MnSCU, faculty reach contract agreement

New MNSCU chancellor
MnSCU chancellor Steven Rosenstone is pictured Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, at the Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. A statement from Rosenstone said he believes a completed agreement is essential to recruit and retain high-quality faculty.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

Faculty union reps for Minnesota's seven state universities have reached a tentative contract agreement with MnSCU officials.

The two-year agreement would give all faculty members a 2.2-percent raise and is retroactive to this past fall, said Nancy Black, Inter Faculty Organization president. The tentative contract agreement affects about 3,600 faculty.

It's the first such across-the-board pay increase that members have received in four years, Black said. It is also be the first time the contract includes adjunct and full-time probationary faculty.

"It is a really big deal, because they are struggling in this economy ā€” just like the majority of Minnesotans," Black said. "We really want to see this money so we can provide the quality education students need."

In a press release, MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone said he believes a completed agreement is essential to recruit and retain high-quality faculty.

MnSCU faculty are scheduled to vote on the contract early next month. Negotiations took about 18 months. Black said.

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