The NMHU Faculty Association’s bargaining team reached agreement on the two articles we bargained this year.  If successfully ratified by both the faculty and the Regents, we will have contracts ready for our signature at the start of Professional Development days!  The two articles we agreed to bargain this year were salary (we bargain salary every year) and a small change in Article 14 Sabbaticals.  If you remember, we signed an MOU with the administration that we would bargain a part of this article, to help ensure the fair and equitable treatment of all faculty on sabbatical.  We will be sending the new language out in these two sections to our union members for ratification.  Here is an overview:

·      All bargaining unit members will receive a 1% increase in salary (this is the first raise we have received in a few years.  Also, because the Legislature didn’t mandate a pay raise for this year, the administration wasn’t under any obligation to give us any adjustment.

·      A paragraph was added clarifying what can and cannot be done during sabbatical.  This language was drafted directly from the results of the faculty’s sabbatical survey last spring.

We will be sending the new language out for ratification to our members.  Bargaining Team Members:  Donna Woodford-Gormley (Chief), Ian Williamson, and Kathy Jenkins