Faculty and professionals at Temple University have a new tentative agreement that provides solid raises, strengthened language on tenure and promotion, and incremental benefit improvements for nontenure-track, full-time teachers. The university and the Temple Association of University Professionals/AFT announced the settlement on Feb. 14, and a ratification vote by mail is set to be completed by March. TAUP represents 1,165 full-time faculty and other academic professionals at 13 of Temple's schools and colleges and within its library system.

Once ratified, the four-year contract will provide a pay package equal to a 15.22 percent raise, with a mix of cost-of-living increases, bonuses and merit raises. It wuill protect the faculty's right to participate fully in the review process. It also has other important enhancements, such as increases in minimum salaries for librarians and all faculty, a sliding scale of health and dental insurance premium payments sot that those making less pay less and full domestic partner benefits.

What is most compelling about the contract, says William W. Cutler, president of TAUP, is its language providing professional gains. The university went into bargaining with intent on bringing Temple "to the next level of research universities."  Rather than letting the administration up the workload ante on teaching, research and service requirements, the union successfully clarified that an outstanding faculty member could excel in one category and put in a solid performance in another and still be rated as outstanding. The agreement also increases paid study leaves for full-time, tenure-track faculty from the current 1 per 13 faculty members to 1 per eight. In addition, the union secured important gains for their nontenure-track faculty, who, over the next four years, get increasing access to paid pension benefits and to their own study leaves after they've been teaching for 10 years. 

"I think it's a win-win contract," says Cutler. [Virginia Myers Kelly]

February 22, 2005