April 1 Update
Thank you to the OU faculty who showed up to the “work in” outside the negotiation meeting room to show support to the Table Team.
We started the day with the Administration team telling us that our session would need to end by 4 pm (instead of the previously agreed upon time of 5 pm). We continued conversation about the Nondiscrimination proposal. Those who were present today need to discuss its current status further with the whole team. There was continued productive discussion on the External Work and Activities proposal. We are close to an agreement but bargaining is difficult due to the ongoing discussion of a new University policy on this topic. The Administration introduced their first two original proposals: Entire Agreement and Management Rights. Both are standard articles in collective bargaining agreements. The first would prohibit bargaining on any subject during the terms of the contract without mutual consent of both parties. The second outlines the rights and responsibilities of the Board of Trustees or their designated authorities as described by the Ohio Revised Code.
Our next scheduled negotiating dates are April 20 (10:30 am - 5 pm) and April 29 (1-5 pm) at Baker Center. We also gave the Administration team 19 possible negotiation meeting dates for May and June. We look forward to their response about their availability to meet moving into the summer.
[Matt deTar suggests adding a paragraph: text in comments] It has been 156 days since we introduced our financial proposals on Compensation and Benefits and there is no indication the Administration team plans to bring a counteroffer any time soon. It has been 207 days since we introduced our proposal on Appointments and Renewals which included language that would provide greater job security for instructional faculty and there has, likewise, been no counteroffer or indication when we will receive one.
For more specific information regarding the proposals and tentative agreements, please see the proposal tracker at https://www.uaou.org/bargaining-tracker
