EMU Board of Regents approves inaugural agreement for part-time lecturers
by Pamela Young, Published September 20, 2011
YPSILANTI: The Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents has approved the inaugural collective bargaining agreement between Eastern Michigan and the Eastern Michigan University Federation of Teachers Part-time Lecturers Unit. The vote came at the regents' regular meeting Sept. 20.
Union members unanimously voted Sept. 14-15 to ratify the agreement, which is effective fall 2011 through July 1, 2013.
The agreement covers approximately 800 instructional staff, field instructors and library staff teaching at least one credit hour or the equivalent non-credit instructional workload. The unit does not include faculty members represented by the EMU-American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and lecturers in the full-time lecturers union, the EMU Federation of Teachers Local 1902 (EMU-FT).
The agreement covers a broad range of operational and governance considerations as well as compensation and benefits.
These include:
- An official pay scale with minimum per-credit (or equivalent) pay rates
- Longevity payments beginning in the fall 2011 semester to employees based on the number of years of employment during the past four years
- An evaluation process which includes an initial evaluation to be completed by the second semester of employment
- Employees employed 40 percent of the time or more will be eligible for a tuition waiver program. The program provides for a waiver of 50 percent of the cost of tuition for up to six semester hours of credit per semester at the University.
- A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account will be available to employees with a 40 percent or more appointment.
In other action, the Board approved the new collective bargaining agreement between Eastern Michigan and the Eastern Michigan University Chapter of the Police Officers Labor Council - Sergeants Unit. The union ratified the agreement, which covers four employees, on June 30, 2011.
Significant provisions include:
- A one-year extension of the current agreement to June 30, 2013;
- A delay of a scheduled 3.0 percent across-the-board increase from July 1, 2011 to January 1, 2012;
- An across-the-board freeze on increases for July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012; and
- Maintaining the existing health care plan through June 30, 2013.
The Board also approved a new collective bargaining agreement between the University and AFSCME Local Union 3866, affiliated with AFSCME Council 25 (FM Unit). The union ratified the contract July 13, 2011. It affects approximately 200 employees who are food service and maintenance workers. The three-year agreement is effective July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2014.
Provisions include:
- Adoption of the University's health care plan effective January 1, 2012. The plan, currently in place for most EMU employees, includes increases in deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and employee premium sharing.
- Each employee will also receive a $1,250 lump sum increase to their base salary to help offset the increased health care costs.
- Across-the-board increases will be frozen for July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2012. A 1-percent increase will occur July 1, 2013.
