University of Michigan lecturers hold off on strike for now

The nearly-1,700 members of the lecturers' union at the University of Michigan will go to class tomorrow morning like normal and not head out on strike.

The union had threatened to walk off the job on Monday and Tuesday without a new contract, but union officials said enough progress was made in talks to keep their members on the job. The current contract with the University of Michigan expires on April 20.

“We are beginning to make progress at the bargaining table, thanks to overwhelming support of LEO members, students, tenure track faculty, university regents and other allies,” said LEO President Ian Robinson, a lecturer in the sociology department, in a statement. “We have not yet achieved our goal of a fair and reasonable settlement that recognizes the contribution lecturers make to the university and to our students. Thanks to widespread support and solidarity, we feel empowered to keep bargaining for the coming days and weeks for the truly outstanding contract we all deserve.”

There are almost 1,700 lecturers — nontenure track faculty — at University of Michigan campuses in Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint. They are represented by the Lecturers’ Employee Organization, AFT-MI Local 6244, AFL-CIO.

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U-M's administration has said there's no need for the union to call for a strike, and if the lecturers walk off, they will be hurting students just as the school year comes to an end.

"The university remains committed to bargaining in good faith and we remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached before the current contract ends April 20," the university said in a statement last week. "A work stoppage or strike by LEO members has its biggest negative impact on students at a critical time near the end of the academic year."

The administration said a strike would violate the terms of the current contract, which has a no-strike clause.

"State law also prohibits labor strikes by public employees," the administration's statement said.

Voting to implement a strike — previously authorized by 80% of voting members through electronic balloting — took place during LEO membership meetings last week. Lecturers on all three campuses voted unanimously to proceed with a strike unless there is substantial progress on pay demands and other bargaining issues.

The minimum starting salary for a lecturer is $27,300 at U-M Flint, $28,300 at U-M Dearborn, and $34,500 at U-M Ann Arbor, a pay scale that is lower than nearby community colleges and public schools, the union said in a release. The LEO bargaining team has proposed a $60,000 minimum salary for U-M Ann Arbor and equivalent pay increases at other campuses.

Lecturers teach more than one-half of credit hours on the Flint and Dearborn campuses, and one-third of credit hours in Ann Arbor.

At the Board of Regents meeting last month, Regents Mark Bernstein, D-Ann Arbor, and Andrea Fischer Newman, R-Ann Arbor, publicly stated their support for lecturers.

"It’s time to invest in our lecturers with the same enthusiasm we apply to other important priorities," Bernstein said.

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj