Fall 2022 Welcome Back

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back to the start of the year! It has been a busy summer, and there is a lot going on this fall. Ricardo Villarosa, our long time Grievance Coordinator for Academic Staff, will be stepping down from his union role at the end of this week. He will remain in his position in the Dean of Students Office.

Ricardo has helped innumerable academic staff and faculty members resolve issues during his many years working as Grievance Coordinator. He was the Chief Negotiator during our mammoth negotiations of 2021, when we negotiated the first contract in 8 years. He was the first Academic Staff person to act as Chief Negotiator in the 50-year history of our union. I am grateful to Ricardo for the time, insight, and knowledge he shared with me over the last year during my transition into leadership in the union. Please take a moment to reach out and thank him for his many years of service.

The Executive Board will meet this month to determine how to fill Ricardo’s vacancy. In the meantime, please continue to contact office@aaupaft.org if workplace issues come up for you, and members of our Contract Enforcement Team will be in touch.

More news and updates:

Run for Office on the Union Executive Board!

We are holding a special election for Treasurer and two Member-at-Large seats. Nominations are due Tuesday September 6 at 5 p.m. The Nominations and Elections committee will accept nominations or self-nominations for any of these positions. Candidates should fill out the nomination form (attached) and get the digital or physical signature of two fellow union members. Nomination forms should be sent to committee chair Jennifer Sheridan Moss (aa2191@wayne.edu). If you have any questions about what is involved in serving on the Executive Board, do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Impact Bargaining Around Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA)

On August 1, the new Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) policy went into effect. This policy affects Academic Staff members of our bargaining unit (it does not apply to faculty). We will be entering into impact bargaining on the FWA policy next week. Impact bargaining takes place when there is a change to working conditions in between contract negotiations. Impact bargaining took place most recently at the start of Covid. This will be an opportunity for us to consider how well the FWA policy is working, and where we want to see improvements. The bargaining team is led by Kristen Chinery (Archives) with Moira Fracassa (EACPHS), Mershawn Gayden (Financial Aid), Jessica Pfeiffer (EACPHS), Ali Salamey (Honors), and Kurt Troutman (College of Education). Academic Staff members: Watch your email inbox for a survey on FWA in the coming days.

Student Debt and Loan Forgiveness

Make sure to get in your application for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) by October 31, 2022. Wayne State is considered a public employer, and many of our members have already had their student debt forgiven since changes to PSLF went into effect last fall. Don’t miss your chance to enroll. This is separate from the $10k–$20k debt forgiveness recently announced by the Biden administration. Click here for more information on both programs.

Eastern Michigan Faculty Need Our Support

EMU tenure/tenure-track faculty are bargaining a new contract and they need our help. The administration's current proposal includes sharp increases in healthcare costs and low annual raises, and they have rejected union proposals that advance diversity, equity and inclusion, improve workload and assure shared governance. Sign this petition and follow them on Twitter @EMUAAUP to keep up with the latest developments in their negotiations.

Labor Day BBQ at AFT MI

There will be no Labor Day parade this year, but you and your families are invited to join the AFT MI barbecue on September 5, 11:30 am – 2 pm on E. Jefferson in Detroit.

In solidarity,

Danielle

04/22/22 President's Report

Dear colleagues,

It was great to see so many of you join the General Membership meeting earlier this month. It’s been a big year for the union, and a big learning curve for me coming into this role as president. I set a few personal goals this past year:

1) Implement the new contract and keep systems running smoothly (i.e., don’t let the wheels fall off during the transition to new leadership).

2) Prevent administration from cutting the salaries of tenured faculty in the School of Medicine.

3) Start to get structures in place to make our union more transparent, more democratic, more member-driven and member-engaged.

We achieved the first goal: Last fall we got five different 2N admin/union committees in place. These were agreed upon during contract negotiations, and made up of half union appointees and half admin appointees. The committees are looking at the Flexible Work Arrangement policy, the way we use the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SETs), promotion factors for Teaching Faculty, and online teaching.

