Salary Arbitration

As faculty are aware, the Akron-AAUP filed two grievances against the administration for delayed implementation of the 2006-2007 salary increase: one for 12-month faculty, and one for 9-month faculty. To this point, only about 15 departments have had their merit guidelines approved. The grievance has proceeded to the final step in the process, arbitration, and Akron-AAUP and the administration have mutually agreed on an arbitrator, Rob Stein. He was the fact-finder in the final stages of contract negotiations. The parties have settled on a date of May 4th, 2007 as a date for the arbitration to begin.  Akron-AAUP is continuing to collect evidence from faculty merit committee chairs regarding the process and timeliness of the review of their merit guidelines. Department faculty with yet-to-be approved guidelines may wish to check the Akron-AAUP website for posted approved guidelines so far at:

 http://www.akronaaup.org/Merit/meritFAQ.htm
 

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$750 Full-Time Enrollment Bonus for Faculty

All faculty in the Akron AAUP collective bargaining unit will soon be receiving a bonus check for $750.00 (minus the necessary deductions).  This is a one-time payment/stipend for the increase in “full-time enrollment” reported for fall semester 2006.  The bonus/stipend is guaranteed in Article 16, Section 10 of our faculty contract which states that an increase of 750-999 FTE from the preceding fall semester will be paid in a lump sum during the following spring semester, after the official FTE is reported by the Ohio Board of Regents.  The Ohio Board of Regents is expected to approve the fall 2006 enrollment numbers at their March meeting.  Akron AAUP is requesting that the bonus/stipend checks be issued as quickly as possible after the OBR approves the enrollment figures.

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Parking Grievance

In response to the many of you who sent your comments and concerns regarding the parking situation to Akron-AAUP, on Feb. 12, 2007 Akron-AAUP filed a grievance over the University administration’s action changing the designation of all parking lots on campus to “All Permit.”  The grievance seeks to have the Faculty/Staff designation to those lots that had previously been designated Faculty/Staff restored, to extend the operating hours of the Polsky shuttle until 8:30 PM Monday through Thursday, and that the University shall bargain with Akron-AAUP in the future when changes in parking conditions are anticipated. The grievance process is now beginning “stage two”, and the parties are scheduling meeting times in April.   In the meantime, the University administration has convened a parking task force to consider responses to a 2006 parking consultant’s report. The complete 163 page report can be found at http://www3.uakron.edu/parking/Study-Report.pdf

and a two-page MSWord summary at http://www3.uakron.edu/parking/Study-Summary.doc.

Sue Ramlo, who graciously agreed to represent Akron-AAUP on the task force recommends that faculty read the full report.

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Know Your Contract: Bonuses for Prestigious Awards--Article 16, Section 13

The Ohio Conference AAUP will hold its two-day annual meeting on Friday night and Saturday, April 13-14, at the Airport Columbus Marriott. Friday night will include a wine and cheese reception and a workshop on state legislative issues in higher education. Guest speakers on Saturday will include Cathy Jones and Nicole Byrd of the national AAUP, speaking on chapter development and lobbying, respectively. The lunchtime speakers will be UA's own John Zipp and Rudy Fenwick (Department of Sociology), speaking on Faculty Liberalism and University Corporatization. To register and to find out about rooms and rates, go to http://www.ocaaup.org/ and click on the links for the 2007 Annual Conference Meeting.
omestic partners to remain competitive in the marketplace.

News From Ohio Faculty Council

Rudy Fenwick and Karen Flynn, the UA faculty representatives on the Ohio Faculty Council (OFC), note that the OFC is actively participating in discussions on the future role of the Ohio Board of Regents (OBOR) with Governor Strickland's office, Ohio State House representatives and others, through letters, email, multiple meetings with Speaker of the House John Husted and a March 9th meeting with Chris Redfern, Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party. Central to these discussions is the proposal that the new OBOR Chancellor become part of the Governor’s Cabinet, a move that not only stresses the importance the new Governor places on higher education, but also is also likely to politicize the position of Chancellor.  In describing the OFC's work to maintain its advisory role vis-a-vis state officials, Karen notes that the council's strength and political legitimacy is derived from those whom it represents--the over 20,400 full-time and part-time faculty at Ohio's 15 public four-year colleges and universities.

Please direct questions, comments or concerns regarding the OFC's activities to Karen and Rudy at flynn3@uakron.edu.   

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Please direct any question regarding Akron-AAUP dues to Russ Davis, Akron-AAUP Treasurer at rdavis@uakron.edu or 330.972.7391

Akron-AAUP
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