Finding the facts
As a state fact-finder comes onto the scene, the Faculty Association and university administration could not be more at loggerheads.
Negotiations have not gone well. Both parties consider themselves in the right.
Ideally, a fact-finder's impartial recommendation will cut through some of the widespread contention. But this can occur only if both parties are willing to take seriously the fact-finder's proposal. It may not be optimal for either side.
Though we have sided with the faculty's concerns, it's important to keep in mind the distinction between what would be ideal and what is feasible - even if what is feasible is severely limited by the university's excessive spending on new, glamorous projects.
The fact-finder should take these considerations, as well as the university's credit rating and similar universities' faculty salaries, into account. A fact-finder may lend credibility to the faculty's concerns, though it probably will not be to as great an extent as faculty would like.
The larger problem is this: A fact-finder likely will notice the university's frivolous spending and consider it an expense that limits the amount CMU can pay faculty. In this regard, the medical school couldn't have come at a more effective time - much of the university's spare funds are already committed.
Moreover, though the fact-finder may side with the faculty when taking into account competing universities' salaries, the overall proposal likely will not be appealing to faculty because of the extent to which the university already has committed its funds.
It's likely the fact-finder's overall proposal will favor the administration more than is ideal. As a result, the core issues - the university's tendency to spend a disproportionate amount of money on areas other than faculty - may not be thoroughly addressed because their outcomes already influence the realistic terms of agreement.
But the Faculty Association still should seriously consider the proposal.
The faculty's broader concerns cannot be solved overnight, and will not be resolved within this phase of contract negotiations. Though faculty are largely in the right, the administration has tied its own hands, through the medical school and other misguided projects.
A strike will not fix this.
No amount of pressure will cause the university to switch direction within the year.
If the fact-finder's proposal is tolerable, the Faculty Association should grit its teeth and accept it.
The larger problems will take more time, and discussion should not cease after the contracts have been resolved.
Hopefully, by the next contract renewal, the situation will have improved.
