Vaccine Mandate: Statement of Support & Demand to Bargain

below is the "Statement of Support and Demand to Bargain" sent earlier today, August 04, 2021, by President Charles Parrish to the Administration 

Dec 2020 Newsbriefs: Bargaining Update #2

 

Nov 2020 Newsbriefs: Bargaining Update #1

 

11/06/20 Union Bargaining Q&A Invitation

Dear Colleagues,

As we start the long process of bargaining with the WSU Administration for our new contract, your Bargaining Team will be making every effort to keep everyone informed and engaged in the deliberations. To that end, we are starting a series of Question & Answer sessions (as well as reviving our Happy Hours!) every other Friday evening. These 1-hour Zoom sessions will be a chance to be updated from, and to ask questions to, your Bargaining Team members, as well as to share a drink in solidarity.

So please join us for a conversation with your Bargaining Team, as well as with colleagues from across campus on a Zoom meeting, Friday, November 6, 2020, from 4:00 – 5:00 pm.

Bargaining Team
AAUP-AFT 6075
WSU Faculty & Academic Staff Union

10/02/20 Union Open Forum

The Membership Outreach and Education (MOrE) Committee of the Union is pleased to invite you to the fourth Open Forum this Friday, October 2, 3-4:30 pm (check your WSU e-mail for Zoom link). The Open Forum's purpose is to provide bargaining updates, as well as provide a space for members to connect and discuss shared accomplishments and concerns with each other. A series of breakout rooms will provide members with a chance to discuss relevant concerns and share what's working. The four breakout rooms:

1. Work during a pandemic: what's working, what's not
2. Intellectual property and distance learning
3. Shared governance: sharing problems and solutions
4. Politics and the upcoming election

Please register with your name, email, and preferred breakout room at: https://forms.gle/28mj1fbPajrpRgkY9

The MOrE Committee looks forward to seeing you at this informal, solution-oriented networking and outreach event. We hope to see you there!

08/20/20 WSU Finances Revealed

The Administration has been proclaiming a dire financial situation for the University. President Roy Wilson has been trying to convince the 14 Unions representing the faculty, academic staff and other employees to make concessions through wage cuts, layoffs and furloughs.

Your Union, AAUP-AFT Local 6075, contracted with an independent accounting expert on higher education finances to review the audited financial statements of WSU from 2014-2019 and other documents, and provide an evaluation of the University’s finances. We have received a 117 slide PowerPoint presentation that we will shortly make public.

On Thursday, August 27, from 4.00 pm - 5.00 pm, we will have a Zoom meeting to present some of the key findings from this comprehensive report.

We will show that WSU is in a strong current financial state, and we will present solutions to potential shortfalls that do not punish faculty, academic staff and other represented employees who have already made considerable sacrifices.

Please check your e-mail or contact the union's office for Zoom meeting information.

07/30/22 Message regarding the SOM Clinical Faculty

Message to Members on Clinical Faculty in the School of Medicine

Charles J. Parrish, President, WSU AAUP-AFT, Local 6075

On July 27th the Union sent a letter to the Administration that demanded to bargain the remarkable change in a personnel policy that had been followed for decades in the School of Medicine. The first concrete steps in implementing this new policy were taken today when letters of termination were sent to all members of our clinical faculty in the School of Medicine.

We understand that the next step will be to offer them a contract renewal that is not based on their present contracts, but will treat them as new hires who will be appointed at a half-time position at a severely lower salary base. The difference in salary is proposed to be made up for the monetary losses involved by the WSUPG, the principal faculty practice plan. This is contrary to past policies and will be destructive to the goals of the School of Medicine.

Further, it will constitute a subsidy to the WSUPG, the principal faculty practice plan. By keeping the appointment at .5 full-time equivalent, the faculty will continue to be covered at the same cost by the University health benefits program so that the WSUPG does not have to offer a similar benefit.

The Schweitzer proposal will not make up the 10% retirement salary match that faculty members presently receive from the University on their higher salary level. The base for the retirement match, given the much lower salary being offered, will also be much lower than it is under the present contract.