Most of those committees are getting close to making recommendations. A few highlights: The group making recommendations regarding the Flexible Work Arrangement policy is engaged in debate over who approves requests, whether that decision should come solely from an employee’s direct supervisor, and clarity around who that direct supervisor is. We’re hoping to get some kind of appeal process in place so decisions are not solely dependent on one person. We raised the possibility of implementing a remote 2-day a week minimum, but the full committee did not reach consensus on this. Antoinette Cunningham, Academic Advisor in Biological Sciences, and the whole union team have been doing phenomenal work trying to get an equitable system in place.

The Teaching Faculty committee has finalized its recommendations for university-level factors for promotion to Associate or Full Professor of Teaching. We were frustrated because it became clear in early March that the earliest that Teaching Faculty will be able to submit packets to go up for promotion will be next Spring 2023, for promotions going into effect in 2024. That is because faculty will be evaluated at the university, college, and department levels, and, although we have made great progress toward establishing university-level factors, factors still need to be developed at the college and department levels. Those will need to be developed in the fall. We tried hard to find a way for faculty to go up for promotion this year, but we could not make it happen. On the plus side, the union side of the committee did a lot of work looking at other institutions and coming up with guidelines that make sense for the Teaching Faculty, and there has been agreement on most of the proposed recommendations. Christine Knapp, from French/CMLLC, has been leading that effort with a very engaged committee.

One of the groups working on the SET is also getting close to making recommendations for changing the SET. They recognized that the SET is a flawed mechanism for accurately gauging quality of instruction, and explored other options such as peer reviews of teaching. But, after discussing the reality of implementing other evaluation methods, they returned to the SET with a proposal to drastically revise the questions. The committee is proposing to replace the three global questions with five questions that specifically focus on teaching outcomes, and hopefully counter biases that disproportionately impact faculty of color in SET evaluations. Sean Hickey from Chemistry has been the lead on that. These proposals will need to be reviewed by Academic Senate before they will be ready to be implemented. Patricia McCormick (Communications) is chairing another committee on SETs that will pick up other aspects of this work. Pramod Khosla (Nutrition and Food Science) is chairing the online teaching committee, where they’re getting close to making recommendations about intellectual property rights, workload, and enhanced professional development opportunities.

While this has been going on, the union Contract Enforcement Team (CET) has been meeting every week to talk about issues that individual faculty and academic staff members are facing. This group includes:

• Charlie Parrish, Grievance Coordinator for Faculty;

• Ricardo Villarosa, Grievance Coordinator for Academic Staff;

• Michelle Fecteau, the union Executive Director;

• Barbara Jones, Contract Implementation Officer for Academic Staff;

• Pramod Khosla, Contract Implementation Officer for Faculty;

• Christine Knapp and Kristen Chinery, who are assisting with faculty and academic staff issues, respectively;

• Mark Dilley and Michael Williams, Director of Organizing and Executive Assistant for the union, respectively.

When someone says you should “go to the union,” this is who you’re going to. CET members dedicate hours of their time week after week talking to members, hearing what problems may be going on, figuring out if and when there might be a contract violation, and how to help members resolve a situation. Most of the time, there is not a contract violation, in which case they talk about other ways to address issues. In any given week, this group is handling dozens of member concerns across the university. You should always feel welcome to email or call any member of the CET team with questions or concerns.

Last fall, we hired a new Executive Assistant for the union, Michael Williams, who worked with Michelle Fecteau to implement the childcare subsidy program. Also last fall we worked with the university administration to agree to commit $100k toward salary equity adjustments this year, $200k next year, and $200k the following year. These funds are meant to go to raise salaries for faculty and academic staff that are out of sync with others in comparable positions.

Overall, after a lot of changes last fall, systems are settling down and we are finishing the academic year with a strong union infrastructure.

My second big goal of the year was to prevent attempts to cut the salaries of tenured faculty in the School of Medicine. Last November we were faced with the possibility that a proposal from the Dean of the SoM could cut faculty salaries by as much as 50%. After an uproar from faculty, some union organizing, and the release of a survey that showed the Dean had an abysmal rate of support among faculty and academic staff, he has been replaced, and the administration has agreed to a one year moratorium on any discussion of “restructuring” (cutting) salaries. This took a lot of time and energy by a dedicated group of faculty and academic staff from across the SoM, solidarity from colleagues all across campus, and proved why a strong and vibrant union is so vital.

