Round One of GMMs Down, A2 Open Bargaining 1 THIS FRIDAY

Who knew you could get a room full of lecturers fired up and cheering at 8pm on a Tuesday? Last night--Tuesday the 13th of March--we held our first of three Ann Arbor campus general membership meetings. (We'll have a sequence of three GMMs on each campus, each meeting building in terms of size and urgency.)

We realize we're all fairly exhausted--the waning semester is starting to feel like the last 6.1 miles of a marathon. Still, over 60 lecturers (and student allies!) too fed up to quit met in Annenberg Auditorium at the Ford School to assess bargaining so far and plan escalating action to bring home the best contract we've ever had. We  outlined important steps and decisions that you and other Lecturers in our union will have to make in the coming weeks, and secured commitments to act.

We've made some gains in bargaining, including an agreement to bridge health benefits over the spring and summer terms for lecturers who teach in the winter and know they'll be teaching in the fall. We're also making movement towards open-ended contracts after the first continuing renewal review. But our work isn't done--we still have to present MAJOR strength to get the economic gains we deserve. And we CAN DO THIS.

Please put Ann Arbor's GMM #2 in your calendar: Sunday, March 25 from 2-3:30pm at the Neutral Zone (310 E. Washington St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104). Those who attend GMM #2 will decide on next steps toward a potential major job action.