Announcements
Merit presentation
In the July 24th Bargaining in Brief, we reviewed the merit process at Wayne State. Find the slides here.
WAU Strike School
Sign up for Strike School! You will understand your power & how to wield union power; learn about types and purposes of various job actions; lay the foundation for a risk analysis by learning about Michigan/public employee labor law; review our plan to win; prepare to talk to each other and colleagues not attending Strike School about the importance of strike-readiness, to mobilize as many WAU members as possible. Strike School will be one hour sessions on Zoom — all sessions are the same, choose one.
Voices in Action: Flexible Work Arrangements Work!
In this episode, host Sean Novak speaks with advisors Faith Doyle and Patricia Michno about how flexible work arrangements have radically improved their work-life balance and with WAU Council Chair Jennifer Sheridan Moss, who was on two past union bargaining teams, recalls the experience of fending off threats to tenure that were brought against tenure-stream faculty in 2012. Listen on Spotify.
2024 Analysis of WSU Finances by Howard Bunsis
Howard Bunsis, Professor of Accounting at Eastern Michigan University, has performed an independent analysis of Wayne State University’s finances. Key findings are that the university is in a solid financial position, supported by strong reserves and solid annual excess cash flows. Review the full report here.
Bargaining Update #8
As we end the Winter 2024 semester, your WAU Bargaining Team continues its busy schedule of meetings for negotiating our new contract. The Team meets internally once or twice a week, and we sit across the Administration Team once a week for 2-3 hours as we debate and negotiate our concerns.
WAU at the April 26 Board of Governors
See video of President Danielle Aubert’s public comment at the April Board of Governor’s meeting.
Student Senate Passes Resolution Endorsing WAU Bargaining Letter
On March 21, 2024 Wayne State University Student Senate leaders unanimously passed a resolution of support for the Wayne Academic Union core concerns.
Podcast Episode 2 is live! Voices in Action
In this episode, Carretta Cooke shared some of the discussions the bargaining for the common good subcommittee has had about student housing on campus.
Bargaining Update #7
We finally started bargaining for our new contract on Friday, March 8. The first meeting was on zoom and was mostly about introductions, ground rules, and initial conversations about the contract, including a discussion of those articles in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement that both sides agree are staying unchanged. We are meeting weekly with the Administration Team, although we might eventually increase the frequency of meetings if we need to.
WAU Launches Bargaining With Open Letter
WAU members delivered a letter to the Board of Governors signed by six hundred faculty and academic staff. The letter outlines some of our core issues, including the need for wage increases, cost-of-living adjustments, flexible work arrangements, and an emergency housing program for students.