The third goal of the year, perhaps less exciting, but crucial for building a more engaged, democratic and transparent union, was to address some of our internal processes, policies and structures. In order to open up our union more, we need to establish or codify certain procedures and agree on how we want to run things. A group from the Executive Board and the Council of Representatives, chaired by Reuther archivist Kristen Chinery, met weekly for the better part of five months to review the union’s bylaws, which we have not looked at in a comprehensive way since 2003. We went through each article with a fine tooth comb to regularize a lot of processes, and make explicit things that were implicit. One of the big changes we’re proposing is to make all four Member-at-Large seats elected by the general membership (right now, two of the four seats are elected). All the changes to the bylaws can be seen here.

You should have received an election ballot on April 18 from ballots@ballotsonline.org for three union officer positions (Vice-President, Treasurer, Member-at-Large), and you will also have the opportunity to vote on the bylaws changes. Please vote YES on the bylaws! We need these to pass with 2/3s support by those who vote.

My goal for the next 6–12 months is to get us to orient toward the next contract campaign. Our contract will be up for renegotiation in 2024. Many of us are going to want to look at salaries and benefits. I hope to set up working groups to prepare us to go into the 2024 negotiations with clear “asks” around raises, equity adjustments and other kinds of benefits. The other issue that a lot of us are concerned with is increased workloads caused by understaffing, and I would like to pull together a working group to think about how that can be addressed within the contract. And a third big issue that affects a lot of us are building and facilities issues — this year faculty in Art and Art History have come together collectively to bring attention to the extensive damage to the Art building caused by last summer’s catastrophic floods. But there are facilities issues across campus, from Scott Hall to the College of Education. We’ve seen the new Provost, Mark Kornbluh, the new CFO Dave Massaron, and the Director of Facilities Rob Davenport more engaged in this very significant problem of late, but we should look at how we can, as a union, focus on building issues. These affect us, the students, and all campus workers.

It’s been a busy year, but I’m optimistic about the power of our union. We have engaged members on Council, on the 2N committees, in the LSC, the ASSC, the Social Justice Committee, and serving as representatives on Academic Senate committees. We are seeing groups come together collectively around issues — such as African-American faculty in the School of Medicine, and faculty and staff in Art & Art History — and we are supporting one another and our students.

I look forward to continuing to build with all of you so we’re in the best shape we can be going into 2024.

In solidarity,

Danielle

PS: I hope to see many of you either at the LSC study break on Gullen Mall on Tuesday, April 26, 3–5 pm, or at Tony V’s, April 28, 4–7 pm. Come, and bring your colleagues! RSVP to office@aaupaft.org if you can so we can get a head count for pizza.

02/15/22 Union Updates: Calling All Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

Dear colleagues,

All non-tenure-track clinical, teaching, and research faculty are invited to a discussion session on Wednesday, February 23 at 3 pm to look at ways to address common concerns, such as selective salary factors and representation on P&T committees charged with promoting non-tenure track faculty. Zoom meeting link: check your e-mail or call the union's office.

EXECUTIVE BOARD NOTES

The union’s Executive Board met last week. We set a date for the Winter semester General Membership meeting for Friday, April 8 from 4–5:30 pm. We discussed ways to update our bylaws, specifically with regards to the composition of the Executive Board, so that we might have more opportunities to elect officers from the union’s general membership. We voted to donate $500 to support miners who have been on strike in Alabama for months. Members of the Executive Board will be engaging in a two-day strategic planning session later this week to set longer term goals for the union.

GREAT LAKES COFFEE IS UNIONIZING: RALLY TOMORROW AT NOON

Join Great Lakes Coffee baristas at the corner of Woodward and Alexandrine in Detroit tomorrow (Wednesday) for a rally from 12–1 pm. They are unionizing with Unite Here Local 24, which also represents many janitors at Wayne State. Several of the Great Lakes employees are also Wayne State students, and they could use our support!