The Administration has responded to our letter demanding to bargain the policy changes we cited in our July 27th letter and has agreed to schedule talks with the Union. They also argue that there has been no change in personnel policy and that they have the power to proceed as they are now. We will meet with their bargaining representatives and keep you informed of the negotiations as they progress. We still have two months between now and the September 30th termination date. Let us hope that the Administration will be reasonable and we can come to a satisfactory resolution of this unfortunate situation.

Stay tuned.

Charlie

--
Charles J. Parrish
President, AAUP-AFT, Local 6075, WSU Chapter
Vice President-at-Large, AFT Michigan
President, AAUP Michigan Conference
Member-at-Large, National Council, AAUP
5057 Woodward Avenue, Suite 3301
Detroit, MI 48202
313.577.1750

07/27/20 Governor O'Brien's Response to President Wilson-Demand to Bargain

Dear Colleagues:

The following is Governor Sandra Hughes O'Brien's message to President Wilson regarding the Demand to Bargain and the situation with the Clinical Faculty in the School of Medicine.

============================================================

Date: 07/27/2020 11:39 AM

Subject: Re: Demand to Bargain -- School of Medicine Clinical Faculty

Roy, what in the world is going on? By my calculations, this is the 3rd time I've asked why your Dean is moving forward with this plan. My requests have been met with silence. The governing board has not been advised as to the strategy behind this move, despite requests. This is totally unacceptable. Perhaps my prior requests were unclear; so I'll make this quite plain...What is the purpose or strategy of a move like this? 

A Dean of a college or school has neither the power nor authority to unilaterally change the faculty salaries of an entire school/college by purposefully sidestepping the Union; ignoring the negotiated collective bargaining agreement; and deliberately concealing his intentions from the governing board. I sincerely hope that your Dean is not trying to sidestep the Union and the Board concerning faculty salaries. Schweitzer was not hired to undermine University policy and process. Violating University policies and process and attempting to sidestep or undermine our rules and regulations around the salaries of our faculty would be the surest way for a dean to find himself on the bad side of the Board and that never ends well.

Schweitzer trying to force this unilateral move makes me think that you're trying to balance the university's books on the backs of our revenue-generating clinical faculty. But I wouldn't know, because you've not kept us informed.

No compensation documents should be sent to any of our represented faculty without a negotiation with the Union under the Collective Bargaining Agreement followed by approval of any compenstaion action by the Board. No faculty member should feel obligated to sign any document that has not been transparently negotiated with the Union on their behalf under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and then submitted to the Board for approval.

Non-transparency does not work. You need to fix this now.

Thank you!
Sandy
Sandy Hughes O'Brien, Esq.

==========================
Charlie
--

Charles J. Parrish

President, AAUP-AFT, Local 6075, WSU Chapter

Vice President-at-Large, AFT Michigan

President, AAUP Michigan Conference

Member-at-Large, National Council, AAUP

5057 Woodward Avenue, Suite 3301

Detroit, MI 48202

313.577.1750

07/27/20 Demand to Bargain -- School of Medicine Clinical Faculty

Good Morning, Boris:

Attached please find a Demand to Bargain regarding Clinical Faculty in the School of Medicine.

Please contact me regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Charlie

--

Charles J. ParrishPresident, AAUP-AFT, Local 6075, WSU ChapterVice President-at-Large, AFT MichiganPresident, AAUP Michigan ConferenceMember-at-Large, National Council, AAUP5057 Woodward Avenue, Suite 3301Detroit, MI 48202313.577.1750

07/22/20 Update on Negotiations with the Wilson Administration

Negotiations with the Wilson Administration

Charles J. Parrish, President

WSU AAUP-AFT, Local 6075

Your Union is presently engaged in a negotiation with the Wilson Administration over their proposal that we give up our raises for this year as a contribution to the financial well-being of the University. Our response has been a proposal that the Administration be willing to address some parts of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement that we believe can be changed to provide better conditions for a significant number of our members. So far, the Administration has not been willing to discuss anything beyond what our members might give up financially. However, regular meetings of negotiators on both sides continue to be scheduled. A significant context of the discussions has been the considerable expansion of the managerial class at the University over the period of the Wilson Administration and the concomitant contraction of the number of members of or bargaining unit. Moreover, the disproportionate allocation of resources to the salaries of administrators, including the President, has been a characteristic of the Wilson Administration.

