The University of Michigan Librarians, Archivists, and Curators Bargaining Unit, a subunit of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization, successfully ratified a new contract with University administration Wednesday evening.
The ratification was voted for unanimously by 89% of LEO-GLAM members, according to an Instagram post by LEO. The ratification follows a tentative contractual agreement reached with the University’s administration May 5. The new contract will reestablish extended sick leave for those who have worked more than 10 years, shorten consideration for promotion opportunities and implement a paid “floating” holiday allowing staff to choose one paid day off work during the year. LEO-GLAM also negotiated additional lump sum salary payments of $1,500 for the first and second years of the contract and a 3% annual salary increase for all four years.
In an email to The Michigan Daily, LEO-GLAM chair Meredith Kahn wrote LEO-GLAM will continue to work with University administration to advance labor rights.
“As we move forward with contract implementation and enforcement, we will continue to educate our members about their rights, and hold the employer accountable for their contractual obligations,” Kahn wrote.
The new contract will also provide guidance on the use of artificial intelligence. Kahn wrote this inclusion is important due to the unique understanding of AI that librarians, archivists and curators have.
“As information professionals, we librarians, archivists, and curators see ourselves as subject matter experts when it comes to AI,” Kahn wrote. “It is our position that AI is a form of automation, and we have numerous examples of how it is being implemented in tools and workflows we use in our jobs, and therefore it is directly relevant to our working conditions.”
In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Kay Jarvis wrote the negotiation process resulted in a successful, mutually agreed-upon outcome.
“The University is delighted that LEO-GLAM’s members unanimously ratified the successor collective bargaining agreement,” Jarvis wrote. “We thank both negotiations teams for their hard work and collaborative efforts that resulted in mutually beneficial contract terms for years to come.”
Summer News Editor Claudia Minetti can be reached at cminetti@umich.edu.
