"Not Anything Near The Norm": NMC President Talks Recent News

For the first time in its history, Northwestern Michigan College will sit down at the bargaining table with an employee union to negotiate salaries, wages and other terms of employment. In advance of that milestone, The Ticker checks in with NMC President Tim Nelson for the latest on new territory for the college, a second unionizing process underway, and a potential plan some are calling "outsourcing."

Nelson doesn't deny the college has been navigating several big issues lately – in addition to the unionization efforts, longtime board trustee Cheryl Gore Follette resigned her seat in March, citing an “erosion” of the board’s role and ineffective communication with Nelson. Gore Follette also characterized the vote by faculty to unionize as “a failure” of the college.

“Yes, it’s not anything near the norm,” Nelson says of recent months leading the institution. “But like anything, the environment changes … and you have to not just deal with it but also figure out how we continue to work toward our targeted outcomes, the most important being high-quality learning for our students regardless of these [issues].”

Faculty unionizes
In March, 86 full-time and 3 part-time faculty members (all non-supervisory roles) voted overwhelmingly in support of forming a union with representation through the Michigan Education Association (MEA). The first official step happens next week when the two parties will sit down face-to-face, though what comes after that is still mostly uncharted territory.

“There will be a union team and a college team,” says Nelson of the May 15 meeting. “I’m not at the table normally. Our lead attorneys Miller Canfield will be there and probably the local UniServ representative, but beyond that I don’t know.”

This, and a follow-up meeting on May 19, will inform the rest of the negotiation process.

“Actually, that’s part of the purpose of these meetings … to find out what the process will be,” adds Nelson.

While the faculty never fully disclosed its reasons for pursuing unionization – saying only it had nothing to do with compensation – NMC did implement a new compensation plan January 1, 2015 after two years of review.

Nelson doesn’t want to speculate on faculty’s reasons, saying only that unionizing “is one method people choose” to have a relationship with their employer. He does emphasize, however, that whatever contract is ultimately negotiated, it “has to allow us to continue to serve students and the community, and to manage it in an environment that is increasingly challenging. And we will do that.”

“We’re not asking for more money, we’re not going to ask for an increase in benefits,” Nancy Gray, NMC chair of Faculty Council, told The Ticker after the March vote to unionize. “We want a voice at the table and we want some of the power, in order to provide the best education for students.”

Another union on the way?
NMC officials received confirmation Monday that the MEA has officially filed a petition with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) to unionize five more NMC employees – the academic department chairpersons. Because of their supervisory positions, they cannot be in the same bargaining unit as the employees being supervised and were not part of the faculty union vote this past winter.

Nelson confirms this process will likely mimic the first one, starting with a conference call involving NMC, MERC and the MEA on May 13. From there it will move to closed-ballot voting within the next month – and possible formation of the college’s second union group.

Staff “outsourcing”
NMC is also exploring a relationship with Grand Rapids-based EDUStaff, a company specializing in contract management, to oversee administration of contracts for adjunct and part-time supplemental staff. 

Nelson bristles at the idea that the relationship would equate to outsourcing. In a traditional outsourcing arrangement, college officials detailed in a recent memo, NMC would no longer be responsible for employee selection, rate of pay and performance evaluations. In the potential EDUStaff contract, NMC would retain these responsibilities, but adjunct/supplemental staff would become EDUStaff employees for the administration of their payroll services. He adds that such an arrangement would provide more employee choice when it comes to affordable access to retirement plans – and big potential savings for NMC.

“We spend $600,000 annually on retirement for supplemental and adjunct staff,” he says. “The college pays 20 to 26 cents for every dollar of payroll covered in the state employee retirement system. Is there an ‘option of choice’ that would save money?”

Nelson says participation would not be mandatory for current employees.

“For some adjunct/supplemental staff who are close enough to vesting in their retirement plans, it is a bad choice,” he says. “For others it’s an emotional thing, makes them feel like they’re no longer part of the NMC culture. That’s not the case and if that happens, it’s our fault.”

A recommendation to proceed or not proceed is expected at the May 18 NMC Board of Trustees meeting.