Bargaining Update 9

An important bargaining update

We were scheduled to bargain with the university September 21 and then once a week for the next four weeks. Those meetings have been postponed as a result of the Appellate Court decision regarding the composition of our bargaining unit. We will have more to share over the coming days and weeks as we wait for the labor board to respond to the Appellate Court decision.

In the meantime, we have some important — and positive — news to share.

As you may know, the university granted non-union faculty and staff a 3% merit raise for this year. As a certified bargaining unit, that increase would not automatically apply to us.

As a direct result of our team’s advocacy and work at the bargaining table, we have secured a 3% merit increase for all HILIA/Metcalf/U-High Faculty Associates and Staff for whom we have been bargaining. This increase applies to all those who were employed at the end of June and as of October 1, and will go into effect with your end-of-October paycheck.

Over the past few months of bargaining, our team has consistently advocated for the university to agree to respectful and clear contract language, and for a contract and compensation which recognize the value of our work. Our team has regularly reminded the university that they could provide some increases in compensation now while we continue to negotiate our first contract. Specifically, our bargaining team has made it clear that we would agree to a merit increase now, especially since our folks have gone so long without any meaningful increases, as a downpayment toward the full compensation we continue to advocate for.

We know this is nowhere close to where we need to end up. But it gets us one step closer and provides some partial economic relief while our team continues to advocate for a fair contract and compensation we deserve! Our proposal at the table continues to ask that the university close the pay gap (an average of $12,000 per Faculty Associate). We anticipate receiving the university’s full response to our financial proposal when we return to the bargaining table.

Please look for communication from the university regarding how this increase to your base salary will be implemented through payroll/HR.

Please reach out to a member of the bargaining team — Lauren Denofrio-Corrales, Jake Davis, Andy Goveia, Chris Pederson, Kevin Thompson, Amy Yount and IEA UniServ Director Ben Matthews — or Meg Flanagan if you have any questions about this merit increase or the status of our bargaining work.

Let’s celebrate this small win. And then let’s get ready to finish the work before us, together. Watch for more updates as we have more information to share.