More than six months ahead of schedule, Eastern Michigan
University and the EMU Federation of Teachers Local 1902
(EMU-FT) have reached a tentative agreement for a three-year
extension of the current contract.
The contract was ratified by the membership of the lecturers
union Sept. 11. The Board of Regents unanimously approved
the contract at its regular meeting Sept. 22. The board
also approved the collective bargaining agreement with
the Police Officers Association of Michigan.
"Unanimous ratification by our membership shows that
this is a positive step forward for us and the University," said
Kelly Victor-Burke, president of the EMU-FT.
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Victor-Burke |
The contract with the EMU-FT had an expiration date of
April 2010, Victor said.
"President Martin invited us to the bargaining table
early and we were willing to sit down and hear them out.
We were able to address a lot of issues," said Victor-Burke.
"I cannot stress strongly enough how much I appreciate
the EMU-FT being willing to negotiate this contract early,
and how grateful I am for the excellent working relationship
that we have been able to develop throughout this process," said
Jack Kay, provost and executive vice president for EMU. "I
have enormous respect for our lecturers and feel that the
increases in benefits, overload pay, and threshold on retirement
contributions demonstrate how much EMU values the integral
role of the lecturers in our academic community."
EMU and the lecturers union, which has approximately
100 members, agreed to a three-year extension that will
provide annual raises of 1.25 percent for the 2009-2010
academic year and 2 percent in 2011 and 2012.
The new contract also provided stepped increases (to
10.5 percent) of contributions to retirement (TIAA-CREF),
increases to health-plan waivers from $1,000/$500 to $1,200/600,
and stepped increases for teaching overloads.
"We achieved a good contract with great benefits for
lecturers across the board," said Russell Jones,
former president of the EMU-FT and the chief negotiator
for the union. "The contract also benefits the University
because it annualizes our pay raises, which helps the University
in budget planning."
The lecturers union had been receiving raises every 14
months.
The police officers contract is a three-year agreement
that runs through June 30, 2012. The agreement adds wage
adjustment increases of 2 percent across-the-board in each
of the three years. It also adds a new level to the wage
schedule for officers with eight or more years of experience.
