Political candidacy policy passed in 2008 still has opposition from CMU union
The Political Candidacy Policy adopted by Central Michigan University in 2008 has several groups on campus unhappy more than three years later and has sparked an ongoing lawsuit.
In December 2008, the CMU Board of Trustees adopted the policy, which requires employees seeking or holding political office to achieve administrative approval.
Under the policy, employees who seek or hold a political position in any federal, state, county or local office, part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid, are required to present a statement from his or her supervisor and the vice president, provost or president of CMU. The statement must attest that “appropriate arrangements have been made to ensure that their candidacy in no way will interfere with the full performance of their university work and that their candidacy will pose no conflict with professional standards or ethics.”
If the employee is found to violate this, then “an alternate relationship with the university must be arranged.”
"The Faculty Association believed the policy was too vague and subject to the whims of a future administration which may selectively try to discourage some candidacies while passing on others,” said James Hill, professor of political science.
The FA asked to renegotiate the policy, but the administration denied.
CMU and the FA agreed to the political candidacy policy during bargaining for the 2008-11 contract, said Matt Serra, director of faculty employee relations.
“The administration refused to negotiate the policy, arguing that we silently agreed to it when we ratified the old contract,” Hill said.
The administration then allowed the FA to bargain the procedures that would be used to implement the policy. A special faculty team was created to do so, chaired by Hill.
The team drafted a procedure, which included criteria for administration to use. It stated decisions could not be made based on an employee’s political party, likelihood to win and their office sought or appointed to.
It also included an appeals process, details of application deadlines and clarified between a conflict of interest and a conflict of commitment.
The administration and FA tentatively agreed on the procedure at the beginning of the fall 2010 semester, Serra said. But the procedure has still not been implemented, because two university unions have yet to approve.
Opposition
In Dec. 2009, about a year after the board adopted the policy, CMU’s office professionals union (UAW) filed a lawsuit claiming the policy was unlawful.
The university filed its answer on Jan. 25, 2010, and both parties filed motions for summary disposition.
On Aug. 2, 2010, the Isabella County Trial Court granted the motion for summary disposition and dismissed the lawsuit filed by the UAW. The court sided with the university in that the policy is consistent with Michigan law. The UAW’s appeal to this decision was argued before the Michigan Court of Appeals on Nov. 2, 2011. Both parties are awaiting a decision.
UAW President Karen Bellingar and UAW International Service Representative Brian Bosak both declined comment, citing pending litigation.
The supervisory technical union has also not approved the procedure, said Kevin Smart, director of employee relations.
Gary Peters
Gary Peters, a democrat from Bloomfield Hills, was a professor of political science at CMU and a Griffin Endowed Chair and left CMU in 2008 after winning a primary election for the House of Representatives. The advocacy policy was passed immediately after.
Hill said Peters’ campaign did not hinder his ability to serve as a professor at CMU.
“Mr. Peters was an excellent chair who spent the same amount of effort as every other chair who succeeded him,” he said. “I am quite proud to say that a former Griffin chair went on to become a member of Congress, and unsuccessful efforts to try to force him to leave earlier than the primary were short-sighted politically and strategically.”
Peters serves the 9th congressional district, including Macomb County. After his district was eliminated, Peters announced he will run in the 14th district against Rep. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit.
“U.S. Rep. Peters is proud of his work at CMU and thinks that everyone has a Constitutional right to run for public office,” said Jared Smith, communications director for Peters.
The policy is difficult to swallow for some political science faculty, especially since public service is part of CMU’s vision statement.
“I find it curious that the board [of trustees] and the administration want us to be service-oriented but then adopt a policy that makes it more difficult for faculty to run for office than it does for them to make money in the private sector,” Hill said. “It is particularly frustrating for those of us in political science who believe running for office is not just a right but a responsibility of all citizens who care about our democracy and want to have a role in influencing our democratic process.”
