Have you seen the Oxford Free Press’s coverage of last week’s FAM+student May Day action? Solidarity with students works! Watch for more FAM+student solidarity this weekend at graduation! More details below.
Today at FAM-T bargaining, management failed to move closer to our position on financials, including Compensation, Leaves, and Benefits. While FAM is committed to making progress toward closing this contract, management appears more interested in hatching schemes to arrogate power to themselves and to the Board of Trustees.
On Compensation, management withdrew their proposed annual increases for 2027-forward and instead is asking us to agree that we will accept whatever the Board of Trustees happens to give non-bargaining-unit employees in those years. The university offered an average of 1.8% salary increases in the 10 years before we won our union, including multiple years of zero increase. We will not go back to those years of begging scraps from the table while the university is flush with cash and wasting millions on outside consultants, lawyers, and unwanted arenas.
On Benefits, management proposed increasing their ability to make unilateral changes and limiting our ability to hold them accountable through the grievance procedure.
Additionally, management rejected our proposed language strengthening parental leave and once again rejected our Memorandum of Understanding simply asking them to commit to current practice in protecting faculty and staff in encounters with ICE agents. Their refusal to agree to this language does not inspire confidence in their willingness to protect our international colleagues.
For our part, FAM presented reasonable proposals on Artificial Intelligence, Discipline & Discharge, and Labor-Management Meetings. We trimmed down our AI proposal so that it simply holds management to 1) not replacing bargaining unit work with AI; 2) not evaluating faculty using AI; and 3) providing notice to FAM when they decide to use AI in a way that impacts members. We hope they will see that these are reasonable demands to commit to.
FAM is committed to continuing to fight for our members’ top priorities, especially on economics. This university has the money to spend on faculty and librarians —but they want to spend it on sports and outside corporations instead of the academic mission.
We need YOU to help us move management at the table:
- FAM will be at graduation this weekend! We will attend divisional ceremonies and pass out FAM FANS (for fans of FAM!) 🪭 and stickers to celebrate our graduates and decorate their caps and gowns! 🎓
- Come to the Board of Trustees meeting at 9am on Friday, May 15 at Marcum Conference Center to hear FAM faculty, librarians, and student allies demand a Fair Contract Now!
- Come to our upcoming bargaining sessions to show management you support a Fair Contract Now:
- FAM-T (faculty): May 18, 22; June 1, 3, 15, 22
- FAM-L (librarians): May 13, 19, 27; June 17, 24 (additional June dates to be discussed)
We’ll see you at graduation events this weekend! Check out this student’s FAM-fabulous grad cap! 🎓
We bargain again on Wednesday. Write info@famiami.org with questions or to get involved!
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