Office professionals ratify proposed union contract; no wage, benefit increases for 2010-11
A newly-approved contract with Central Michigan University office professionals will mean no wage and benefit increases for at least the first of three years.
Karen Bellingar, president of UAW Local 6888 and executive secretary of the School of Engineering and Technology, said mediation went smoothly and members responded with a 5-1 vote in favor of the proposed contract. An agreement was reached Wednesday.
The terms of the agreement mean CMU’s 340 office professional staff can receive an increase the second and third year of the contract, determined by the wages of professional and administrative staff.
“With all the circumstances that we are looking at, I think it’s a fairly good contract,” she said.
Currently, wages for professional and administrative staff are frozen for 2010-11 fiscal year.
Office professionals originally rejected a proposed contract in June.
However, Bellingar did express the disappointment her and the members had with not receiving an increase of wages for the first year of the contract.
“The main thing was we did get a one and a half percent increase in our retirement funds for people hired after 1996,” Bellingar said.
In 1996, the state of Michigan offered the Michigan’s Public School Employees Retirement System, a benefit plan for office professionals at CMU, Eastern Michigan University, Western Michigan University and several other institutions in Michigan who retired before then.
Kevin Smart, director of employee relations, said those who could not retire or chose not to were expected to start contributing more to their retirement fund.
Office professionals will receive a 1.5-percent increase in retirement funds for the second year and a .5-percent increase for the third year.
“We have been at six percent for the last eight years,” Bellingar said.
By the third year, Office Professionals will be at 8 percent until it can go higher, she said.
Although wages were not increased, both Bellingar and Smart said they understood the reasoning.
Smart cited the national and state economy and unemployment specifically. He also said the rate of graduating high school seniors is decreasing, causing universities to question the rate of incoming freshmen classes and revenue.
“Demographically, over the next eight years, that pool of high school graduating seniors will be shrinking,” Smart said.
The contract will become effective once University President George Ross ratifies both the contract and recommendation sent by Smart. It is set to expire June 30, 2013.
“The important thing to recognize is the mediator helped both parties to find a way to mutually trust each other to do the right thing,” Smart said.
