UPDATED AT 7:12 am on 9/1/22
Eastern Michigan University professors said Wednesday that they’ll continue working after a deadline to negotiate a new contract expires at midnight, but their union said a strike is still on the table if contract talks break down.
Classes began at EMU this week. The American Association of University Professors at EMU, the union representing around 500 faculty members, said the major sticking points are compensation and health care premiums. The union rejected the administration’s latest offer this week.
The union said it’s made some concessions to administration positions in hopes of reaching an agreement, particularly when it comes to health care costs. But it said EMU needs to compensate for that with adequate wage increases and health care salary supplements. “We will not accept any proposal which will cut any members pay during this time of rampant inflation,” the union wrote.
Union leaders also accused EMU of stonewalling and “trying to rush crucial decisions based on incomplete information.”
“Rushed decisions are not good for our students, for EMU or for the outstanding faculty who have delivered quality education despite the tremendous challenges we have faced during the past two and half years,” EMU language and literature professor and EMU-AAUP bargaining chair Matt Kirkpatrick said in a statement.
“Our negotiating team will stay at the table, and our members will stay in our classrooms – for now. We reserve the right to go back to our members for a strike authorization vote if and when such a step is necessary,” Kirkpatrick said.
In a statement issued late last night, Eastern Michigan strongly denied their negotiating team is slowing the bargaining process. Officials say EMU is as determined as the faculty union to reach an agreement.