Administrative Bloat. There are several dimensions that make the Union look with a jaundiced eye on the proposal that the Faculty and Academic Staff give up their raises for this year to help the financial problems of the University as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. First, the record of the Administration on allocating resources for the expansion of the management class at the University is clear. The Administration has stated that 47% of the General Fund is devoted to the salaries and benefits for the 1800 or so members of the Faculty and Academic Staff. In contrast, it admits that 37% of it goes to the many non-represented administrators. The top managerial class sector of these administrators has expanded by 22% since President Wilson was hired in 2013, from 259 to 315 persons. Simply put, administrative bloat is an important source of costs to the University. Considering the sacrifices already made, and continuing, by our members in the present crisis, we are loath to agree to salary concessions in addition to these. It is the Union’s position that administrative costs must be addressed before we can agree that our members should give up a single dollar of their negotiated raises for this year.

Unknown Revenue. Second, what the final financial situation of the University will be at the outset of the fiscal year on October 1st is unknown. Student tuition income is the major source of funding (63% in 2019-2020) and how many students are coming to the University this fall is uncertain. The latest report on July 20th, is that we are ahead of last year’s registration rate as of the same date last year. At the undergraduate level, it is up by 4.45%, and overall, it is ahead by almost 2%. Until the final registration results are in, we will not know what tuition income will be for the year.

Financial Analysis. Third, the Union has commissioned an analysis of the financial situation of the University and what alternatives we might look to in order to get through the present crisis. The analysis will explore alternatives for addressing the many financial shortfalls that will result from the present crisis. As soon as the analysis is done, we will share it with the Administration, our members and the public.

Presidential Compensation. Fourth, the controversy continues over the extremely lucrative contract awarded President Wilson with the key votes of the two lame-duck members of the Board of Governors (BOG) in their last meeting before leaving the Board, having been defeated in the November, 2018 elections. This vote initiated the split on the BOG that continues until today. In the midst of the present situation in which the Administration is maintaining that there are serious financial challenges, President Wilson is scheduled to get a raise in total compensation on July 31st from $654,419 to $904,000, a 38% increase (his compensation includes deferred income). There has been no suggestion the President will not accept his increase while asking our members to give up their 2.5% raise for the year. The combined amount of the raise for our members is $6.6 million. This means, that of the amount we are being asked to give up, about 4% will go to the compensation increase for President Wilson.

The table below from The Chronicle of Higher Education shows a result that richly favors President Wilson's personal situation. The compensation of the WSU presidents increased by 70% over nine years. President Wilson’s contract raises his compensation by the end of this month to $904,000, a rise in WSU presidential compensation of 137% over what it was a decade ago. Nice job if you can keep it!

Conclusion. Finally, we are being asked to give up our raises for the year by a President who has not thought carefully enough about the overall situation. We need documentation of what sacrifices the administrators, including President Wilson, are making before we will agree to any plan that involves our members sacrificing their annual raise this year. Everyone should remember, we have pledged that any proposal that is agreed to will be submitted to our members for ratification.

We will keep you updated.

Sincerely,

Charlie

--

Charles J. Parrish

President, AAUP-AFT, Local 6075, WSU Chapter

Vice President-at-Large, AFT Michigan

President, AAUP Michigan Conference

Member-at-Large, National Council, AAUP

5057 Woodward Avenue, Suite 3301

Detroit, MI 48202

313.577.1750

Membership Q&A, Friday 07/17/20, 3-4:30 pm

The union is preparing a session to provide updates, and to take questions you may have related to campus Restart activities, Impact Bargaining, or other concerns.

