KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A new contract is in place between Western Michigan University and their chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
The board of trustees approved the contract this week, and it gives professors a 4% pay raise this year and 3.25% for 2025-26 and a lump sum payment next year of $1,000.
The WMU-AAUP was seeking an 11.25% wage increase in both 2024 and 2025. The university countered with a 2.75% wage increase in 2024 and 2.5% wage increase in 2025 before they settled on the final raise.
Contract talks had been ongoing since June for higher wages and new healthcare benefits.
The union wanted the 11.25% raise to return their purchasing power to what it was in 2015 relative to the Consumer Price Index.
Salaries were negotiated as a wage reopener included in the union’s 2022 contract. The union will negotiate a new contract in 2026.
During contract talks, the WMU-AAUP and two other academic unions at WMU, the teaching assistants union and professional instructor’s union, all voted no confidence in the leadership of president Edward Montgomery.
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