EMU Administration Agrees to Recommendations of Fact Finding Report on Key Issues of Salary Increases and Health Care Insurance Premiums, But One Key Issue Remains Unresolved

(YPSILANTI)—In a bargaining session with Eastern Michigan University professors today, the EMU administration said they would agree to the recommendations of an independent fact finding report on the key issues of salary increases and health care insurance premium co-pays.

The fact finding report recommended that the university should meet professors’ proposed salary increases of 3.50%, 4.06%, 3.75% and 3.88% over the next four years. The report also recommended that the universities proposal of implementing a co-pay for professors on health insurance premiums should be accepted. The co-pays would cost professors on average about $1,000, depending on their individual health plans. Both the administration and faculty agreed to these terms in principle today.

While this brings the university and faculty close to a contract agreement, the two sides are still at odds over one remaining issue, the university’s providing of domestic partner benefits. EMU has provided faculty with domestic partner benefits since 1998, but now say they are unsure of the legality of those benefits in light of a recent court of appeals decision. EMU faculty is working on possible solutions to maintain these benefits.

“There is still one issue that must be worked out, but we are very heartened that the university has agreed to accept the recommendations of the independent fact finder,” said Howard Bunsis, president of the EMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the union representing EMU faculty. “We said before the fact finder issues his report that we trusted the fact finding process and would accept his recommendations. We said after the fact finder released his report that we were ready to act in the best interest of EMU and accept his proposed compromise in order to put this dispute behind us. Today we are very pleased that university administration has joined us in agreeing to the fact finders recommendations.”

Bunsis said that today’s bargaining session puts the university and professors closer to an agreement then they have been at any point in this long bargaining process that began 10 months ago, and is confident that an agreement can be reached. He said the EMU-AAUP is committed to maintaining maximum protection under the law for all of its members, and this issue will continue to be evaluated before the next bargaining session on Tuesday, April 10.

“While there has been solid progress, we are not there yet,” said Bunsis. “We’ve got a great compromise on salary and health care. Now with those major issues out of the way, we are hopeful that we can discuss the final issue of domestic partner benefits and come up with a solution with which both sides will be satisfied.”