See you on Friday, July 17th, 3-4:30 pm, for a Union Q&A Session.

RSVP and Question form here - for Zoom meeting info check your e-mail or contact the union's office at 313-577-1750, office@aaupaft.org

06/25/20 Status of Negotiations

Dear Colleagues: 

The Union is continuing the Impact Bargaining that began in March with the Administration. The most recent issues relate to whether or not the Faculty and Academic Staff will make concessions in their salary and benefits, in response to the request to do so, voluntarily, by the University in the current COVID-19 crisis. As in any negotiation, each side wishes to make the best possible argument. The Administration is likely to try to keep the focus on the General Fund, as it has tried to do in meetings with the Academic Senate Budget Committee and in the Finance Subcommittee of the Restart Committee. The Administration has recognized that if there are concessions to be made by the Faculty and Academic Staff, they must seek the agreement of the Union.

The Administration’s position, based on presentations to the Academic Senate and others, has emphasized that there should be concessions by our members in order to avoid cuts in various units. The Administration has already sent instructions that units must submit plans as to how to absorb projected five and ten percent budget cuts. Doing this before we have a clear understanding of what the revenue will be for the coming year creates a climate, whether intended or not, that pressures our members to consider supporting individual or department level “voluntary” concessions in some form. It is contrary to the Collective Bargaining Agreement for individual administrators, individual Union members, or internal academic governance committees, to agree to “voluntary” changes in terms of employment of bargaining unit members. It is critical for all to understand that regardless of well-meaning intentions to help, or because of basic communitarian values on their part, it is the exclusive role of the Union to negotiate changes in wages, hours, or working conditions for the members of our bargaining unit.

The Union’s position in these discussions is based on several factors:

During the time that President M. Roy Wilson has been in office, the number of managerial administrators has grown from 453 to 539, a 19% increase. The number of tenured and tenure-track Faculty fell over that time from 1143 to 899, a 21% decline. The non-tenure-track Faculty (Clinicians and Lecturers, mostly) increased slightly from 713 in 2013, to 730 in 2018. Lecturers within this group increased from about 173 to 217. The question of how to cut administrative costs will have an important role in the discussions.

The increase in the ranks of full-time contingent Faculty has been accompanied by a significant decrease in job security for this same group through non-renewals, and limiting term renewals to single year appointments. One of the important items that will be on the discussion agenda will be securing greater job security for Clinicians and Lecturers.

The financial discussions will not be limited only to examining the General Fund for possible solutions, but will be conducted within the context of all of the assets of the University that might be brought to bear during this crisis period.

We are prioritizing our responses to proposals for concessions, if any, to limiting the long term effects on the incomes of our members. We are particularly concerned with protecting the salaries of those in our lower income levels.

Each side has named a team of representatives in these negotiations. The Administration team is led by Associate Provost for Academic Personnel, Boris Baltes. He is joined by Ms. Rebecca Cook, Interim Vice President for Finance, and Ms. Carolyn Hafner, Interim Vice President for Human Relations. The Union team is led by Ricardo Villarosa, Esq., Chief Negotiator. Professor Deborah Ellis, Union Vice President-Elect and Paul Beavers, Union Treasurer, Chair of the Academic Senate Budget Committee, and the Union’s representative on the Finance Subcommittee of the Restart Committee, complete the Union team. The first meeting is on Friday, June 26th.

We will provide periodic updates on the progress of the talks, and will be asking members to ratify whatever proposal is agreed upon by the two sides.

