This week, the union for tenure track faculty at the University of Michigan-Flint – the UM-Flint AFT-AAUP, Local 5671, AFL-CIO – ratified its first ever collective bargaining agreement, with 95 percent of votes cast in support of ratification. This follows eight months of negotiations, which began last October, and a contract campaign that mobilized union members and allies in support of the union’s positions. The UM-Flint AFT-AAUP was recognized in April 2024, following two years of organizing.
“We are excited to have our first contract ratified, and are now looking forward to turning to the work of implementing and enforcing our contract,” said Lead Negotiator Bob Barnett, Professor of English. “This is just the beginning for us, and we are thrilled to be part of a broader labor movement that protects and defends not only our value, but also the value of higher education!”
The ratified agreement between the UM-Flint AFT-AAUP and the University of Michigan includes raises in each year of the four-year contract, secures guaranteed research funds to support scholarly and creative work, maintains strong tenure protections, and protects bargaining unit members from intimidation and harassment by administrators when faculty participate in the day-to-day governance of the university, among other workplace gains.