DETROITERS SPEAK: MAKING LABOR WORK

Join community activists and labor organizers, including several from AAUP-AFT 6075, for a series of panels on organizing for power in the 21st century. Events take place Wednesdays, 7–9 pm in February and March, streaming from https://tinyurl.com/GBIYouTube. March events will tentatively take place in person at the General Baker Institute at 15798 Livernois, Detroit.

Union member teachers in Northern Michigan have asked for our help writing to legislators to request support for high speed internet access for rural parts of the state.

In solidarity,

Danielle

02/08/22 Union Updates: SOM, SETs, Education Labor United

Dear colleagues,

Faculty and academic staff in the School of Medicine saw today that the administration is tabling any discussion about changing tenured research faculty salary structures for at least a year. This temporary reprieve is a positive development, and it is due to the efforts of all of those in the School of Medicine—and on main campus—who spoke up over the last three months.

While this is a piece of good news, preliminary results of the morale survey of faculty and academic staff in the SoM indicate that there continue to be widespread concerns with the leadership of the School. We expect to receive full results of the survey around February 22, and will share them when they come in.

KNOW YOUR CONTRACT

We have posted an unofficial copy of the new contract here. Now that it has been in place for a few months, it is a good time to review what’s in it. Please let us know what topics and questions you would like to see covered in a general info session or special topics session: Submit questions here.

STUDENT EVALUATIONS OF TEACHING (SET)

Many, if not most, faculty are dissatisfied with the existing SET instrument and its usage in Selective Salary and for promotion. Despite the use of only 3 questions from the SET and the bias inherent in the instrument, the use of SETs for promotion will become increasingly relevant for Teaching Faculty as they are evaluated for service and teaching. Members of the joint union/admin (2N) committees reviewing the SET seek your feedback: Share your thoughts here.

EQUITY ADJUSTMENT REQUESTS

We are excited that the university is committing funds toward salary equity adjustments for the next three years. Please see the Letter of Agreement for specifics. If you have questions about how to request an equity adjustment, contact your Council Rep or email Michelle Fecteau at mfecteau@aaupaft.org.

SELECTIVE SALARY COMMITTEES THIS YEAR

Questions have arisen regarding the work of salary committees this spring, since we did not receive a selective salary increase this year (we received a bonus instead). Please note that selective salary recommendations in 2022 will count toward an increase. Because we skipped a year, the work of this year’s committees is even more important. It was the 2021 selective salary scores that did not count toward a merit increase. As a reminder, annual reports should consist of “a summary of the last three (3) years of the [faculty or academic staff] member’s activities.” We know that some salary committees put more weight on the most recent year. In 2022, committees are encouraged to focus on the full window, as stated in our Collective Bargaining Agreement, in recognition of the fact that this year’s selective salary increase will be the first one in two years.

HIGHER EDUCATION LABOR UNITED

Join me in signing up to participate in the Higher Education Labor United Winter 2022 Summit. During this Summit, we will collectively create an action plan to transform the U.S. higher education system so that it secures our nation’s democratic future, serves as a vehicle for addressing inequities, and is led by workers, students, and communities. The summit will take place over February 23, 24, 26, and 27 on Zoom, with a detailed schedule to come soon. Registration is now open to all members of the higher education labor community.

In solidarity,

Danielle Aubert

January 2022: Overview of the School of Medicine

Recently proposed salary cuts to tenured faculty in the School of Medicine follow a troubling pattern where faculty and academic staff have less and less agency, and the Dean has more and more authority over salaries. In 2020, the Dean made drastic cuts to clinical faculty salaries and benefits. A number of departures of Chairs and Vice Deans from the Wayne State School of Medicine have raised concern.

Faculty and academic staff in the School of Medicine: please complete the survey emailed to you by AAAelections before January 26, 2022. Email office@aaupaft.org if you cannot find the email.

Watch YouTube video here

Danielle Aubert

President, AAUP-AFT Local 6075

Wayne State University Chapter

August 2021 Newsbriefs: Bargaining Update #6 - ALERT

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 

11/25/20 Teaching Evaluations: Current SET Score Policy

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.

