Editor’s note: This story has been updated from its original version.

The University of Michigan administration stands ready at any time to continue contract talks with the union representing non-tenure-track lecturers, even as the union told the university Aug. 9 that it plans to terminate its contract.

Negotiations began in January and the parties have met 29 times and reached 18 tentative agreements on a range of contractual matters. But the union and the administration remain apart on salary.

The Lecturers’ Employee Organization, which represents nearly 1,700 lecturers across all three U-M campuses, on Aug. 9 gave the university the 30-day notice required to terminate the contract, which expired in May. University officials said they are concerned this decision may indicate LEO plans a strike for early September, just as the fall term is getting under way. The current contract contains a no-strike clause.

LEO said in its notification that, “We are writing to give notice that LEO is terminating the 2018-21 Collective Bargaining Agreement effective today August 9. As you know, this means the CBA will remain in effect for thirty days (unless we agree to extend it). We sincerely hope we can reach agreement before September 8, 2021.” The letter was signed by Kirsten Herold, LEO president.

Sascha Matish, associate vice provost for academic and faculty affairs and senior director of Academic Human Resources, said the university’s latest salary proposal includes increases in minimum salaries, annual increases, a longevity increase and increases in the average salaries of lecturers across all three campuses. Specifically, over the three-year life of the contract the university’s proposal would raise average salaries by 10.9 percent, with the average salaries reaching:

• $87,790 in Ann Arbor.
• $55,380 in Dearborn.
• $58,815 in Flint.

The university’s latest salary proposal increases the minimum salaries in Dearborn and Flint by $3,000 (7 percent) by the end of the agreement and provides annual increases for all lecturers on all three campuses of 2 percent in year one, 2.75 percent in year two and 3.5 percent in year three.

Even before these proposed increases, lecturers’ starting salaries on the Ann Arbor campus are the highest of the state’s four-year public universities.

The LEO team has presented only three salary proposals since June 23 and has canceled several negotiations sessions. LEO’s last formal salary proposal Aug. 9 significantly reconfigured the salary structure and increases the minimum salaries of Lecturers I by 31.7 percent in Flint and Dearborn and by 5.9 percent in Ann Arbor. The overall percentage increase of the LEO proposal is 26.6 percent.

The cost of LEO’s current salary proposal would significantly impact the Flint and Dearborn campuses. Neither the Flint nor the Dearborn campus can manage these types of increases to lecturers’ salaries, particularly after the historically large increases in the 2018 contract, which increased average salaries by more than 20 percent, and increased minimum salaries by 33-50 percent, according to university officials.

The provosts on each of U-M’s three campuses said in an email message to lecturers they are concerned that LEO’s decision to terminate the contract is part of the union’s preparations for a strike that would upend the education of thousands of students at the start of fall semester.

“Students are eager to return to campus after such a tumultuous year. A strike would cause great harm and stress to them, particularly for our undergraduate students, who already have endured significant disruptions to their education during the pandemic,” the Aug. 10 message said. It was signed by Susan M. Collins, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs; Gabriella Scarlatta, interim provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at UM-Dearborn; and Sonja Feist-Price, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at UM-Flint.

Strikes by public employees are prohibited by state law.

The provosts’ message reiterated the university’s position that “we do not believe a strike is appropriate, nor is it necessary in order for LEO to achieve a fair contract that represents significant progress for its members.

“The university’s negotiating team stands ready to bargain at any time and continues to explore every available means to reach an agreement.” The campus academic leaders said the university’s commitment to bargaining in good faith is unwavering.

In April, the university requested that the Michigan Employment Relations Commission provide a neutral, third-party mediator to assist with resolving the remaining issues, but LEO refused to engage. In light of the slow progress in talks over the summer, the university continued to seek assistance from MERC, filing a petition for fact finding July 1. That petition is pending.

Fact finding is a process whereby a state-appointed, neutral third-party factfinder reviews and makes findings of fact and recommendations for resolution of open issues in negotiations. If the parties are unable to come to agreement, the neutral factfinder could issue a non-binding recommendation for settlement of the contractual dispute.

“Lecturers are integral and valuable members of our community and serve an important role in the education of our students,” the message said. “We continue to believe we can reach agreement on a contract that makes significant improvements in the compensation and working conditions of our lecturers and maintains the high quality of instruction without disruption to our students.”