The University of Alaska Board of Regents voted Monday to increase faculty pay over the next three years, despite the school and its faculty union still not reaching an agreement after several months of negotiation, the Alaska Beacon reported.
The union, United Academics, called the decision premature.
“United Academics does not believe impasse has been established, and we believe that this UA [University of Alaska] action is questionable and even disingenuous,” said Tony Rickard, professor of mathematics education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and chief negotiator for United Academics.
The faculty union has proposed faculty pay increases of 5%, between 3% and 7%, and between 3% and 6% over the next three years, with the latter two years’ increases determined by the Consumer Price Index.
Rickard said the school planned to give raises of approximately 7.5% over the next three years.
“We went through and met with a federal mediator for a series of sessions. Unfortunately, we did not come out of that with an agreement. And that’s when the negotiating team shared the belief that we were at impasse,” said David Eisenberg, lead negotiator for the university.