08/10/20 University Budget Update: Response to President Wilson

 

07/30/20 Wayne State in the News

Wayne State in the News

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

The report on Channel 2 brings a different perspective on the constant bragging of the Administration about raising the 6-year Black graduation rate from 6% to 21%. See the video at:

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/less-than-25-of-enrolled-black-students-at-wayne-state-graduate-within-six-years

The number of actual Black graduates fell over the past eight years, from 527 to 473. The percentage was raised by lowering the number of Black students at WSU. 

Every Black Wayne State graduate should be celebrated, but we need to do better in discharging the University's responsibility to the City where we live. President Wilson, on camera, blames the Detroit School System and social factors for the low absolute number of Black graduates, factors beyond the University's control. The question is what can we do to raise the number of Black graduates given these conditions? We cannot do this by continuing to deny more and more Black students the opportunity to enter the University. We now have a lower percentage of Black undergraduates than Eastern Michigan University.

--

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

07/30/22 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

07/14/20 Coalition of Unions Demands for Appropriate Policies During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Dear Wayne State University Board of Governors and President Wilson,

Please find attached [i.e. below] a letter written and co-signed by 12 Unions and students, including the Student Senate, regarding campus public health during Covid-19.

Faculty, academic staff and students join with building trades and grounds workers, engineers, dining workers, custodians, clerical staff and police officers to make the following requests during the Covid-19 pandemic: guaranteed paid leave, dropping disciplinary charges for absences related to Covid-19, continuing flexible work arrangements, training for supervisors in administering leave during Covid-19, and free rapid testing on campus.

Additionally, we respectfully invite members of the Board of Governors and the Administration to meet with the Coalition of Unions regarding our concerns related to Covid-19.

Sincerely,Tom Anderson, ChairCoalition of Unions at WSU

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

Wayne State University Leave Time During the Covid-19 Pandemic

DEMANDS FOR APPROPRIATE POLICIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

BY THE COALITION OF UNIONS & STUDENTS at WSU

July 14, 2020

Building trades and grounds workers, engineers, dining workers, custodians, clerical staff and police officers are among the Wayne State workers who have returned to work—or who have remained on campus—since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For everyone’s safety, it is critical that anyone who could possibly carry the deadly coronavirus not feel compelled to come to campus. The Wayne State University guidelines rightly instruct employees that, “If you have symptoms or have been exposed, stay home.”

It is, therefore, imperative to employee and public safety that the Wayne State University Administration provide appropriate leave policies, clearly articulated to all levels of management, that encourage, not discourage, possible carriers of the disease from coming to campus, particularly if they exhibit Covid-19 symptoms or have been exposed to someone who exhibits Covid-19 symptoms. Policies that do not provide adequate paid leave time put employees in an impossible position of choosing between risking their livelihoods or risking public safety.

United in our concern for the Wayne State University community, the Coalition of Unions at WSU requests the following policies be implemented immediately across WSU:

1. PAID LEAVE

All workers, both on and off campus, should receive “no questions asked” paid leave if they have been exposed to Covid-19, exhibit symptoms of Covid-19, or are caring for a family member with Covid-19 symptoms. This goes into effect retroactively to cover workers who have already given up vacation and/or accrued days to cover Covid-19 related absences.

2. DROP DISCIPLINARY CHARGES

Disciplinary measures against employees who report Covid-19 related absences are suspended, and discipline for past Covid-19 related absences is removed.

3. FLEXIBLE WORK

Flexible work-from-home arrangements should continue to be provided. Administration must show sufficient justification that an employee's presence on campus is essential before requiring them to return in person. Special consideration is given to those caring for children, as well as those caring for other family members.

4. TRAIN SUPERVISORS

All supervisors receive up-to-date training on all relevant sick leave policies.

5. FREE RAPID TESTING ON CAMPUS

Provide free rapid testing to identify Covid-19 as quickly as possible when it arrives on campus. Rapid tests would allow employees to either return to work or quarantine immediately, rather than waiting up to two weeks for results.

