UMaine System trustees OK pacts with two unions
The University of Maine System’s board of trustees approved new collective bargaining agreements with two faculty unions that call for higher wages and benefits, and awarded tenure for several faculty members.
Chancellor Dannel Malloy will execute agreements for the Associated Faculties of the Universities of Maine and the Maine Part-Time Faculty Association once they have been ratified by both unions.
The new contract with part-time faculty offers a 3% annual pay increase for all employees represented in both fiscal years of the contract, additional benefits to comply with Maine’s earned paid leave law, extended insurance benefits for surviving dependents, evaluation changes, and a joint task force to study various issues.
The new associated faculties agreement also includes a 3% annual pay increase for all employees the union represents, retroactive to July 1, 2021, new language to comply with Maine’s earned paid leave law, an increase in the dependent tuition waiver benefit to 55% for the current fiscal year and 60% for the following fiscal year, changes in the tiering of dental insurance coverage and new special retirement incentives for some faculty.
“After a year of hard negotiations, planning and disruptions caused by COVID-19, I am thrilled we were able to reach agreements with AFUM and PAFTA on contracts we feel will effectively support our vital educators and the academic missions of our universities,” said Malloy.
Tenure track
Trustees also awarded the rank of tenure to 50 faculty members across the system. It also awarded tenure to incoming professor Yonghao Ni, who will be J. Ober Chair in Chemical Engineering at the University of Maine, effective Aug. 1. At present, Ni is a professor of chemical engineering at the University of New Brunswick and director of its Limerick Pulp and Paper Research Centre.
In other moves, Kelly Martin, trustee and chair of the board’s finance committee, said she and her colleagues will present a statement concerning fossil fuel divestment from the system’s investment portfolio at the May meeting.
The committee and NEPC, the investment consultant for the UMS, have been drafting a statement that will help guide future efforts to decrease fossil fuel exposure in the system’s portfolio, all while maintaining its fiduciary responsibilities.
The board approved divesting all of its direct holdings in coal mining companies in 2015 and an Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) investment approach in 2016 to significantly reduce fossil fuel exposure in its portfolio.
The board also approved loans and increased financing for several infrastructure projects across the system to bolster research and academic offerings at their respective institutions.
The board authorized construction of a Secure High-Performance Textiles Laboratory in UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center.
Trustees also approved spending $855,000 for UMA to keep using its Cyberbit Range security training and simulation platform for three years, add ProTools to it, upgrade hardware, retain the services of a customer success management and acquire 100 student labs for it.
The board approved a $3 million internal loan as well to help finance two new facilities for UMA — the Medical Laboratory Technology program on the main campus and the Veterinary Technology program on the Bangor campus.
Additionally, trustees expanded the budget for the renovation of the facility at 300 Fore St. in Portland, by $1.3 million to a total of $12.8 million. The building will serve as the new home for the UMaine Graduate School of Business, the University of Maine School of Law and the UMaine Graduate and Professional Center.
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