Academy for Academic Personnel Administration

Fall 2003

Round Table Report

 

1.  Institution Information

 

Name of Institution/System: Western Michigan University

 

Name of Individual Responding: Chester B. Rogers       

 

Title of Individual Responding: Associate Vice President and Director of Academic Collective Bargaining

 

2a. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition

 

The bargaining unit has 940 Board appointed ranked faculty divided into two categories: traditionally ranked faculty (slightly over 90%) and faculty specialists (the remainder).  We have 511 tenured, 286 on tenure track, and 143 on term appointments.

 

Bargaining Agent: AAUP

 

Date of First Contract:  September, 1976

 

Number of Succeeding Contracts:  10

 

 

 

3. Activity Report (e.g., status of current agreement or negotiations, details of last contract settlement, etc.):

 

Our 2002 Agreement was for three years but provided for a reopener at the end of the first year for salary and health care.  We have now completed negotiations on salary and health care and added a window retirement incentive program.  Our 2002 Agreement and the Articles relating to the reopener can be found on the web at www.wmich.edu/acb

 

In essence regarding the reopener, we managed to reduce anticipated cost increases by $4 million dollars, primarily by switching to a PPO and increasing co-pays for prescription drug.  The retirement incentive program will cost some money up front by provide long-term savings of approximately $20 million.  We negotiated salary increases of 2% beginning at the mid-point of the salary year for the current year and of 3% beginning at the mid-point of the salary year for the last year of the contract.

 

What I think is most impressive is that we were able to do this using interest based bargaining.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Special or noteworthy happenings (e.g., relevant arbitration or court decisions, organizing campaigns, labor agency decisions, etc.)

 

Western Michigan University took a !0% reduction in money from the state including last year and this current year.

 

 

 

 

5.  Special happenings related to fiscal issues (e.g., salary reductions, health and dental insurance costs, reductions in force, early retirement programs, program consolidation or elimination, etc.):