6. INVITATION TO MEET

Members of the Administration and the Board of Governors are invited to meet with the Coalition of Unions to hear recommendations from those who have been working and maintaining buildings on campus during the pandemic.

Elaboration on the above points:

1. PAID LEAVE

Although the Administration has implemented a number of Covid-19 related enhancements augmenting established and contractual sick leave policies, they do not cover all situations and all people sufficiently. The WSU Shared Sick/Illness Time Pool provides a maximum of 14 days of paid leave and is dependent on others donating their time. Employees in skilled trades are ineligible, since they do not have agreements that provide accrued sick time, which is one of the requirements. The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provides only two (2) weeks of Emergency Paid Leave. There is a provision for another 10 weeks through an expansion of FMLA, but this is limited to caring for a child under the age of 18. It does not include caring for a spouse, parent, and other family members. The federal benefits in FFCRA end in December 2020.

A guaranteed University-wide Covid-19 paid leave policy could be accomplished through expanding coverage and supplementing the WSU Shared Sick/Illness Time Pool with sufficient funding to cover all employees absent from work for Covid-19 related reasons.

2. DROP DISCIPLINARY CHARGES

Employees who report Covid-19-related absences should be believed, not threatened. Employment policies that discipline and terminate employees who accumulate more than a limited number of absences—even when caused by Covid-19 related situations—put the entire WSU community at risk. There should be no disincentive to staying home when sick with or when exposed to Covid-19.

3. FLEXIBLE WORK

With increased caretaking demands due to closures of child care centers, school buildings, and care services for family members because of the pandemic, many employees have relied on WSU’s Flexible Work Arrangement if eligible and, where available, paid family leave policies to maintain their employment. A number of employees required to come to campus struggle with managing caregiving during this time. Retaining these experienced and valuable employees is essential to the University’s continued success.

4. TRAIN SUPERVISORS

We have found that a number of frontline administrators are unaware of or not properly administering available options for paid leave. This creates both unnecessary stress for employees and risk to the Wayne State community. Some workers have been told to use vacation days when caring for others with Covid-19. Others with mild symptoms who were waiting on Covid-19 test results lost time from their regular sick day bank when this should have been covered by Federal Paid Emergency Leave. As more and more Wayne State employees return to work, this problem will intensify.

5. FREE RAPID TESTING ON CAMPUS

It is critical for workers returning to campus to have access to free Covid-19 testing. We support the efforts by the Public Health Subcommittee of the WSU Restart Committee to provide periodic testing and contact tracing for individuals residing on campus. We request that the same periodic testing and contact tracing be extended to all campus workers. When a case of Covid-19 is identified, we demand that a properly protected and equipped custodial crew sanitize all spaces.

6. INVITATION TO MEET

The Coalition of Unions has formed a Health and Safety Working Group because we know that not all campus workers are represented on the university restart committees. The restart committees are, for the most part, led by administrators. We extend an open invitation to members of the administration and the Board of Governors to meet with the Coalition of Unions to hear directly from Wayne State workers from across campus.

Respectfully submitted by the Coalition of Unions and students at Wayne State:

AFSCME Local 1497, Custodial Staff

AAUP-AFT Local 6075, Faculty & Academic Staff

Graduate Employees Organizing Committee, GEOC AFT Local 6123

IBEW Local 58

IUOE Local 325, Operating Engineers

Teamsters Local 337, Dining Staff

UniteHere! Local 24, Custodial Staff

UAW Local 1979 Professional & Administrative Staff (P&A)

UAW Local 2071 Staff Association

UPTF AFT Local 477, Part-Time Faculty

WSU Police Officers Association

WSU Skilled Trades

WSU Student Senate

WSU Young Democratic Socialists of America

07/08/20 Relations with the WSU Administration in the Context of Covid-19

This is to keep you informed of the progress of the efforts to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis by the University. The Union leadership is still at the beginnings of a conversation with the Administration over the financial response to the crisis. It is as yet unknown how many students will register and pay the tuition that provides almost two-thirds of the University’s general fund during the current fiscal year. We will keep you informed as the discussions progress.

