University of Michigan sends striking graduate employees "last, best and final" contract offer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The University of Michigan presented its last, best and final contract offer to striking members of its Graduate Employees' Organization on Sunday.
U-M spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald said the university issued the deal in response to a request by graduate student instructors as classes are set to resume on Aug. 28.
The two sides have been in negotiations for nine months, which took a dramatic turn in March when student workers walked off the job.
According to a U-M release, the final three-year contract offer includes the following provisions:
• Annual salary increases of 8% in 2023, 6% in 2024, and 6% in 2025 for Ann Arbor campus employees (20% over three years).
• Annual salary increases of 3.5% for Dearborn campus employees (10.5% over three years).
• Annual salary increases of about 9% for Flint campus employees to align its minimum stipend to that of UM-Dearborn at the end of the contract term.
• A $1,000 bonus to employees on all campuses.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid leave for employees who are birthing parents.
• Lower annual out-of-pocket maximums on mental health and physical therapy copays.
• Expanded gender-affirming benefits.
• The creation of special conferences between GEO leaders and university officials to discuss gender-affirming care and benefits.
• The creation of multi-meeting special conferences on disability accommodations and concerns about campus infrastructure and resources available to persons with disabilities.
• The creation of a three-year pilot program, which provides up to one semester of funding for an employee to transition out of an unhealthy working relationship, including an abusive, discriminatory and/or harassing relationship. The pilot program does not require the employee to report the situation to U-M's Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX Office, a sticking point that union leaders have continually identified as a priority in bargaining.
• The creation of a $20,000 per year International Graduate Workers Assistance Fund.
• New requirements for academic units to publish GSI class-size policies.
• The creation of a dedicated GSI/GSSA employment website.
"I can only speak for myself, but I'm feeling pretty proud of what we've been able to accomplish so far in the campaign," said GEO union spokesperson Amir Fleischmann. "We saw really significant movement on salary. When you combine the Rackham 12-month funding plan that we've got guaranteed in the contract and the 20% raise over the term of the contract, new PhDs coming to Ann Arbor are looking at an 80% raise. So that's a huge win for our members."
This was the longest work stoppage in the union's nearly 50-year history.
"This one was particularly tough," said U-M spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald. "A number of things that they pushed for initially were outside the scope of the contract, so we tried to (keep) working to narrow the scope to focus on those things that are squarely part of the contract."
Union members said they began the strike to demand a living wage and better health care.
The starting annual salary for a graduate student instructor currently stands at around $24,000, according to union members.
The union will vote following its Monday evening meeting on whether or not to authorize its bargaining members to approve a tentative agreement.
Fleischmann said that up to 3,000 union members are expected to take part in the vote.
"I think the offer on the table is pretty good, but there are still some areas that aren't all the way there," Fleischmann said. "But, should they vote to authorize a tentative agreement, we'd probably have a deal by the end of the week."
For its part, the university hopes a new contract can be finalized in the coming days.
"We're very much reliant (on) and grateful for the work of our graduate students, and those who work at graduate student instructors are critically important to our undergraduates who start arriving later this week," said Fitzgerald. "We're really optimistic that everyone will participate in bringing that campus community back to life."
