Oakland University Professional Support Association

OUPSA MEA-NEA

Rochester, Michigan 48309

Bargaining Blog History

11/2/09: This is the result of today's Ratification Election:

155 accept

40 decline

195 total votes cast

Voting on the tentative agreement will take place on Monday, November 2nd from 8:30-10am in the Oakland Center.

10/16/09: The Negotiating Team spent a very long and intense day in negotiations on Friday, October 16. A tentative agreement was signed at 8 p.m. that evening. A General Membership meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, from 12-12:50 p.m. in 204 ODH. Members will be given the highlights of the tentative agreement. After the complete packet has been distributed a ratification meeting will be scheduled.

10/8/09: The Negotiating Team met with the university on September 30 from 8 a.m - 8 p.m. and again on October 2 from 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Another date has been scheduled for October 16 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

We are getting some additional clarification and will be responding on October 16 to the university's latest offer. The Negotiating Team continues to work towards obtaining the best possible contract for our members.

9/16/09: The team returned to the negotiating table on September 16^th for the afternoon.

There was a teleconference with the last remaining insurance vendor to clarify the points asked previously of the other two.

A proposal, with amendments, was put on the table by UHR. Discussion and some more amending resulted in a conceptual agreement on one of the major stumbling blocks of these negotiations.

8/25/09: The team was informed that the mediator would not be available to attend our August 25^th scheduled session so we agreed to revert to a face to face session with UHR. There were still questions about the new medical plans so conference calls were conducted with several of the medical vendors. UHR presented revised proposals on several important issues. After much discussion back and forth across the table there was a general consensus of the bargaining team that with minor changes we could conceptually agree to one of their proposals but the second proposal needed to be rewritten before we could agree to it.

The team has agreed to meet the following dates: September 16 – 1–5 p.m; September 22 – 8-5 p.m; September 24 – 8-5 p.m.

7/31/09: On July 31st the parties bargained from 9am until 4pm. Each team met individually with the mediator for a major portion of the day. The parties met jointly with the mediator to review a proposal from the University. The proposal was a major change from a previous proposal by the University and resulted in a very tense and unproductive bargaining session. Your bargaining team expressed their dissatisfaction with the proposal at the bargaining table and with the mediator. The parties do not meet again with the mediator until August 25th.

7/23/09: Your negotiations team met with the UHR team on Thursday, July 23, 8-5:00 PM. There was extensive discussion regarding insurance, Career Development Program and Sick Bank with several proposals from each side being put forward and discussed.

We continue to work for an equitable and fair contract for our members and depend on your support to give us strength. Our next meeting is scheduled for Friday, July 31st.

7/9/09: The Negotiating Team met with the University on July 1 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Little progress was made. The teams will meet again on July 23 and July 31.

6/25/09: The Negotiating Team met with the University on June 4 and June 9. The team met from 3 - 9 p.m. on June 16 to review our position on outstanding issues in preparation for the June 22 negotiations. During negotiations on June 22, there was information passed back and forth between the two sides via the mediator. The Negotiating Team continues our commitment to negotiate the best possible contract for our members.

A General Membership Meeting was held on June 22 during a break in negotiations to update the members on the status of the negotiations and answer questions.

Negotiations are scheduled for July 1.

6/19/09: There will be a general membership meeting on Monday, June 22, 2009 from 12-1pm in the Varner Recital Hall.

6/1/09: Negotiations were held April 28, 2009 with the mediator in attendance as an observer. With assistance from the mediator, the bargaining team was able to obtain previously requested information that was needed to proceed. The bargaining session scheduled for May 15 was cancelled by mutual agreement.

Negotiations were held on May 20, 2009.

The OUPSA Bargaining Team and the OUCMT Bargaining Team met jointly with the University on May 28, 2009 to receive additional information needed by both groups.

Future negotiations scheduled are June 4, June 9 and June 22. The mediator will be involved in all future meetings.

4/22/09: Negotiations were cancelled on March 11th because information requested and needed was not available. The bargaining team met on March 20th and April 21st and has signed a number of tentative agreements on non-economic issues. We've continued to gather and review information regarding proposed benefits changes. The University has proposals on the table that we believe would have a detrimental impact on our members. The Negotiating Team remains committed to bargaining the best possible contract for our members. Both sides will meet again on April 28, 2009.

3/26/09: The bargaining team met last Friday, March 20th. They will meet for more negotiating on April 2nd, 21st and 28th. CT's will soon receive a Career Development Survey. . .please be sure to take the time to complete it as soon as you can!

2/17/09: Negotiations were held on February 12th. Both sides will meet again on March 11th and 20th.

1/19/09: At the last negotiating session, seven tentative agreements were signed. Also, economic packages on both sides were exchanged. The next bargaining session will take place January 22nd.

12/9/08: We're getting close to completing the non-economic proposals. Two more tentative agreements have been signed. The next bargaining session will take place December 17th.

11/25/08: Two more non-economic proposals have been signed. The team will meet again December 8th from 1:30-5pm and the 17th from 8:30am-5pm.

11/12/08: The team met November 3rd and reached an agreement on several non-economic proposals. The next negotiating session will be an all day session on November 18th.

10/24/08: Negotiations are moving along. . .the team met last Monday and went over remaining non-economic proposals. The next session will be October 27th from 9am-5pm.

10/14/08: Just as an update, a couple more non-economic proposals have recently been signed. The next negotiating session will be October 27th (full day) and November 3rd (half day).

9/11/08: The negotiating team met with management's team yesterday and signed a non-economic proposal. We also discussed a number of other proposals. The next negotiating session will be September 29th.

8/28/08: Another bargaining session took place on August 25th where a couple of non-economic proposals were tentatively agreed upon. We will negotiate again September 10th.

7/25/08: The Bargaining Team had another productive negotiating session yesterday. Both sides reviewed and discussed non-economic proposals, with several resulting in a tentative agreement. Our next negotiating sessions are scheduled for August 18th and 25th. You can be assured that your bargaining team is working hard on your behalf!

6/27/08: The Bargaining Team met with OU's team yesterday for a productive negotiating session. Both the bargaining team and OU put forth several non-economic proposals that were reviewed and discussed. Since our contract ends June 30, 2008, the University has agreed to extend our contract on a day-to-day basis. Our next negotiating session is scheduled for July 24th. There are also dates set for August 13th and 19th. Your bargaining team was well prepared during the negotiating session with excellent representation from our Uniserv rep, Jan Shelito.

5/23/08: The Bargaining Team met with OU's administration team yesterday. Their team members include Ron Watson, Kay Armstrong, Cheryl Verbruggen, Maura Selahowski and Brenda Pierce. The next negotiation session will meet on June 26th.

5/5/08: The Bargaining Team is currently reviewing surveys and preparing for negotiations to begin on May 22, 2008.