Almost 400 members responded to the survey distributed by the Collective Bargaining Team (see Figure 1). The priority that members attach to cost of living adjustments came through loud and clear! Of all respondents, 74% rank COLAs as their top economic priority, while 95% place COLAs among their top three priorities. Across job categories, members are of one mind: COLAs top the list of most tenured (82%) and tenure-track (71%) faculty, nontenure-track instructional (66%) and non-instructional faculty (91%), and academic professionals (69%). Figure 2 gives a snapshot of how members rank COLAs and other economic provisions that will be subject to negotiation during the contract reopener.
The reopener also allows the CBT to revisit up to three non-economic articles and/or new subjects, and the survey is proving very helpful in identifying those bargaining priorities as well. Members attach a great deal of importance to such things as: support for child caregivers, promotion and longevity increases for APs, affordable access to public transportation and parking (and incentives for alternative modes of transportation like biking and rideshare), tuition benefits for family members, and flexibility in the use of individual professional development accounts. Your CBT is working now to determine which additional articles of the contract need to be opened to best address member priorities. Stay tuned.
