On Thursday, October 24, the University met with the Faculty Bargaining Committee (FAM-T) to continue negotiations for an initial collective bargaining agreement. The University has been engaged in negotiations with FAM since August 2023; and consistent with the ground rules agreed to by the parties, the University and the Union have met 29 times and maintained a pace of bi-weekly meetings through the academic year and over the summer. The teams have exchanged numerous proposals on both non-economic and economic terms of the contract. More importantly, through the continued efforts and commitment from both sides, the parties have arrived at tentative agreements on 14 articles.

Since the beginning of these negotiations, the University has committed to negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement with FAM that recognizes the dedication of our faculty members while also balancing the University’s obligation to advance its educational mission, support its students, and ensure the equitable application of policies, procedures and practices for all University employees, which includes both faculty members and staff. Furthermore, as a public institution, the University has an obligation to be a responsible steward of public funds and student tuition. The University’s negotiating committee balances all of these various considerations when presenting and evaluating proposals.

Despite the Union’s recent claims of delay on the part of the administration, the University’s bargaining team has been committed to presenting proposals focused on wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment of the faculty members, which are the only matters that are subject to collective bargaining under Ohio law. In fact, although it is customary in negotiations for the union to present their proposals first, the University took the lead in these negotiations by presenting substantive proposals to the Union over the first several months of negotiations. 

The Union, on the other hand, spent numerous bargaining sessions presenting proposals and MOUs unrelated to faculty terms and conditions of employment. The Union sought to engage in discussion on issues such as recognizing the librarians as members of the faculty bargaining unit, seeking to modify the Ohio Revised Code and composition of the Board of Trustees to add faculty members, the evaluation process for administrators not covered by this agreement, remote participation in university meetings, and the University’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force. Nonetheless, the University has responded to the stated priorities of the Union, including those that were unrelated to the terms and conditions of its bargaining unit members.

The University remains eager to reach a final, equitable agreement with FAM as efficiently and quickly as possible. However, this is an important process that takes considerable time to accomplish. In fact, the average length of time it takes to negotiate a first contract is 465 days (see e.g., Robert Combs, Now It Takes 465 Days to Sign a Union’s First Contract, Bloomberg, August 2, 2022). From the start of this process, we have had what we believe to be very productive sessions with the Union where the parties have engaged in careful and deliberate consideration over the proposals presented. The University’s bargaining team will continue to engage in good faith negotiations with FAM and work diligently with the Union to reach an agreement.

During the October 24 session, the University passed the following eight proposals and counter proposals: Compensation; Professional Development; Management Rights; Leaves; Grievance and Arbitration; Financial Exigency and Academic Reorganization; Duration; and Appointment and Promotion of TT and Tenured Faculty. The Union also passed the following five proposals and counter proposals: FAM Package on Management Rights, Association Rights, Shared Governance, Duration, No Strike/No Lockout; FAM Package on Faculty Evals, PIPs, Appt of TCPL, Appt of TTT, Intellectual Property, Salary Adjustment Studies, Compensation, and Leaves.

The parties will meet again in person on November 6 and virtually on November 7. We will continue to keep you updated on the bargaining process.

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