Article by: Megan Lewton and Cora Hall | Editor in Chief and News Editor
Months after initially beginning contract negotiations, the Ferris Faculty Association (FFA) and the university have both approved a contract agreement.
The FFA voted to ratify the proposed contract, which is a five-year contract that includes a $1,841 increase to the base salary for the 2018-19 academic year, a 2 percent salary increase for the first three years and a 2.25 percent increase for the following two years. In addition, the contract provides the Supplemental Market Adjustment of $300,000 for each year of the deal.
The FFA’s vote on the contract occurred Wednesday, Nov. 7, and Thursday, Nov. 8, with 98.02 percent of the 253 voters approving it. The contract was passed on to the Ferris Board of Trustees Friday, Nov. 9, and the Board notified the FFA of their approval Tuesday, Nov. 13.
The contract will come into effect immediately and faculty will be compensated for the salary difference between their previous contract and the new contract, according to FFA President and physical sciences professor Charles Bacon.
“A part of the settlement is a payment of $530 as a bonus. Also, the first, third and fifth years are dollar amounts. The first year salary increase is $1,841 per faculty, which means it will be paid in full, probably over the remaining pay periods in the academic year. Therefore, no one will be cheated out of any of their salary,” Bacon said.
According to Bacon, it typically takes a few months for the contract to be formally written and approved from both sides.
Contract negotiations began May 25, leading to a faculty strike on Aug, 27, the first day of the fall semester. A temporary restraining order halted the strike, and faculty returned to work without a contract until now.
Bacon said that the contract agreement has provided him with “a sense of relief.”