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UPDATED: CMU rejects FA’s counter offer; Union to hold off-campus membership meeting Monday

By Theresa Clift on November 22, 2011 11:30 pm in Administration / 15 comments

 

Central Michigan University rejected the Faculty Association’s counter offer Tuesday night, meaning CMU’s Nov. 11 final offer still stands.

The FA proposed a one-year contract, instead of three, and agreed to a one-year pay freeze. The FA also withdrew its proposal for a $600 signing bonus for 12-month faculty.

“We thought that offering a one year tentative agreement that included every concession from the faculty that the administration demanded would allow all of CMU to move forward,” FA President Laura Frey said in a press release. “In doing so it also would provide a longer cooling off period before the teams return to the table next year to begin work on a new 3-year contract.”

CMU is standing by its final offer, and encourages the FA to take the proposal to a membership vote, Director of Public Relations Steve Smith said in a press release.

“Our students should remain focused on their academic pursuits without the distractions of faculty negotiations,” said Provost Gary Shapiro in a press release. “They deserve the best educational environment, and we are committed to bringing this matter to resolution in the best interest of our students and university.”

The FA has scheduled a general membership meeting at 5 p.m. Monday in the Mount Pleasant High School Auditorium.

However, the plans for what will be discussed there are still under review, Frey said.

An injunction signed by Isabella County Judge Paul H. Chamberlain will expire 20 business days after the fact-finder’s report was released. At that time, the FA can issue a job action, including a strike, as it did on Aug. 22.

The 20-day period is scheduled to expire Nov. 30, Frey said.

 

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  • GordianKnot

    Silly antics by FA to prolong and attempt to cajole something beyond last/best/final.  Word is membership at large wants to discuss contract ratification of final offer (what is it about the word FINAL that FA leadership cannot understand???)

  • Michmediaperson

    George and the Granholm-appointed Board should do what new Chicago Liberal Democrat Rahm Emanuel (former chief of staff for Barack Hussein Obama) did when the union didn’t sign the contract.

    He got rid of something like 600 union employees and from the savings, he was able to meet the union’s demands.

    Likewise here, figure out what it will cost for part-time faculty to replace X-number of unionized, tenured professors, lay them off and you’ll have the $$$ to meet the demands of the remaining union members.

    That strategy is working in Chicago, Wisconsin, other states and cities where unions don’t want to give-in during the Obama Depression.

    It’s getting down to crunch time.  As I said from the start, this is a fight amongst Liberal Democrats.

    The liberal Democratic union vs. the Jennifer Granholm-appointed Board of Trustees and their appointed university president.

    There are no Independents or Republicans or Tea Party people involved in this fight.  Yes, there are 2 Snyder appointees on the Board but they are way in the minority with no power.  Granholm’s folks have 6 of the 8 votes. 

     It’s been fun to watch the Left fight! 

    Because of Mr. Goldman’s findings and the Obama Depresssion, George Ross and the Board should win this fight.  My only concern is does George have the marketing and PR folks to win over the Michigan taxpayers.

    The only card the unionized faculty has left is the Medical School debacle.  That’s it. 

    They actually have one other card left but I’m not sure after all that picketing if George and the Board would cut them any slack.

    George should win this thing. 

  • Guest

    It’s only final if the FA agrees to it.

  • Scott

    What was the part that differed from the “final offer”?

  • Another Guest

    Guest,

    My understanding is that if the FA doesn’t agree to the last,best, final offer, the University can simply implement it as the contract 60 days after the date of the fact finder’s report.

  • 912

    Shapiro/Ross and Co. continue to parade their arrogance and indifference before all who can stomach watching. It’s almost comical to hear these two who are puling down as much or more than the president of the United States preach “shared sacrifice” to janitors, secretaries, cops  … and now to faculty.

    A “vote of no confidence” is long overdue for these two embarrassments to this campus.

  • Guest

    I believe that the Administration can impose the terms of their proposed contract, but not a contract.  Bargaining could still continue and the FA could continue to picket, etc. since there would be no actual contract.

  • Is Glenn Beck A Terrorist?

    Paging Alexander the Great…

  • Is Glenn Beck A Terrorist?

    “Liberal … Rahm Emanuel”
    Nope.

    “Depression”
    Nope. (And the economic issues are a direct consequence of ‘conservative’ policies.)

    “As I said from the start, this is a fight amongst Liberal Democrats.”
    Nope.

  • Is Glenn Beck A Terrorist?

    One year contract, exactly matching the first year of the administration’s “offer.”

  • Michmediaperson

    Why would Ross and the Granholm Board be stupid enough to give these union folks a one year contract…..and then go through all this again a year from now.

    I’ll tell you where the union went wrong.

    They should have told Ross and the Board that because of Granholm screwing up Michigan for 8 years and Obama screwing up the national economy, that they would give up some goodies for a 1 year contract and then revisit everything in the summer of 2012 when the economy would be hopefully better.  

