INSIDE 3A - CELEBRATION: Hispanic Heritage Month events to come CM-LIFE.COM - University President George Ross one-onone video coming Monday
LIFE Central Michigan University
Football team looks to win sixth straight against Broncos, 7A
| Friday, Sept. 16, 2011
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
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STA union could agree on contract today By Mike Nichols Senior Reporter
Central Michigan University and its supervisory-technical professionals union reached a tentative bargaining agreement for a new three-year deal Thursday. Details on the Supervisory-Technical Association/MEA-NEA, which rep-
resents the 118 supervisory-technical employees, will be released once the tentative agreement has been ratified. A meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. today in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium for the group to vote on the proposed contract. “We have been working on an expired contract for the past 14 months,” said STA member Carol Hebert, super-
visor of music resource. From 2007 to 2010, the STA’s contract had a three-percent across-theboard base wage increase. The contract expired on July 1. The Union of Teaching Faculty, United Auto Workers Local 6888, the Graduate Union, the American Federation of State, the County and Municipal Employees, the Police Union,
and National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians have all reached contracts. Only the Faculty Association and the STA unions have still not reached contract agreements with CMU. For more information on this story stay tuned to cm-life.com. university@cm-life.com
FA, CMU conclude fact-finding Session doesn’t end standstill on salary issue between parties By Mike Nichols Senior Reporter
BETHANY WALTER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Saline sophomore Chloe Gleichman holds the sign she used at a protest in Washington D.C., where she was arrested on Aug. 29. “The reason I’m so passionate about this is because the fight for a livable future is the most critical fight of our generation,” Gleichman said.
Proud protester
Demonstrating in D.C. leads to arrest, but student is proud of environmental work
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By Ben Harris | Senior Reporter
hloe Gleichman’s arrest is something she is proud of. Gleichman, a Saline sophomore, was arrested Aug. 29 in Washington, D.C. in front of the White House along with a group of other protesters for refusing to disperse. She was part of a group protesting a pipeline that would run from Alberta to Texas, transporting a form of oil called tar sands. The group stood outside with signs while singing songs during the somber protest, she said. “It was a two-week project organized by a famous environmentalist named Bill McKibben to try to pressure Obama not to sign the bill,” Gleichman said. The name of the pipeline being protested is Keystone XL, and the president should make a decision about it by the end of the year, Gleichman said.
COURTESY PHOTO
In about one month, state factfinder Barry Goldman will deliver a recommendation to possibly alleviate the contract conflict between the Central Michigan University administration and the Faculty Association. The FA has been without a contract since June 30 and have been working under a temporary restraining order since striking on the first day of classes. After fact finding sessions in July and four in September, factfinding hearings between CMU administrators and the FA have concluded. The final hearing was Wednesday in the Bovee University Center’s Lake Huron room. Goldman said he was pleased with how the fact-finding went overall, and will now go through the evidence containing nearly 500 to 600 transcript pages to from his recommendations. The main issue of the day was salary. CMU proposes an FA salary pay freeze this academic year; the FA proposes a pay freeze for this semester and a 1-percent increase plus $1,000. History Associate Professor Jennifer Green said fair faculty salaries are important to recruit and retain faculty to CMU, and all salary figures are below the MAC average. CMU attorney Robert Vercruysse said the average CMU professor salary is $79,754 — about $7,000 more than the MAC average. “What you found is that our salary ranks are comparable to the lower third level,” Vercruysse said. Associate Vice President of Financial Services Barrie Wilkes also spoke about unrestricted net assets, which he said is an important fund for maintaining the university. Wilkes said Michigan Education Association Economist Ruth Beier’s figures presented during Tuesday’s session were incorrect. “If someone gets a 3-percent
A FACT | 2A
FACT-FINDING TIMELINE & MAIN ISSUES w Wednesday, Sept. 7 Eliminating some members (CMED faculty and coaches) from bargaining unit w Friday, Sept. 9 - Tuition remission and retirement w Tuesday, Sept. 13 - Salaries and health care
Barry Goldman
w Wednesday, Sept. 14 Salaries, amount of CMU’s unrestricted funds See all coverage at cm-life.com
A D.C. | 2A
Chloe Gleichman is taken into custody for protesting outside the White House in Washington D.C.
EHS celebrates new lab, blog By Shelby Miller Staff Reporter
Students who spend time in the Education and Human Services Building now have a new place to learn, as well as a new place to share their stories. About 100 students gathered Wednesday in the EHS Building’s French Auditorium for the launch party celebrating both the edition of a new lab, CALI Lab, and blog, EHS Life. Tracy Burton, EHS coordinator of outreach and marketing, said the blog features a number of exciting stories connected to students and faculty who make up the college. “Our students are involved in so
many unique projects locally, across the state and globally, so it’s nice that we have an online presence to showcase everything that they’re doing,” Burton said. Although the center for applied learning initiative lab opened in fall 2010, many students are not familiar with the benefits the technology lab offers to everyone at the university, said Mike Reuter, director of Distributed Computing and Technical Operations. Reuter said the lab helps students with all electronic questions or difficulties, but specializes in problems with cameras, apps, iPod touches, electronic portfolios, instead of technologies used campus-wide like Blackboard.
Livonia senior Krysten Barczuk designed the blog’s graphics and helped organize the launch party. She said along with Burton, she strives to capture things happening in the college and then make it digital with videos, graphics and web links. “Faculty in EHS are really committed to creating exceptional learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom,” Burton said. “Over the summer our students taught lessons in London, explored the educational system in Hong Kong and Beijing, and volunteered in orphanages located in Oaxaca, Mexico. You will find all of
KAITLIN THORESEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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Students try matching cards to create the correct sequence needed to win a prize at the launch party for EHS Life Wednesday morning at the French Auditorium in the EHS building.
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