Eastern Michigan University and its faculty union reached a tentative agreement Tuesday to give faculty a pay raise of 3 percent in two years.
The agreement includes a two-year contract, and the union will have a ratification vote Sept. 10 that will also have to be approved by the Board of Regents. If approved, the contract would give the faculty a pay raise of 1 percent in the first year and a 2 percent increase in the second.
An increase in the amount of money the faculty pays for health insurance was also included. A $1000 flat raise in January 2011 will be given to help cover the rising costs of their health insurance. The health premiums are definitive in each year of the contract.
The agreement also said there will be no increase in dental coverage, and it will stay the same at $1000. Vision coverage will stay the same at one exam every 24 months, but the union said EMU administration has promised to look into a new vision carrier.
According to the faculty union, the flat raise will ensure no faculty member takes a pay cut and new faculty for fall 2010 will also receive it.
The union said some things verbally agreed upon were not included in the final proposal from the administration. According to the union, a verbal agreement was made regarding a $5,000 raise for full professors who have been in rank for 10 years and met the Department Evaluation Document standards. In the tentative agreement, the full professor salary adjustment was gone.
Howard Bunsis, EMU-AAUP treasurer and spokesperson, said the faculty wasn’t exactly thrilled with the contract but relieved to reach an agreement.
“In general, they were satisfied, but we won’t know for sure until we have our ratification vote,” he said. “We are expecting them to vote in favor of it.”
“We received a modest raise, but we will pay a significant … significant out of pocket cost for health insurance,” Bunsis said.
In terms of health costs, it will cost a family about $2,950 a year in premiums, which is up from the current level of $1,139.
A few determining factors played into the union’s decision to settle for the contract.
“We believe that in this current economy, this was the best way that we could get a modest increase,” he said. “We want to be in the classrooms Sept. 8 with our students.”
Jack Kay, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said when determining contracts it is very hard to make sure both sides get exactly what they want, but he feels this is a good agreement.
“At this point, both teams were satisfied,” he said. “I believe it is a fair agreement. It allows us to deal with the uncertainty of the next couple of years.”
Bunsis said he has dealt with a number of contract negotiations and strikes before, but according to him, the administration was hard to deal with this time around.
“This administration is difficult,” he said. “I do not believe they are committed to the right things and they waste resources. Until that stops, things will not change.”
Kay said the university has done a good job of maintaining finances and resources.
“The university does an effective job of managing money,” he said. “We’ve had the lowest tuition increase of any school in the state of Michigan. I think the university has been fiscally responsible. You have to look at the overall picture. We have put a lot of money into education here at Eastern Michigan University.”
