Contract talks between Eastern Michigan University and its part-time faculty are already heating up. That's even though the current contract doesn't end until August 31.
Daric Thorne is President of the EMU Federation of Teachers union. He says there's been progress on some issues.
But he says Eastern will not drop its proposal to cut wages for newly hired part-time faculty by 25%. Thorne says even at the current wage, many instructors can't make a living teaching solely at EMU.
"By our calculations, the median salary for our workers is $15,000," says Thorne. "We have lecturers who teach for one or two classes at EMU and then have to run across the region and head to Henry Ford to teach classes, or head to Wayne State, U of M - Ann Arbor, Flint, Dearborn, or even MSU."
A spokesman for EMU says the proposal at this point is just a proposal.
Geoff Larcum says historically, contract talks with faculty are resolved in a harmonious and collegial manner after a lot of dialogue.
Faculty plan a rally at 4:00 on campus to get support for their position.