I want to commend the Administration for initiating the formation of the Restart Committee and its various subcommittees to address the University’s response to the various dimensions of the crisis we collectively face in our institution. The work of the Committee and its subcommittees has been for the most part sensible and helpful to meeting the challenges faced by the University in these difficult times. However, the process of forming the committees raised some important issues.

Representation on Restart Committees. Unfortunately, it was a struggle to get representation of the Faculty and Academic Staff in the membership of the Restart Committee and its subcommittees. The chief manner in which we have a voice in the operation of the University is through the organizations in which we elect our own leaders: our Academic Senate and our Union. In short, our instruments of academic governance and of our representatives who negotiate our terms and conditions of employment. The divergence between the interests of administrators, who have increasingly come to dominate colleges and universities and those of the people who actually deliver the services that justify their existence has become increasingly obvious. A recent book by Benjamin Ginsberg, The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters (Oxford University Press, 2011) is but one useful example of many examinations of this phenomenon. It is ironic that intellectuals wage their wars with the ever-burgeoning assemblages of higher education administrators by writing down their ideas. They often assume that their arguments, if made forcefully enough, will win the day. Their opponents, the administrators, for the most part, wage these wars of ideas by ignoring them and working every day to accumulate power memorandum by memorandum.

President Wilson Insists on His Right to Choose Senate Representatives. The COVID-19 crisis provided the grounds for yet another skirmish between these forces at WSU. The first impulse of President Wilson was to appoint members of these Restart Committees without consulting either the Senate or the Union. He maintained to the Senate President that he could appoint representatives of the Senate instead of them being appointed by the Senate itself. In the initial appointments of administrators to the Committees, those who held retreat positions on the Faculty were identified by an asterisk as Faculty representatives when memberships on these groups were initially published on the University’s website. For example, the Dean of CLAS, as with other such administrators, were identified as Faculty members.

Following protests by the Academic Senate, President Wilson added representatives chosen by the Senate and the Union with one significant exception. The President of the Senate was designated by the Senate Policy Committee for membership in the Finance Restart Subcommittee. President Wilson refused to appoint her to it. The struggle to get President Wilson to recognize the right of the Senate to appoint its own representatives to University committees continues.

For example, the President is in the process of establishing a “Social Justice Action Committee.” In a memorandum to the Senate President he stated: “Faculty representation will be important and I am requesting that you and the Policy Committee of the Academic Senate provide me with fifteen names of potential faculty from which I can select five to be on the various subcommittees.” It is clear that he is committed to the patronizing principle that the Senate cannot be trusted to designate its own representatives. On the five committees that make up the Social Justice Action Committee (no central committee was named), roughly half of those named as members are administrators, there were five unnamed Academic Senate slots on four committees and four student slots on one committee. The AAUP-AFT was not asked for names for appointment to any of the committees.

The charge to the committees from President Wilson is: “(1) examining internal policies, procedures, and practices to identify and eliminate bias throughout the Wayne State University campus that may disproportionately disadvantage historically marginalized peoples, and (2) recommend specific actions for consideration of immediate, short term, medium term, and long term implementation to advance social justice and equity for historically marginalized peoples at Wayne State University.”

Social Justice and Race at WSU. In establishing the Social Justice Committee, the President does not ask that it focus on the University’s obligation to the city of Detroit within which it lives. I would hope that the Committee would examine the issue of what we could do to raise the number of our Black graduates. President Wilson and his senior administrators have been celebrating the increased percentage of Black students graduating from the University. I have suggested that the effusive self-congratulations should be tempered by the fact that during his Administration, the number of Black students at the University has declined dramatically, and there are no policies in place to address this issue. When President Wilson came to Wayne State in 2013, we graduated 527 Black students. This year, we graduated 473 Black students, 10 percent fewer. My communication, slightly revised, to the Board of Governors that deals with this issue is attached. Also attached is a copy of Governor Sandra Hughes O’Brien comments published in Deadline Detroit on this same subject. The pertinent question is what should be the social justice action responsibilities to the community of a university situated in the heart of a city with a population that is 80 percent Black, with half of its children below the poverty level. Why is Wayne State’s Administration committed to a program that touts a higher graduation percentage based on a falling number of Black graduates and a dwindling number of Black students?

