MARQUETTE, MI-- Northern Michigan University’s faculty union is rejecting an administration proposal for a two-year pay freeze and 1 percent bonus.
Members of the union rallied on campus last week to draw attention to the first offer and lack of progress on contract negotiations. Union President Dwight Brady says professors “took one for the team” when they agreed to a pay freeze last year. He believes faculty have gone “above and beyond” to accommodate huge instruction changes over the pandemic year, and the administration has refused to bargain again until after the Board of Trustees meets at the end of the month.
NMU officials says enrollment is down, but Brady says fall admissions numbers look better than expected. He thinks federal funding will mitigate university losses.
“The federal government with CARES Acts 1 and 2 have helped NMU absorb some of these losses, and we also have $17 million more coming in the American Rescue Plan that will allow the university to recoup lost revenue.”
The faculty contract ends June 30.
“We’re not looking for a fabulous contract; we’re just looking for a fair contract,” Brady says.
