STRIKE! Eastern Michigan University. Insurance Hike=Pay Cut

Eastern Michigan University's Union includes librarians. Randal Baier is the Library Steward.

The AAUP has said the university's offer of a 2-percent salary increase and a 3-percent increase in employee contributions to health care costs equates to a pay cut.Howard Bunsis, president of the chapter stated “There is no way that we can accept this,” as the chapter remained in negotiations with the institution throughout the Labor Day weekend.

EMU-AAUP Response to Fallon and Loppnow

Dr. Michael W. Homel, Chief Negotiator
Eastern Michigan University AAUP
Hand-delivered to Hartmut Hoft on September 4, 2006

In summary, your team:

1. On August 11th canceled the negotiations scheduled for August 14th, and subsequently refused to schedule additional meetings that we requested in the last two weeks of August.
2. On August 30th refused the mediator’s request for a joint meeting between the two teams.
3. On August 31st failed to offer new proposals on healthcare and compensation, despite AAUP’s offer to extend the contract if adequate progress could be made on negotiations before the expiration of the contract.
4. On September 3rd had not moved from their healthcare offer of June 9th and compensation offer of August 21st. On September 4th we are awaiting the University’s first counter-offers on compensation and healthcare, less than 30 hours before the University threatens to leave negotiations.

In your letter, you threaten to break off contract talks at 10 p.m. on September 5, 2006, if the faculty strike is not called off by then. As with the strike two years ago, our team is ready to negotiate until a contract is reached. Two years ago the agreement was reached early in the morning of the first day of classes; with less than an hour notice we had faculty in their classes teaching which is where we want to be. Our team will be there to negotiate after 10 p.m. on September 5th whether your team walks out or not. If your team does walk out at 10 p.m. on the 5th, we will see this as a strike by the University against our students and against the public we serve.

Respectfully,

Michael M. Homel