KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — It will be a merrier Christmas for members of two unions working at Western Michigan University, now that their labor contracts have been ratified by the Board of Trustees.
They approved pay and bonus hikes for their part time instructors union, which has been very vocal about their low wages over the past year.
Provost Julian Vasquez Heilig says the changes will result in about a 20% pay hike, when it kicks in fully.
Trustees also approved a pay hike for the stage hands who work at Miller Auditorium, to match pay scales at DeVos Hall in Grand Rapids.
WMU vice president Jan Van Der Kley says they need to be able to compete to get enough unionized theatrical workers for Broadway shows.
The show must go on, both in the classroom and on stage.
WMU president Edward Montgomery had to declare an emergency meeting under their bylaws when they couldn’t muster a quorum of the Board of Trustees for the session Thursday.
Trustees live and work all over the state and getting them all together, on short notice, can be difficult, and it’s probably tougher around the holidays.
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