Unions across the University of Michigan gathered this weekend to support the bargaining efforts many of the unions are undergoing. Representatives from twelve organizations at the university gathered to discuss their priorities for ongoing union contract negotiations.
Among the speakers was Penni Toney, the president of the United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals union. She says UMMAP wants to restore benefits that were taken away during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Publicly, the health system was calling us heroes. However, in the background, they were taking away our retirement benefits, tuition reimbursement, and other benefit programs,”
Cindee Giffen is the Ann Arbor Chair of the Lecturers Employee Organization. She says the union is looking to secure better job security and wages.
“Tuition has gone up nearly every year in recent memory. On the Ann Arbor campus, the freshman class gets bigger and bigger each year. We know that tuition dollars are coming in. And what are those students paying for? Classes. Guess who teaches them? Lecturers."
However, Griffen says, salaries for lecturers have not kept up with the rate of inflation.
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