After an overnight bargaining session resulted in no significant movement from the administration on health or compensation issues, the Eastern Michigan University faculty took two actions today:

1. They recommended that the negotiating team reject the administration’s last offer.
2. They recommended that the negotiating team accept fact finding in their contract dispute with the administration. This action will end the strike.

Howard Bunsis, president of the faculty union, said: “The faculty is very pleased that they will be back where they have always wanted to be; back in the classroom with our great students.”

The EMU-AAUP notified the administration of its intention to accept fact finding, and it is believed that the university will agree to this process. In the fact finding process:

• The faculty will work under the old expired contract
• The parties must first agree on who will perform the fact finding
• The parties submit written testimony concerning their positions
• The fact finder will then hold hearings on these issues
• The fact finder will render a decision, looking at every issue and deciding whether to recommend one or the other parties’ offer, or possibly something between the two positions.

The parties have differences over compensation and health care benefits. On compensation, the EMU-AAUP is seeking a contract that is in line with those of other Michigan universities, after accounting for an increase in out-of-pocket health care costs. Specifically, The EMU-AAUP has proposed an average raise of 3.44% over 3 years, after additional health care costs are considered. The administration is offering an average 2.51% raise over 3 years, again after health care costs are considered. .

On the health care issue, the administration claims that one of the plans being offered is free of premium payments. However, this particular plan requires substantial deductibles and co-pays, and the two sides are in dispute over the level of those payments.

Faculty had been on strike since Sept. 1 and negotiations had stalled when the administration walked away from the table Sept. 5. The strike was suspended while talks resumed Tuesday.

“The faculty has chosen fact finding because they recognize their first responsibility is to their students and to the academic integrity of Eastern Michigan University,” Bunsis said.