departments, that counteroffers for retaining great faculty can continue, and that no one should face impediments to obtaining outside grants
  • Made progress on restarting the work of suspended shared governance committees. The university has agreed to resume some (e.g., Center for Teaching Excellence, Awards & Recognition, Faculty Research), but the rest need to resume as well. If the university had come to FAM before, we would not need to clear up unwarranted hold-ups like this, which are in no way created by the union. (Bargaining delays in combination with red tape are a common tactic advised by lawyers to try to frustrate employees and reduce union support.)

Do join colleagues for the Membership Meeting, where members will vote on the Bargaining Platform and we can share more about the first session!


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2 responses to “First Day of Bargaining!”

  1. Deborah Lyons Avatar
    Deborah Lyons

    My chair spoke in detail at our first meeting about having to consult university council about even the most trivial matters, such as finding additional funding for attending an international conference. Is there a way to put an end to this nonsense? Perhaps an MoU that all usual and customary support for research should continue as always? Perhaps put a dollar limit, e.g. anything under 1K does not require a legal consultation?

  2. Cathy Wagner Avatar

    Red tape getting in the way of regular university business is one of the first things FAM is trying to address at the table. The university could have come to FAM immediately to clear up unwarranted hold-ups like this, which are in no way created by the union. Bargaining delays in combination with red tape are a common tactic advised by lawyers to try to frustrate employees and reduce union support.

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