[lbo-talk] seems 99% sure

[Alan Rudy]

Basically, as I understand it (utterly new to this and given the union's
agreement not to negotiate in public), we're a campus with a serious surplus
(and a ridiculous new commitment to a new med school, with the associated
raft of overpaid folks to set it up), a faculty that makes 13% less than the
national average for similar institutions, and a growing student body and
the admin still wants zero raises for the next three years, a dramatic
increase in health care contributions, to chop summer teaching payments in
half (which, since chairs are paid in the summer as if they were teaching
classes, will lead to many chairs simply resigning and only scary careerists
with administrative goals willing to take the spot), to shift chairs from
faculty in the union to administrators not eligible, and to decrease campus
contributions to retirement.  There's also been an utter reversal of every
President for years' assertion that campuses and faculty are a special
varieties of state institutions and employees such that legislation limiting
domestic partner benefits, various hiring preferences etc., do not apply to
a position which argues universities and faculty are the same as all other
state employees.  I don't think this covers it but it gives you a flavor…
and they've not come off of one of these positions for five months.  The
whole package the union asked for comes to 1/2 of 1% of the total university
budget.
It is not clear if this all comes from the Uni Pres, the Board of Trustees,
the Governor, the tenor of the times or all of 'em…
A

On Sun, Aug 21, 2011 at 5:19 PM, Jeffrey Fisher <jeff.jfisher at gmail.com>wrote:


> What they said.
>
> Strategically, it sounds like they're trying to force the FA into the job
> action and betting that opinion will go their way. What are the sticking
> points?
>
>
>
> On Sun, Aug 21, 2011 at 2:16 PM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > All the best. Let us know what if anything we can do to support you.
> >
> > JOanna
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Alan Rudy" <alan.rudy at gmail.com>
> > To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> > Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 8:10:08 AM
> > Subject: [lbo-talk] seems 99% sure
> >
> > that the Central Michigan University Faculty Association will be engaging
> > in
> > a job action starting Monday.
> > The FA, I'm told the oldest faculty union in the country, hasn't had a
> > contract for five months, the
> > administration hasn't moved an inch since negotiations began, "fact
> > finding"
> > has gotten negotiations
> > nowhere and the administration negotiated in public - explicitly against
> > the
> > agreed upon rules - and so,
> > on the first day of teaching of my first semester at CMU as what they
> call
> > regular faculty, we're almost
> > assuredly going to begin picketing.
> > A
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
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>

-- 
*********************************************************
Alan P. Rudy
Assistant Professor
Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
Central Michigan University
124 Anspach Hall
Mt Pleasant, MI 48858
517-881-6319