Faculty, administration reach tentative pact

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A union representing University of Cincinnati faculty members reached a tentative agreement Tuesday with the university's administration on a three-year contract.
The board of directors for the American Association of University Professors voted unanimously to recommend that union members approve the agreement. The university administration will wait until union members vote on the proposed agreement before taking it to the UC Board of Trustees for ratification.
University and union officials said the tentative agreement will provide annual salary increases of 2.5 percent the first year, 3 percent the second year and 3.5 percent in the final year of the contract that would expire Aug. 31, 2007.
The contract includes potential salary incentives based on enrollment increases in the third year of the contract and bonuses based on individual contributions by faculty members.
The proposed agreement also includes increases in health insurance premiums and co-payments and establishes a joint committee to address matters of interest to faculty and administration over the course of the contract.
UC's chapter of the AAUP represents about 2,080 faculty members at the university, which has an enrollment of about 33,000 students.