Tenured faculty at UM-Flint unionize, say having 'a voice' united the effort

Tenure track faculty members at the University of Michigan-Flint have formed a union that has been recognized by the university, faculty and union officials announced Tuesday.

The new union, UM-Flint AFT-AAUP, Local 5671, will represent 160 tenured faculty members, who are forming a platform to represent all of the members and expect to begin collective bargaining with the university administration in the upcoming months.

The union was formed after two years of work by 16 UM-Flint tenured faculty members concerned about the workload, campus climate, pay equity, tenure protection and academic freedom, said Daniel Birchok, an UM-Flint associate professor of anthropology and organizing committee member.

"What really united us was the sense that our voice hasn't been heard and we want to ensure it will be going forward," said Birchok. "Given everything that is happening on our campus and the interest we have in vision and the future, this was a particularly critical time."

UM-Flint is in the midst of a "Strategic Transformation," a campus-wide effort that began after a call to action last year by former UM President Mary Sue Coleman to address a 25% enrollment decline over the previous seven years, coupled with insufficient revenues. The goal, officials said, is to focus on student and business needs in the region, support the local community and reverse a struggling financial model.

"Some critics say we are against transformation, which is not true at all," said Birchok. "We want to make sure that includes faculty. We want to be part of that process and feel like having a union will ensure that we are part of it."

In December 2022, a preliminary report prepared for UM-Flint by the Huron Consulting Group outlined how numerous programs are performing at UM-Flint in terms of enrollment and revenue but did not offer conclusions. The process was interrupted when former UM-Flint Chancellor Debasish Dutta left to rejoin the University of Illinois System in Chicago.

Union organizers met last fall with UM-Flint Interim Chancellor Donna Fry to discuss numerous issues, Birchok said, and she indicated that layoffs of tenured faculty were on the table as part of the transformation process.

Birchok said the faculty members emailed Fry, and "asked her to take that off the table given how important tenure is for defending academic freedom."

UM-Flint union organizers approached Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, the executive body for faculty across all three UM campuses.

"They issued a strong statement condemning that idea that tenure would not be protected on the UM-Flint campus," Birchok said. "This has not come up again. But we are absolutely are concerned about tenure on our campus under these circumstances."

More recently, UM-Flint administrators changed the university's academic calendar, starting the fall semester two weeks earlier in mid-August. It was a unilateral decision, Birchok said, and the faculty was not consulted. The shift creates issues for faculty who have school-age children, he said.

Asked to comment on the union forming, UM-Flint spokesman Robb King issued a statement.

"The university looks forward to a productive relationship with our union partners and working together to serve our students," he said.

The university recognized the union last Wednesday after union cards were counted and a majority of faculty indicated they wanted to unionize, said John Ware, a field representative and organizer with AFT Michigan, a union representing mostly educators.

The majority of tenured faculty at the state's public universities are unionized, Ware said, with the exception of UM.

Michigan State University's tenure and tenure-track faculty are also seeking to organize into a union but the process is not finished.

Ware and Birchok declined to say whether union organizing of tenured faculty at UM-Dearborn or UM-Ann Arbor is underway.

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com