The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
EMU faculty conclude fact finding
By Dan DuChene, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 29, 2007
Fact-finding discussions have ended between Easter Michigan University administration and its faculty union the American Association of University Professors.
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Both sides have submitted their post-hearing briefs to the fact finder. The fact finder now is expected to weigh in on the matter by early April.
Once the fact finder has made his decision, both sides plan to go back to the negotiating table. The major issues involved in the dispute are compensation, health-care benefits and retirement contributions.
"I think we did a very good presentation of our case," said Hartmut Hoft, dean of the College of Language Arts and Sciences. Hoft is the chief negotiator on the side of the EMU administration.
"We hope that the fact finder's report will be helpful in settling the bargaining issues very quickly," Hoft said.
While the university says it will use the fact finder's report to go back to the negotiating table, the faculty union has said it plans to follow the recommendations made.
"I think (the report) should be adhered to, or at least followed very carefully," said Howard Bunsis, union president.
"We very pleased with how (fact finding) went," he said. "We played by the rules, we shared everything. They chose to get every legal advantage by gaming the system."
Bunsis said the union was upset when the administration gave a bit of information to the faculty union 10 minutes before fact finding began. He said the information was evidence as to what the financial impact of a 1 percent raise would be on the university.
"It's a major issue of contention," Bunsis said.
"To us, this is an academic debate, they viewed this as a game," he said. "That difference in approach is what I find very disturbing."
Hoft said the university, in fact, did not view fact finding as an academic debate.
"That is his opinion that he feels," Hoft said. "I don't think that fact finding is conceived of as an academic debate. One side has to present its case. This fact finder had each side present its case."
He said the administration did submit its information to the fact finder, however, he also said the information was submitted as raw data, not as the presentation it had intended to make to the fact finder.
One topic both sides could agree on was the amount of time the parties spent preparing for the presentation.
Hoft said there were more than 20 hours spent in formal fact finding. However, the time spent preparing was "countless."
Bunsis agreed,, "We worked with extremely hard in presenting our case."
Both the faculty union and the administration said they will have the briefs submitted to the fact finder and published on the internet.
For more information about EMU, visit the Web site www.emich.edu.
For more information about the faculty union, visit the Web site www.emuaaup.org.
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