In solidarity,

Charlie Parrish, President

Ricardo Villarosa, Esq., Chief Negotiator

--

Charles J. Parrish

President, AAUP-AFT, Local 6075, WSU Chapter

Vice President-at-Large, AFT Michigan

President, AAUP Michigan Conference

Member-at-Large, National Council, AAUP

5057 Woodward Avenue, Suite 3301

Detroit, MI 48202

313.577.1750

052620 Update!! -- WSU "Serious Financial Distress"

Dear Colleagues:

During contract negotiations in 2012, we agreed to a provision that we did not foresee ever being invoked. In order to get the unusual ten-year contract agreed upon, with an annual salary increase of 2.5% each year, we accepted language that stated that, if the University fell on very hard economic times, the Board of Governors could declare that a situation of “severe financial distress” exists, and suspend salary raises for the following academic year. (Article XI.B.4, pp.23-24)

The Administration is contemplating asking the Board to declare that a situation of “severe financial distress” presently exists for the University. If the BOG responds favorably and acts under this provision, the Union can appeal the decision to arbitration. In the arbitration, the Administration must provide all relevant financial information in a process overseen by the arbitrator. After a hearing before the arbitrator, both sides submit briefs summarizing their arguments and within thirty days after, that the arbitrator must render a decision to both parties. The arbitrator cannot decide to award a salary increase amount below zero percent or higher than 2.5%. There are a number of other provisions, but the description here lays out the basic process.

The attached memorandum was sent to the Academic Senate Budget Committee members prior to its May 26, 2020 meeting. Copies were also sent to the members of the Board of Governors and President M. Roy Wilson. This copy is being provided to all members of the Faculty and Academic Staff to inform you of the first steps being taken to represent you in this process. You can be assured that the Union will bend every effort to defend your right to the raise that you richly deserve.

In solidarity,

Charlie Parrish

--

Charles J. Parrish

President, AAUP-AFT, Local 6075, WSU Chapter

Vice President-at-Large, AFT Michigan

President, AAUP Michigan Conference

Member-at-Large, National Council, AAUP

5057 Woodward Avenue, Suite 3301

Detroit, MI 48202

313.577.1750

05/21/20 Union's Response to "Serious Financial Distress"

Dear Colleagues:

Following is the response that both myself and Ricardo Villarosa sent this morning to President Wilson and the Board of Governor's regarding the University's "Serious Financial Distress" declaration:

*************************************************

Dear President Wilson and Board of Governors Members:

We understand that the Administration intends to ask the Board of Governors to invoke the following provision of our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which states (Article XII.4 p. 23):

“For a maximum of three (3) times during

the period of March 20, 2016 through

March 20, 2021, upon a vote of the

University’s Board of Governors that the

University is in “serious financial distress”

the University Administration may

prospectively void the contracted across-

the-board and selective salary adjustments

for the forthcoming contract year. The

Association shall have thirty (30) days to

submit this matter to binding arbitration.”

The Union is cognizant of a provision of the CBA, in the same Article, which states that (Article XII.A, p. 19):

“In the event of an Executive Order or a 

legislative reduction of the state appropriation,

at the University’s request, representatives of the

Association and representatives of the University

Administration to discuss the impact of this

reduction and possible solutions to the problem.”

It is the position of the Union that this provision of the CBA be followed before a declaration of “serious financial distress” should be invoked by the University. To our knowledge, the University has not yet received notice of a pending Executive Order, nor of a specific legislative reduction of our state appropriation. The Board of Governors should instruct the Administration to follow this provision of the CBA and not leapfrog directly to a declaration of “serious financial distress.” It is relevant that, at the present time, we do not have reliable knowledge of the revenue from the major funding sources for the University’s General Fund [Tuition (54%), State Appropriations (34%)], and those amounts will not be known until sometime later this summer. However, so far, projected enrollment figures for the Fall Semester suggest that they are holding steady, and we may find the degree of any “serious financial distress” may be mitigated by this, and such a declaration is premature at this point.

Nor do we have any indication of the Administration’s attempt to address the issue of administrative personnel costs beyond a limited adjustment to non-represented merit increases and a temporary diversion of high-level Administration salaries to a student aid fund. Significant reductions to administrative costs should be dealt with before the Faculty and Academic Staff are asked to make additional sacrifices to the ones they have already experienced in having to switch from face-to-face classes to online teaching in the middle of the Winter Semester, and the adjustments to having to adapt beyond the necessary work from home requirements. As the front lines of the core academic mission of the University, Faculty and Academic Staff initially made it possible for students to complete a Winter term by shifting to remote instruction and delivery of all academic and co-curricular support and engagement. They continue to contribute by preparing to meet the challenges of Spring, Summer, and Fall with all of the creativity and flexibility that are required to achieve a successful return to campus in whatever forms that entails.

