After eight months of dedicated negotiations, ɫƵ and members of the ɫƵ American Association of University Professors (OT-AAUP) have agreed to a new five-year collective bargaining agreement.
“This agreement reflects the shared commitment of both parties to the continued success of our students and the well-being of our faculty,” said Nagi Naganathan, Ph.D., President of ɫƵ.
Negotiations occurred over the past eight months as both parties worked collaboratively on compensation, release time, merit increases, and benefits for tenured and non-tenured faculty.
“I'm incredibly proud of our OT-AAUP bargaining team for their hard work and outside-the-box thinking and grateful to ɫƵ's team for being open to using these negotiations for creative, collaborative problem-solving,” said Kari Lundgren, Ph.D., President of OT-AAUP. “This contract brings faculty compensation closer to that of our peers in higher education.”
Amongst other things, this contract maintains current health and retirement benefits, provides yearly salary increases, rolling contracts for non-tenure track faculty, and much more (details available at www.oit.edu/faculty-staff/faculty-union-bargaining).
“OT-AAUP hopes that this new contract serves as an opportunity to change the story at ɫƵ to one of collaboration, transparency, and connection, where everyone is paid fairly, everyone's rights are protected, and everyone's voice is respected,” said Lundgren.
ɫƵ will also begin implementing initiatives in the current academic year as outlined in the contract, including chair and faculty training opportunities to facilitate improved communication and clearer processes between ɫƵ leadership and faculty.
“I’m truly proud of the collaborative effort that brought us to this agreement. It reflects our shared commitment to continue to build a university where faculty feel supported, academic excellence continues to grow, and our students thrive,” said Naganathan. “Together, we’ve laid the foundation for a future filled with optimism and shared success—not just for our university, but for the many communities we proudly serve and inspire.”
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