The UFA wanted to reach out as many of you are now receiving your contracts for the 2017-2018 academic year. Several members have contacted us with questions regarding pay listed in these contracts.
Although faculty may have been awarded merit increases or salary bumps connected to promotions, the current contract you received does not reflect this change. That is because those salary increases are connected to our current efforts to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with MUS.
As the individual contracts state, the contracts are “subject to . . . any applicable collective bargaining agreement.” The current CBA remains in effect until a new CBA is ratified by union members and approved by BOR, but pay issues remain undecided until the new CBA is in place and then becomes “applicable” to individual contracts. In ongoing CBA negotiations, the UFA is adamant that all merit and promotion increases will be made retroactive to the October 1, 2017.
In addition, we have heard from members urging us to bargain that raises, promotions, and merits come into force earlier, ideally, to July 1. We will continue to fight for an earlier date.
The union encourages all members to sign their contract promptly and please do not hesitate to contact us with questions.
I am just wondering if there are any new developments, or news to report, with regard to contract negotiations. Thanks.