EMU profs likely to accept new contract

By Robert Gold

Daily Staff Reporter

YPSILANTI - The faculty union at Eastern Michigan University shared its new tentative contract with its general membership yesterday, and all signs point to it being approved in two weeks.

Philip Arrington, spokesman for the American Association of University Professors, the faculty's union, said most professors at the meeting accepted the agreement with the Eastern Michigan administration.

"We hope the package was good enough," for the faculty, Arrington said. "And I think it is."

The new contract was reached after more than 30 hours of weekend negotiations between the administration and the AAUP, which represents full time faculty. A professor strike began Sept. 5 after the AAUP, which represents Eastern Michigan's 687 full-time faculty, walked away from original talks. The strike ended early Monday morning. Sides disagreed on issues including control over Internet classes, teacher work load and salary raises.

Arrington said both sides compromised, but the union was satisfied most with provisions concerning salary increases, expanded faculty control over Internet classes and a written statement that the university will not replace full time faculty with part timers "in the absence of a change in circumstances."

During the strike, the AAUP was concerned that teaching slots would eventually be filled by part time lecturers. Eastern Michigan administrators said it does not consider that part of future plans.

The administration originally offered a salary increase of 6 percent the first year and 5 percent throughout the following three years.

Arrington said the union rejected this proposal because it was partially tied to the faculty accepting one health care plan.

The final agreement states that faculty will receive nearly 20 percent salary increases throughout four years and $1,000 in the third year of the contract if they sign up for the health care plan.

The union's proposal to let faculty evaluate deans from their respective colleges was not successful.

The AAUP also failed to decrease the workload of Nursing School faculty, Arrington said. He added that the union plans on pursuing this issue further, but not with this contract.

The union's executive committee and bargaining team also unanimously approved the agreement, Arrington said.

An official contract should be completed in about one week, he said. The AAUP will vote seven days after this to formally approve the contract.

The contract must eventually be approved by the Eastern Michigan Board of Trustees.

Eastern Michigan officials were not available for comment yesterday.