We ask that the Board instruct the Administration to agree to begin talks with the Union after an Executive order or a reduction in our state appropriation takes place. These talks should be “to discuss the impact of this reduction and possible solutions to the problem.” Any further action related to the financial situation for the coming year should be deferred at this time pending further knowledge of the financial situation of the University. In addition, the sacrifices that have already been made by the Faculty and Academic Staff should be matched by the Administration before any request for further sacrifices be made to the Faculty and Academic Staff of the University.

I have attached this message as a memorandum, as well.

Sincerely,

Charles J. Parrish, President

Ricardo Villarosa, Chief Negotiator

AAUP-AFT, Local 6075

Wayne State University Chapter

--

Charles J. Parrish

President, AAUP-AFT, Local 6075, WSU Chapter

Vice President-at-Large, AFT Michigan

President, AAUP Michigan Conference

Member-at-Large, National Council, AAUP

5057 Woodward Avenue, Suite 3301

Detroit, MI 48202

313.577.1750

05/18/20 Bargaining Unit Update

Dear Colleagues,

It is seems like much longer than just two months since our first message about our Demand To Bargain the changes that have been necessary to adjust and adapt to the challenges presented from COVID-19, and the rapid move to remote teaching, learning, and other operations. Our members have helped ensure completion of the Winter term, grading, advising, and other vital student support, and celebrating our most recent graduates. Through our members’ collective efforts and willingness to go above and beyond in countless ways, we ensured the core mission and activities of the University were effectively served.

With the announcement of the nine Restart Committees by President M. Roy Wilson, many expressed concerns over the lack of Faculty and Academic Staff representation on the committees. President Wilson’s approach was to appoint, overwhelmingly, administrators as the members of these committees. A few Faculty members were appointed by the Administration to represent the Faculty and Academic Staff. This continuing pattern of picking the representatives of the Faculty and Academic Staff, rather than asking the Academic Senate and the Union to appoint their own representatives to these bodies, is deeply troubling. The Union and the Academic Senate objected to this. During the May 6th meeting of the Academic Senate, President Wilson acceded to their demands, and representatives appointed by them eventually became members of these committees. The complete listing and rosters for the Restart Committees, with your Union representatives identified, are available at the following link: https://wayne.edu/coronavirus/campus-restart.

While representation of the Union on these committees is an improvement to the process, it is not a substitute for the direct bargaining that we are ensuring continues with the Administration as we move through the Summer and approach the Fall. As the Restart Committees attempt to establish broad guidelines for phased return to campus in the coming weeks and months; they must also address the complex array of uncertainties for health, safety, enrollment, and external regulations that continue to evolve rapidly. These circumstances will call for continued extraordinary efforts on the part of our individual members, and the Union collectively. For Faculty, the need to plan for the flexibility to teach in one of the many options from limited face-to-face, remote, hybrid, with synchronous or asynchronous components--and being able to shift during the semester if conditions change again. Academic Staff continue to shoulder increases in scope, quantity, and complexity of their advising and support of current and incoming students throughout the Summer and into the Fall.

Although the charge of the Restart Committees is to set broad guidelines for campus, the detailed planning and implementation will rely on schools, colleges, divisions, and departments. To be successful, this structure requires local shared governance participation by Faculty and Academic Staff members who are most knowledgeable about the specific needs and solutions for each area and discipline. Please reach out to chairs, supervisors, and deans to ensure that your voices are heard in those local decision processes. 

