Arbitrator sides with UNI faculty in salary impasse with regents

CEDAR FALLS – An arbitrator has sided with University of Northern Iowa's United Faculty in a salary bargaining impasse with the state Board of Regents, UNI faculty leaders said today.

UNI's United Faculty group was in collective bargaining with a regents bargaining team and four issues went to arbitration by a third party: wages, insurance, leave time for union officers and right to grieve. United Faculty is the negotiating agent for UNI's nearly 600 faculty members.

UNI staff and faculty leaders had rejected the board of regents offer of 1 percent raises for next year in year one of the contract. The arbitrator agreed with United Faculty leaders, and the raise will be 3.5 percent next year with an identical raise in year two of the contract.

“Had the (board of regents) won on yet another year of low or no salary increase, United Faculty believes this would have been devastating to faculty morale,” United Faculty leaders said in a statement Tuesday. “It would have made retention and recruitment difficult, as noted by the arbitrator in his decision.”

Regarding health insurance, the arbitrator selected a compromise position that was suggested by the regents officials that allows current faculty to keep the health plan they are used to and allows all faculty to maintain choice in physician.

United Faculty also asked for leave time for the work of the union, which was denied by the arbitrator. United Faculty asked the arbitrator to sanction the group's right to formally file grievances as an organizational right regarding recent contract violations, which the arbitrator granted.