Mediation ends between CMU, Faculty Association with no deal in place
Mediation has ended with no agreement reached on the Faculty Association's contract with CMU.
The FA and the university have met three times for mediation, twice before the bargaining unit's contract expired on June 30. The FA said in a statement the university has ended mediation talks as of today's session, forcing the two groups to enter fact-finding.
The FA said on Tuesday it would accept a pay freeze, a key part of the administration's position table, if undergraduate tuition was frozen as well. The proposal was rejected by the university, the FA said.
Laura Frey, president of the FA and professor in counseling and special education, said in a statement the FA is "disappointed" with the result.
Frey said the nearly 3.5 percent increase to tuition adds 2.3 percent to CMU's general fund budget.
"The CMU Faculty Association is disappointed in Ross’s and the board’s actions that value increasing the projected university discretionary fund account to nearly a quarter of a billion dollars at the expense of students, their families, and all university employees," she said.
The release said the FA will meet in closed session as an organization July 21, but gave no date for the beginning of fact-finding sessions.
Frey was unavailable for further comment at press time. The university was also unavailable.
