NEIUPI

The following is a description of May 18 settlement agreement reached for the remaining contract issues. These agreements will be added to the previously TA’d (tentative agreement) articles and posted on the university website no later than the evening of Monday, May 23. The ratification vote will begin Tuesday,May 24 and continue through Monday, May 30. Outcome of ratification vote will be announced no later than June 1. More information about ratification vote and membership meeting to follow in a later email.

Academic Support Professionals. Accept status quo language for ASP 37.5 hour flexible work week (Article 36). Continue current practice for breaks.

Instructors. Art Studio Instruction. Two studios taught in one academic term or four studios across two academic terms (9 mo contract) is a 75% appointment (was 50%). Three studios taught in one academic term is a 93.75% appointment (was 75%). Five studios taught on a 9 month contract is a 93.75% appointment. Six studios assigned on a 9 month contract is a 100% appointment plus 3 credit hours of overload. (Articles 36 and 37)

Instructors. Full-time workload for 9 month contract: 21-24 credit hours with the understanding that if a course is cancelled and workload total decreased to 18credit hours then the instructor will be designated full-time only for the purpose of benefits with compensation paid as pro rata based on 24 credit hours. (Article 36)

Instructors. Individuals hired by semester shall have their workload calculated as follows: 11 – 12 credit hours = full time with assignments less than 11 credit hours prorated based on 12 credit hours. (Article 36)

Instructors. Benefits for instructors hired on semester contracts (4.5 months). When an instructor is hired in fall on a semester-by-semester basis, the University will predict a spring appointment contingent on program need and student demand for the purpose of Central Management Services determining eligibility for benefits. Note: Currently, employee must be projected for 9 month employment with at least a 50% appointment to be eligible for health benefits. (Article 31)

Teaching Professionals/Instructors. Key #7: Clinical experience,internship, field experience and practicum (Articles 24 and 37). A chart will be included in the contract that identifies the credit unit/hour values for these instructional activities in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business and Management, and Education. With the exception of HRD 329, HRD 416, HRD417, LEAD 434, LEAD 435, and LEAD 495, the credit unit/hour values remain the same as assigned under the 2004-2008 contract. The aforementioned courses will use .45 cu/ch per student enrolled (had been reduced from .5 to .4 in summer 2008). The University and UPI will negotiate any changes to the values in the chart over the duration of the agreement (2010 –2014).

Teaching Professionals. Instruction/Primary duty expectation is 18-20 cu and the first 18 cu may include up to 1 cu for team teaching (key #10). (Articles 23 and 24)

All Bargaining Unit Members. Compensation. Across the board salary increases for FY13 = 2.5% and FY14 = 2.75% with the provision of a salary reopener.

For FY13 andFY14, a salary reopener shall be triggered if the state increases the University’s general appropriation above the level of FY11 ($40,695,200) unless the increase in appropriation is specifically targeted by the state (e.g., deferred maintenance). For FY 13 and 14the salary increases shall be 2.5% and 2.75% respectively or the percentages from the state for faculty salaries, whichever is greater. (Article 21)

All Bargaining Unit Members. Compression Adjustments. For FY13 $50,000 will be allocated for compression adjustments to the base to be determined by the UPI. For FY 14 $50,000 will be allocated for compression adjustments to the base to be determined by the UPI. (Article 21) For FY 13 $50,000 will be allocated for compression adjustments to the base to be determined by the UPI.

President Hahs and I released a joint email to the university community announcing that tentative agreements were reached on the remaining contract issues. In a few days, the complete document to which our team has tentatively agreed will be posted for your review and vote.

Tomorrow, I will send a summary of the tentative agreements reached today as well as the procedure to be followed for the ratification vote.

Thank you for your patience and support of our negotiating team.

At the request of Senator Martinez, President Hahs, Carlos Azcoitia and I met with the senator at her office last Saturday. As the president has on multiple occasions, she presented the administration’s last best and final offer as a fair and equitable. I was afforded the opportunity to explain what was lacking in the administration’s offer and why it had been rejected by the membership. Senator Martinez offered to mediate the few remaining issues this coming weekend but President Hahs suggested that the two teams might be able to finish this week. To that end, the two teams will meet today.

For the past 1024 days, the UPI negotiating team has been committed to securing a fair and equitable contract for all members of the bargaining unit. We were encouraged when the administration returned to negotiations with us on April 27th, but we were disappointed when they simply reiterated a “last, best, and final offer” that the membership had already overwhelmingly rejected. The UPI team’s aim is to achieve a fair contract that does not further increase workload or exploit our most vulnerable members.

Although we believe that a negotiated settlement is in the best interests of the university, the administration’s refusal to collaborate to this end may require us to consider more direct action. Please check your email, both NEIU and private accounts, regularly for updates on the status of negotiations and on the next steps we may have to take.

A recent document circulated by the administration compares the NEIU administration’s latest compensation offer with salary increases negotiated at other Illinois universities represented by the UPI. The document compared the effect of raises to salaries of $30,000, $50,000 and $70,000 but the document did not address differences related to rank, employee group and annual contract length. Other information that did not appear in the document included the first year of the NEIU proposal (FY10) and the disparity in salaries between NEIU and other universities.

Please find attached a set of tables that reflect the effect of the negotiated raises at other universities represented by the UPI and the effect of the proposed administration salary increases on our salaries through FY14. Let’s be absolutely clear that the much touted “fair and equitable proposal” does little or nothing to change where our salaries fall in comparison to other Illinois public universities and includes changes to our workloads.