The union representing 750 non-tenured faculty and staff at Michigan State University has reached a tentative agreement with the school’s administration.
The bargaining team for the Union of Nontenure Track Faculty and university leadership agreed on terms of a new four-year contract earlier this week.
Kate Birdsall, the president of the union, says the contract is a historic win.
"I've gotten a couple of emails asking me if this is real," she said. "Everything I have heard directly to me has been incredibly positive. There's a lot of of disbelief and gratitude."
Birdsall said the agreement would guarantee annual raises and promotions for members.
“So, we negotiated substantial increases to the minimum salaries, successfully negotiated a compression adjustment, a one time increase to base salaries for people in the lower to middle salary bands and got in the contract monetary adjustments if and when our members are promoted in rank."
According to the official contract, all members will receive a 3.5% raise to their base salary for 2022 regardless of merit. The following years, raises will be dependent on merit and will range between 2.5% and 3%.
Birdsall said the negotiating team was also able to agree to minimum salaries for its members.
Assistant instructors and lecturers will receive a minimum of $45,000 per year, associate professors will earn a minimum of $60,000 per year and professors $70,000 per year. These minimums are based on nine month appointments.
Some assistant professors on academic year appointments are currently earning as little as $36,000.
While the collective bargaining team wanted to raise the minimum to $49,000 per year, Birdsall says she feels pleased at what they were able to negotiate with the university.
"We did make significant progress, particularly at the rank of instructors that are filled by people who do not have terminal degrees ... they have master's degrees," she said.
All members who received a promotion between 2018 and 2022 will be eligible for a $2,000 salary base increase. All raises will go into effect in October of this year.
Birdsall says they were also able to negotiate opportunities for promotion for members.
"We'll be able to implement the rank of senior instructor to give folks with a master's degree an opportunity to have a of detailed review and to move up in rank and not just to be stuck for an entire career at at one level," she said.
Those promoted will also be eligible to a salary base increase between $2,000-$4,000 per year.
Dan Olsen, a spokesperson for the university, says the agreement falls in line with MSU’s strategic plan.
"The university is pleased to have reached this tentative agreement with the leadership of the Union of Non-Tenured Faculty," he added.
Members of the union have until June 7 to vote on the contract. If approved, it would go into effect as early as July.
