It was a strong show of solidarity carrying the message that continued wage freezes are intolerable. At 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, Northern Michigan University faculty gathered to bring attention to the present state of negotiations. The contingent of well over one hundred NMU faculty and members from other unions chanted “Frozen Pay is Not O.K.” as they marched from Jamrich Hall to the Cohodas Building. The rally continued with several trips around Cohodas and Speeches featuring Chief Negotiator Lesley Putman, Contract Officer Gabe Logan, and Upper Peninsula Regional Labor Federation Representative Cajsa Maki.
In recent bargaining negotiations, the faculty team has proposed creative and reasonable solutions to the compensation problem, yet the administration’s negotiating team has made only one offer in over a month calling for a pay freeze during the next two years. In a truly unfortunate move, the administrative team said they would not continue talking about the financial aspects of the contract until after the spring Board of Trustees meeting. This is was perceived by the AAUP Executive Committee as a strategic move to stall negotiations until summer when students and many faculty members are away from campus.
Members of the Board of Trustees and the administration have consistently sung our praises this past year. Unfortunately, words only go so far. Bold changes are needed to address the uncompetitive compensation shown in the following graphic.
Compared to the eleven Michigan public universities that report salary data to the AAUP-NMU faculty are next to last in terms of total compensation and nearly 10% below the median. While the Board of Trustees may congratulate the administration for keeping expenditures low, this rate of pay will erode the quality of instruction at this institution.
The administrative negotiating team needs to return to the table with a bold compensation proposal aimed at fixing this trend. There are numerous financial indicators suggesting now is the time! The expected executive order reducing state appropriations for last year ended up not being as severe as anticipated. Recent university investment returns have been higher than expected. There have been higher than anticipated energy savings from facility closures. Supplies, materials, and services expenditures due to facility closures and remote operations have resulted in savings. There are approximately $5 million in unspent discretionary CARES Act funds, $8.6 million in anticipated discretionary American Rescue Plan Act funds, over $4 million in healthcare savings the past 2 years, and over $3 million in early retirement buyout savings in 2 years. Early admissions and enrollment data also point to a rebound in fall 2021.
The NMU-AAUP feels future uncertainty is not an acceptable reason for failing to address the compensation inequity problems. Failure to do so puts NMU at a competitive disadvantage when trying to attract and retain the best talent for our students.