Just days after NMU faculty ratified the latest contract proposal, the NMU Board of Trustees voted unanimously to support the agreement. “It doesn’t mean everyone is completely happy, but the ratification of this contract means our compensation levels will return to where we were before we made concessions to help the university get through the uncertainty of a pandemic,” said NMU-AAUP Chief Negotiator Lesley Putman.

Negotiations started in March of 2021 and became more contentious as the faculty continued to work without a contract that expired on July 1. The faculty walked out on president Fritz Erickson during the Fall Convocation on August 18. Two weeks later, they passed a strike authorization vote, and later voted down a contract proposal negotiated during mediation. In all, faculty would work 135 days without a contract before the Board of Trustees approved the new collective bargaining agreement during a special session on November 12.

In all, faculty would work 135 days without a contract before the Board of Trustees approved the new collective bargaining agreement during a special session on November 12.

Putman feels a turning point in the negotiations may have occurred on October 26, when students, without any prompting from faculty, organized a march from the dorms to the Northern Center. “About 250 students marched in shouting ‘We stand with them.’ This not only lifted our spirits, I think it opened some eyes, and we will be forever grateful for their support,” said Putman.

In addition to the five-year contract, the union also recovered back pay for newly promoted faculty who were caught in between contracts. Putman says that she and her colleagues look forward to returning their full focus on teaching, scholarship and advising students.