The Administration leadership has publicly acknowledged the significant contributions and sacrifice that our members have made and continue to make. However, it needed strong action by the Academic Senate and the Union to get a place at the table in the process of setting the restart policies for the University. As your Union representatives, we continue to work on your behalf to ensure safe and equitable conditions for our shared work; and to assure the preservation of the hard-won benefits and rights in our Collective Bargaining Agreement. We cannot do this effectively without your support and personal efforts in your own units. Please continue to reach out to your Union Council Representatives or directly to the Union Office team with questions, concerns, or successful practices that may be shared. As stated previously, we offer opportunities for small 'pop-up" membership Zoom meetings. Several departments and other groups have participated in the past month. As always, our strength comes from our collective efforts and support for each other.

In Solidarity,

Charlie Parrish, President

Ricardo Villarosa, Chief Negotiator

Michelle Fecteau, Executive Director

--

AAUP-AFT, Local 6075

Wayne State University Chapter

5057 Woodward Avenue, Suite 3301

Detroit, MI 48202

313.577.1750

office@aaupaft.org

04/20/20 Union Update to Bargaining Unit

Dear Colleagues,

In our last update, we shared Administrators may wish to adopt.

As we complete the Winter term, and move into the Spring/Summer and Fall terms, we face a new environment of rapid change bringing increasing levels of uncertainty. We will need to maintain a continuing strength and mutual support as a Union. This will be more critical than ever. Below is a brief summary of our ongoing negotiations with the Administration related to COVID-19 since our last update:

1. Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET)
Faculty have been notified that they have options, including opting out or waiving scores after receiving them. Exercising the waiver results in deletion of the scores for that class from the data set.

 

2. Tenure/ESS Clock
The Provost’s Office has been asking the Union for a clock stoppage for those Faculty or Academic Staff requesting such an accommodation due to COVID-19 related issues.

3. Academic Staff work-at-home
An abrupt shift to working from home created challenges for many Academic Staff related to expectations of schedule availability, hours, and productivity. While the negotiations with representatives from the Administration have been generally amicable, there were several areas that needed further clarification that have been resolved.

 

4. Remote Instruction
Challenges related to expectations, resources, and capacity needed to shift to remote instruction from campus classrooms continue to be an area of concern for our Faculty members. With the need to engage in contingency planning for the Fall semester, we continue to negotiate with the Administration.

 

5. Parking Fee Deductions
As of April 1, parking payroll deductions have been suspended. Some of our members requested cancellation of their semester parking agreements prior to the pause in deductions. Although parking policy for reinstatement includes a 30-day delay, our Union Council Parking Committee reported that the issue is being resolved for any member who submitted the cancellation request.

 

6. Return to Campus
This week, the Administration began forming a committee to plan the return to campus operations. The Union has a representative on that committee. However, we have made it clear to the Administration that mere representation on a larger committee is not a replacement for direct negotiations for matters that are mandatory subjects of bargaining.

 

7. UPDATED HR COVID-19 Page: Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the expanded Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Earlier we reported on an expansion of our Special Needs time available to use for child care during this time of school and daycare closures. As of April 1, the FFCRA and expanded FMLA provide an alternative that some members may wish to use. As there are several possible options to address a need for leave time related to child care, please contact our team to discuss the best options.

While conditions are changing quickly, we will work to provide updates on issues that will affect our members. Please continue to send inquiries and examples of issues that need to be addressed as you experience them personally or learn about them from other members. Many of the clarifications and updates to the evolving policies and practices being negotiated with the Administration are matters that our members have brought to our attention. We will monitor your messages and continue responding as promptly as possible to any inquiries that we receive.

In Solidarity,

Charlie Parrish, President
Ricardo Villarosa, Chief Negotiator
Michelle Fecteau, Executive Director

03/18/20 COVID-19 Discussions between Union & Administration

Dear Colleagues,

Last Thursday, the Union presented a Demand to Bargain[1] to the Wayne State University Administration. The purpose of the Demand was to formally bring the Union and Administration together, on behalf of our members, to work together as the University transitions to serving our students remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic—while protecting the safety and rights of our members.

