MnSCU, faculty reach contract agreement

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has reached a tentative labor deal with about 3,300 faculty members.

A joint statement from the union and the State Universities Chancellor James McCormick says the deal will bring faculty salaries more in line with peer institutions.

Faculty union spokesman Russ Stanton says the contract appears to be a winner for instructors in the MnSCU system.

"It's making up for some lost ground from the last two rounds of negotiating, when the state had severe budget problems. Years where we had a freeze and even some loss of health care benefits. This was kind of a turnaround here. We started making some progress again," said Stanton.

Faculty members must still approve the two-year deal. Then, it must be OKed by the state Legislature before it takes effect.

The MnSCU System includes 32 state universities, community colleges and technical colleges. It serves more than 240,000 students.

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