YSU faculty union narrowly ratifies new pact

By Denise Dick

denise_dick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The union representing Youngstown State University faculty narrowly approved a tentative agreement for a new contract, pointing out that raises and bonuses are financed by union givebacks.

With 207 members of the YSU-Ohio Education Association voting, the agreement was approved Tuesday by 17 votes.

“Although anyone reviewing the [tentative agreement] might be romanced by the inclusion of bonuses and raises that faculty will receive in years two and three of the contract, it should be pointed out that these increases were TOTALLY subsidized by givebacks from the faculty,” a statement from the union said.

YSU spokesman Ron Cole said the board of trustees must review the agreement and a vote is likely next week.

The agreement calls for no bonus or increase in base pay the first year. The second year, there is a 1 percent base-pay increase and a $2,000 bonus for professors, $1,500 for associate professors, $1,300 for assistant professors and $1,000 for instructors.

The third year, the base-pay increase is 2 percent, and the bonuses are $1,000 for professors, $750 for associate professors, $650 for assistant professors and $500 for instructors.

The agreement also eliminates extended teaching service, or ETS, which the union says has been in the contract for 40 years.

This year and the second year of the contract, those eligible for retirement would receive a $40,000 buyout paid over four years in place of ETS. Such an option isn’t in place for the third year.

There’s also a reduction in summer pay.

Faculty members who teach during the summer are paid 3.25 percent of their salary per credit hour. The summer school cap is at $70,000 in the latest agreement, a reduction from $80,000 in the pact that expired last August.

The stipend for teaching distance learning also is eliminated in the second and third years of the pact.

The union’s statement says the bonuses were funded by the elimination of ETS and the raises financed by the reduction in summer compensation and elimination of the distance learning stipend.

Negotiations between the two sides have been ongoing for months, and the union rejected a prior tentative agreement that was unanimously approved by trustees. Union representatives have said the membership viewed the previous tentative agreement as concessionary.

“Although this [tentative agreement] represents only a slight improvement over the highly concessionary TA rejected in November, for the sake of our students and in support of the institution’s mission, YSU-OEA faculty voted to move on and ratify the new tentative agreement,” the statement says.

Health insurance provides for an aggregate 15 percent employee health-care contribution using a sliding-fee scale, rather than a flat rate.

“YSU-OEA will continue its efforts to work collaboratively with the administration and with the board in the future,” the union statement says. “However, we need to recognize the great sacrifices that faculty have made in both the last contract and this new [tentative agreement] in order to give the university an opportunity to get its financial house in order.”

The average faculty salary is $72,657. With benefits, that average increases to $95,907, university officials have said.

YSU’s total 2015 operating budget is $173 million.