    But the union didn’t want to do that.  They wanted to be the tough old-traditional union approach. A 3-year deal full of goodies!      Run CMU’s name through the mud.  Negative stories in the statewide media.  Go after George Ross and his team.
    And, picket in front of prospective CMU students.  Picket here, picket there!  We probably lost some good high school seniors because of this.  Donors are turned off.  Alumni turned off.  And now, when they lost to Mr. Goldman, they’re trying to save face with a 1-year deal?  

    I don’t blame Ross and Company for saying “No”  to a 1-year contract.  I would too after what they put Ross through.

    The union played this wrong from the start.  Now, they’re stuck! 

    This is a learning moment for you young people.  In negotiations, you got to allow both sides to win and to think they got a good deal.  And like it or not, Ross and the Board are still the employer.  The faculty is the employee.  Most employees no matter where you work, don’t necessarily like the employer.  You schmooze the employer for what you want, not picket, not attack them verbally and in letters to the editor, etc.  You think a 23 year old, first-year CMU alum working at Ford or Dow or Whirlpool can go into the CEO’s office and tell that person which health insurance carrier they should go with?  It doesn’t work that way in life.

    With the national economy in the tank, any strike now would turn off the Michigan taxpayers.  The faculty would lose the PR war.  Schmoozing George from the start would have been the way to go.  

    A vote of “no confidence?”   It wouldn’t mean anything.  Goldman made George look presidential!  A “no confidence” vote would signal sour grapes…and dig a bigger hole for faculty.

    Unless the union would do some things that the educational unions in Lansing and Washington would scream about….like a reduction in health insurance paycheck costs if Obamacare is overturned…..then the faculty is stuck.

    Sign the deal.   
     

  • Michmediaperson

    Why would Ross and the Granholm Board be stupid enough to give these union folks a one year contract…..and then go through all this again a year from now.

    I’ll tell you where the union went wrong.

    They should have told Ross and the Board that because of Granholm screwing up Michigan for 8 years and Obama screwing up the national economy, that they would give up some goodies for a 1 year contract and then revisit everything in the summer of 2012 when the economy would be hopefully better.  

    But the union didn’t want to do that.  They wanted to be the tough old-traditional union approach. A 3-year deal full of goodies!      Run CMU’s name through the mud.  Negative stories in the statewide media.  Go after George Ross and his team.
    And, picket in front of prospective CMU students.  Picket here, picket there!  We probably lost some good high school seniors because of this.  Donors are turned off.  Alumni turned off.  And now, when they lost to Mr. Goldman, they’re trying to save face with a 1-year deal?  

    I don’t blame Ross and Company for saying “No”  to a 1-year contract.  I would too after what they put Ross through.

    The union played this wrong from the start.  Now, they’re stuck! 

    This is a learning moment for you young people.  In negotiations, you got to allow both sides to win and to think they got a good deal.  And like it or not, Ross and the Board are still the employer.  The faculty is the employee.  Most employees no matter where you work, don’t necessarily like the employer.  You schmooze the employer for what you want, not picket, not attack them verbally and in letters to the editor, etc.  You think a 23 year old, first-year CMU alum working at Ford or Dow or Whirlpool can go into the CEO’s office and tell that person which health insurance carrier they should go with?  It doesn’t work that way in life.

    With the national economy in the tank, any strike now would turn off the Michigan taxpayers.  The faculty would lose the PR war.  Schmoozing George from the start would have been the way to go.  

    A vote of “no confidence?”   It wouldn’t mean anything.  Goldman made George look presidential!  A “no confidence” vote would signal sour grapes…and dig a bigger hole for faculty.

    Unless the union would do some things that the educational unions in Lansing and Washington would scream about….like a reduction in health insurance paycheck costs if Obamacare is overturned…..then the faculty is stuck.

    Sign the deal.   
     

  • Guest

    “A three year deal full of goodies” – look, basically what the union wants is not to take a pay cut when the University has $250 million to spend – and the factfinder stated that CMU does have the money to adopt the FA’s contract offer.  If they take a pay cut under those circumstances, when would they ever be able to expect to get a pay increase?

  • Michmediaperson

    That 250 million is NOT NOT NOT the faculty’s money.  Not one penny of that is owed to the faculty.

    Here’s an idea.  Why don’t the students take CMU to court or the Michigan taxpayers take CMU court and demand that money back????

    Mr. Goldman clearly came down on George’s side as far as pay increases and health insurance pertains.

    The faculty botched this from the start.  They need to sign this and move on!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_42MFPDI4SGO4OZSMUQ2VKLNGYM frmatmn2ashes

    This sounds like an amazing plan to attract new, bright professors and keep current staff content and desiring of working at such an institution. The best way to keep a public university in-line is, apparently, to try and sue them for any excess funds?

    Just stay at the Yahoo! message boards. While you’re there, I’m sure you can find a number of resources in regards to FINALLY obtaining that long-desired GED you’ve been sorely missing.

    Have you ever requested a raise? [Or did Wendy's turn you down?] Have you ever purchased stocks and expected dividends? [I'm not quite sure if NASCAR is publicly traded] Has the idea of inflation or cost of living ever affected you? [What are mobile homes worth these days? Also, I'm not sure how much the prices of food at Save-A-Lot have fluctuated, but I'm sure your evil liberal EBT card covers most of it]