The challenges we face in this unprecedented rapidly dynamic period of change require collaborative and innovative efforts from the entire WSU community. While our members continue to contribute to the large number of efforts being undertaken to ensure continuity of teaching, advising, and supporting our students, your Union representatives have begun negotiating with the Administration on your behalf. As we have observed, changes are coming on daily (if not hourly) basis. Below is a brief summary from recent days:

On Monday we, myself, our Executive Director, Michelle Fecteau and Ricardo Villarosa, our Chief Negotiator for the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations met in a conference call with senior WSU officials, including Carolyn Hafner, Interim Director of Human Relations, and Boris Baltes, Associate Provost for Academic Relations—and representatives of other unions.

We discussed a number of issues that have been raised by the actions, the WSU COVID-19 web site and other announcements, related to the dramatic actions that have been taken to address the challenges presented by the closures at the University. We raised issues related to the safety and rights of our members in this time of transition in University operations. Ms. Hafner willingly agreed to adjust the administrative language related to these matters on issues that we raised. Since that group meeting, we have continued to work directly with the Provost’s Office, to ensure consistent communication and implementation of the negotiated changes as they occur.

Ultimately, our members, faculty and academic staff who must work with students remotely, and others on a face-to-face basis, must have the technical support to carry out their responsibilities. Academic staff must be enabled to reasonably establish the terms of their work-at-home situation with their supervisors. Faculty who are shifting mid-semester to online delivery of classes must be supported with regard to assessment tools, such as SETs, and related peer/administration evaluation practices. Other discussions have related issues arising from disruptions to research activities for faculty members. We are in ongoing discussions with the Provost’s Office in relation to protection against arbitrary administrative actions by individual supervisors in these negotiations.

As matters progress, we will work to provide updates of issues that will affect us all. During these days the Union office will be staffed only sparingly as we will be working from home much of the time. However, we will monitor our emails and will continue responding as promptly as possible to any inquiries that we receive.

*****************************************************************

[1] When the Wayne State University Administration ordered that the Spring Break would be extended a week and that all classes would cease meeting in person, and be taught online, the Union issued a demand to bargain the terms and conditions of employment that would affect the members of our bargaining unit. The demand to bargain is a formal mechanism used when an Administration acts unilaterally in matters that are legally mandatory subjects of bargaining. In other words, it forces the Administration to negotiate changes with the Union—even in rapidly changing dynamic situations.

Charles J. Parrish

Professor, Political Science

President, WSU AAUP-AFT Local 6075

Vice President At-Large, AFT Michigan

Michelle Fecteau

Executive Director

AAUP-AFT Local 6075

Ricardo Villarosa, Esq.

Grievance Coordinator & Chief Negotiator

AAUP-AFT Local 6075 

2019 Bargaining Survey & Take Action Form

The contract between the University and AAUP-AFT Local 6075 expires on March 20, 2021. We are, therefore, in the period in which we are preparing to negotiate our next contract. A small working group has prepared a preliminary survey to gather feedback from the membership on the issues they find most important. This is the link to that survey: Bargaining Survey #1

This survey will be used to plan events and write a more focused survey to gather your guidance as we head into negotiations. We believe listening to our membership is extremely important. In addition to this message, over the next couple of weeks, you will receive several more reminders to participate in Bargaining Survey #1.

The bargaining survey is, of course, anonymous. We want you to frankly identify most important to you.

In addition to asking you to respond to this survey, we want to offer you the opportunity to participate in our efforts to prepare for negotiations. Bargaining takes a lot of time and work. The Take Action form lists a number of ways you can get involved.

Remember, you are the union. We will best succeed by working together to negotiate a new and better contract,

Here are those URLs again

• Bargaining Survey #1: https://forms.gle/PG31cT8kLFEtaXFu5
• Take Action Volunteer Form: https://forms.gle/cC1wDNZxr1jRGSvy9

Labor Notes: Creative Actions on Hot Issues Can Fuel a Contract Fight

From Union Member Dennis Albers in CLAS:

"In a county in northeast Michigan, Service Employees (SEIU) members at a state agency were coming up on contract time. The unit was composed of 33 clerical workers, only a few of whom had contact with clients. The rest worked in the back office and had enjoyed a very relaxed dress policy for decades."

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