Tuesday, September 12th, marked our second bargaining session. Our negotiating team made progress in reinstituting suspended shared governance committees and more (see “On the plus side” below), but the team did encounter several frustrations. Miami’s outside lawyers
1) Continued to stonewall on our MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) asking for 2% raises to be extended to faculty in the bargaining unit. These are raises that you deserve, and the university has already budgeted for them.
2) Flatly declined to combine negotiations across tenure-line/TCPL and librarian units. While it’s calling for large cuts to the academic mission, the university budgeted at least $1.5 million dollars for the year’s legal fees, contracting with not one, but two expensive outside law firms to negotiate near-identical contracts. FAM faculty and librarians are one union and will continue to work together because it’s in our mutual best interest to stand together—and because it is the right thing to do.
3) Are refusing to reactivate several important shared governance committees. Research done by the Faculty Welfare and Benefits committees supplies invaluable information for both the administration and for Miami employees, and these committees are advisory: they do not make final decisions, so in the union’s view, they do not threaten “status quo.” We have not heard of any other university that shuts down shared governance committees during bargaining.
The suspension of the All-Faculty Committee for the Evaluation of Administrators (which former Provost Osborne also tried to dismantle) is particularly troubling. AFCEA’s work has nothing to do with “status quo” issues. If Miami leadership choose to suspend this important vehicle for faculty and librarian feedback on administrators, they should find another reason besides negotiations.
To move the needle on these issues and more, FAM needs you. Build FAM’s leverage for bargaining by becoming a member, and pitch in alongside colleagues working on bargaining research and outreach!
On the plus side…
FAM’s co-lead negotiator Sam Morris finally had a chance to deliver his moving opening statement — read the whole thing! Sam’s life and work at Miami exemplify FAM’s commitment to building a flourishing, equitable academic environment where students and faculty (including librarians) can thrive.
FAM’s negotiating team also
- Signed the Status Quo MOU introduced in the first session that resumes six committees, effective today: Center for Teaching Excellence, Awards & Recognition, Faculty Research, IACUC, IRB, and Biosafety.
- Agreed on what would constitute non-economic and economic topics with the understanding that both parties would turn first to non-economic topics.
- Introduced a crucial proposal to protect and improve the Academic Freedom of faculty members in our bargaining unit.
The University introduced five new proposals, which our team is hard at work to review before the next bargaining session.
Need more? Here’s a Proposal Status Tracker (scroll down) with information on the proposals from both sides and where they stand.
The next faculty bargaining session will take place on Tuesday, September 26th. We will let everyone know the location and start time as we come closer to the date. If you want the latest updates on bargaining as soon as we hear them, please follow FAM on social media!
Note: the original version of this post, posted the day of bargaining, was edited on Tuesday, September 20 to reflect further insights gathered from the negotiating team.
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