Conclusion. It would be much better for the University if President Wilson was a leader who welcomed criticism and was not resistant to the kind of vigorous debate that would be involved in a strong system of shared governance that is envisioned in the Annotated Code of the Board of Governors that states: “… [the] Senate has authority and responsibility for the formulation and review of educational policy affecting the University as a whole.” (2.26.04) Important questions, such as that of social justice and race, should be topics for robust debate within the Senate and between an independent Senate and President Wilson and his administrators. That would be good for the University.

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

06/29/20 Consulting on Budget Cuts

When President Wilson dictated that there should be plans developed to meet possible revenue shortfalls of five percent and ten percent, it seemed to be a prudent measure to take. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details. As the Deans and other administrators got their orders, a number of them executed a matador’s veronica and let the bull pass by them and impale the units below them. There are over 80 departments in the University and many other units, some small and some very large. In many cases, even the smallest of these units were charged with coming up with recommendations for cuts at the five and ten percent levels for each unit.

The budgets of these lower units have little fat. Mostly their budgets are taken up with payroll expenditures over which they have minimal control. Part-time budgets are flexible, but it is often an exercise in self-destruction to offer to cut them. The dollars spent on part-time faculty are the best return on investment in the budget. These faculty members generate many times more in tuition revenue than it costs to pay them. The same can be said of Lecturers. They constitute 12% of the faculty, but teach large numbers of students who pay tuition for the many credit hours they generate.

Yet the departments are pushed by circumstance to offer up cuts in part-time faculty and term-contract faculty members, chiefly Lecturers. Telephone budgets have already been cut to the bone. Cutting payments for copier paper and paper clips are not likely to help much in reaching the announced budget goals. The role of Academic Staff is not as deeply appreciated as they should be. The key functions of advising, counseling, scheduling and many other activities are not as likely to be represented on unit budget committees as are other academic activities.

Departmental and College and School budget advisory committees should not hesitate to push back and ask that they be advised of the Dean’s budget priorities and what the cuts are at the Dean’s Office level. Sources for cuts are such things as salary savings in departments from retirements. But, these positions are under the control of the Deans, not the departments. Deans routinely take control of retirement positions as soon as the retirement occurs. When the Dean does not allow a department to replace a retiring faculty member, it is a cut that must be absorbed by a department that must accommodate its program offerings accordingly.

What are departmental committees to do when the demand for the five and ten percent budget cut goals are pushed down to the lowest unit level? They can be put into the position of recommending the cutting of departmental programs where there are only one or two faculty members in them. Or, they can be pushed into recommending that Lecturers or non-tenure-track term faculty be non-renewed. There should be resistance at the departmental level to this.

Program discontinuance is covered under Article X of the Collective Bargaining Contract. If your Dean (or your chair) asks for a recommendation to drop a particular program, you can refer them to that Article. It is worthwhile for you to review Article X for information. The discontinuance of a program is a difficult and complicated process in which the department gets a chance to defend its preservation.

As you know, the Union is presently in negotiations with the Administration over the impact of the present crisis on the members of our bargaining unit. The first meeting of the two sides took place June 26th. It was primarily an organizational meeting and it went well. We will keep you informed about the progress of these talks.

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

06/29/20 ASSC Officers Election results

Dear Colleagues:

The results of the recently held election of the Academic Staff Steering Committee have been certified, and the results are as follows:

Co-Chair -- Paul Bishop
Secretary -- Brandon Shamoun
Members-at-Large -- Daisy Cordero and Mershawn Gayden

We want to thank all of you for your participation and continued support of the Union and the ASSC. It's the support of members like you that keep our Union strong!

Our congratulations to the new Committee members, and our sincere appreciation to those who ran for office and didn't prevail. Remember, there's always next year, and we'll be counting on you!

In solidarity,
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

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