MTU AAUP

Vote for Re-certification of the AAUP as Collective Bargaining Representative for Michigan Tech Faculty Is Narrowly Defeated

Tenured and tenure-track faculty at Michigan Tech decided by a narrow margin not to re-certify the Michigan Tech Chapter of the American Association of University Professors as their collective bargaining representative. The vote took place on February 20 and 21, and the final tally was 143 no votes and 136 yes votes..

The election was conducted by agents of the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC). There are 300-plus tenured and tenure-track faculty at Michigan Tech, and 50 pecent plus one vote was needed to to prevail. We are obviously disappointed, but we believe the narrowness of the defeat sends a message that many faculty desire a stronger voice in decisions concerning the university's goals and government.

The chapter was first elected as the collective bargaining representative of Michigan Tech faculty on September 29, 2004. Negotiations began in March 2005 but were halted twice by the filing of decertification petitions, first in September 2005, leading to a 17-month hiatus in negotiations, and second on October 31, 2007, halting negotiations again. The AAUP negotiating team worked very hard in the 13 months of negotiations that were allowed over the past three and a half years and had come close to agreeing on a contract in October 2007.

Michigan Tech has a long-standing AAUP chapter, and it will continue its work on campus despite the temporary loss of the tool of collective bargaining. We will continue to work to protect academic freedom and tenure, and we will continue to press for a strong voice for faculty in university decisions.

Message from Faculty to Faculty

We read President Mroz's "personal" opinion of faculty unions with interest. Those of us who serve on the AAUP executive committee and negotiating team are also long-term faculty members at Michigan Tech. We agree that it is the faculty who do the outstanding work that distinguishes the university. We agree that the University Senate should be the body that creates policies and procedures for the university. Many of us have been and currently are senators, and we very much appreciate the hard work done in Senate committees to achieve well-reasoned and fair policies and procedures.

We strongly disagree, however, with President Mroz's characterization of the AAUP as "a committee of union officials or state labor mediators." We are Michigan Tech faculty who believe that it is only by working together through our association with the AAUP that we will be successful in moving Michigan Tech toward its goals. Decisions about what to negotiate for in a contract are made here on campus, with no interference or direction from the national AAUP. We have always sought input from all the faculty about the direction we should take, and we always will.

Most importantly, we strongly believe that when the administration agrees to follow Senate policies and procedures, those policies should be enforceable under a faculty contract. Agreed upon policies and procedures have not always been honored here at Michigan Tech, either by the present administration or previous ones. Whether Michigan Tech faculty will have clear, enforceable policies and procedures for tenure, promotion, and unit governance is one of the most important issues that will be decided in the re-certification election this week.

President Mroz clearly benefited from mentors who guided him and supported him. Not every faculty member at Michigan Tech has been so lucky. Not many faculty are in a position to "control" their wages, hours, and working conditions through their own individual efforts. Hoping for the good will of chairs and senior administrators is a risky way to build a career.

We believe in faculty working together through the Senate and through the AAUP to secure the compensation, benefits, and secure working environment that enables us to do cutting edge research and provide a quality education for our students. Building a culture of faculty leadership at Michigan Tech will give us all, as a group, real control over our careers.

Monday’s email makes it abundantly clear that we do not have President Mroz’s support. Frankly, we do not seek his support, we seek yours. A vote for the re-certification of the AAUP is a vote for a better Tech for each and every one of us, and for our students as well.

What could your salary be if we had a contract?

All Michigan universities are coping with the same financial pressures. Why do faculty at the other universities get higher raises? Download this calculator to see how your salary increases compare over time.

February 20 & 21: You have a real choice

The best way to help Michigan Tech become a nationally recognized research university as well as a good place to do research and prepare students for productive careers is to secure the role of its faculty in important university decisions. At the University Senate sponsored forum on February 12, the petitioners for the re-certification election agreed with the AAUP on this goal. But what is the best way to achieve it?

The petitioners suggest that we continue to do it the way it has been done over the past twenty years or so at Michigan Tech: individuals or ad hoc groups of faculty should talk with administrators and should try to appoint more effective and fair administrators. This hasn't worked. Through three administrations we have had repeated chaos brought on by bad administrative decisions that have harmed the financial health and status of the university. An approach that relies primarily on periodic votes of no confidence is no way to run a university.

Administrators come and go; some are better than others; and all eventually make mistakes. The only way to make sure that faculty have the input that is needed to make good decisions is through collective bargaining which will put in place a culture of faculty leadership at Michigan Tech. Through working collectively in the AAUP we demonstrate the value of faculty leadership, honor the service work done by our colleagues in the Senate and its committees, and learn respect for ourselves and each other as dedicated professionals.

For more information on why we as a faculty can best achieve our goals through re-certification of the AAUP, click on Election Info in the left column.

Video of Senate Forum

If you missed the forum on February 12, you can watch it here: http://www.sas.it.mtu.edu/usenate/

For a summary of highlights, along with an index to where in the video they can be found, read the continuation of this post.

Shared governance — because Michigan Tech is not a corporation

Governance is truly shared only when agreed-upon policies cannot be violated with impunity. This is the crucial element that a faculty contract adds to agreements between the Senate and the university administration. Ensuring that these policy agreements are backed by legally binding contract provisions is our main priority in negotiating for a first contract with the administration.

Voodoo Economics

The contention that representation of faculty by the AAUP will necessarily cost the university upwards of $625,000 per year is based on flawed assumptions. While the administration has spent a lot of money over the past three years, most of these expenses were unnecessary and they definitely need not continue once a contract has been signed. With more reasonable assumptions, the cost to the university of dealing fairly with faculty should not be more than $110,000 per year. The ultimate cost of unfair dealings with faculty has been much higher, as the settlement of Professor Lantz's case illustrates.

For further explanation, read the continuation of this post.

The real dividends of AAUP representation

The petitioners for decertification have suggested that AAUP dues represent a "tax" on faculty. Instead, AAUP representation has already paid faculty dividends: lower health benefits cost than the rest of Michigan Tech employees, immediate university contributions to TIAA-CREF for new faculty, and an average 13 percent increase in salaries. For details, read the continuation of this post.

Letters in support of MTU-AAUP

Click on images to enlarge.

From Lisa C. Klein, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, Rutgers.

From Thomas J. Peters, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Professor of Mathematics, University of Connecticut.

From Frank Owen, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Comments from Professors Mullins and Nelson

Mike Mullins, Professor of Chemical Engineering, calls on the petitioners to put more trust in their colleagues, and Professor Paul Nelson of the School of Business and Economics, similarly comments that "great" universities are run by the faculty, not the administration. See the emails in the continuation of this post.