The Faculty Association of Monmouth University

Top from left to right: Sue Starke; Marina Vujnovic; Bill Byrne; Aaron Furgason; Nick Messina. Middle from left to right: John Comisky; Laura Turner; Sanjana Ragudaran; Megan Delaney. Bottom left to right: Gabi Hackenberg; Johanna Foster; Lisa Iannucci; Mark Ludak; Rose Knapp; Not in photo: Tom Carey.

The Administration Hardly Moves
on Insulting Economic Proposals

Yesterday, August 8, the FAMCO bargaining team returned to the negotiating table to continue our discussions to ensure salary equity, economic and healthcare security, and a stable workforce for our members and our students. We left the table sorely disappointed that the administration has chosen to hold steady on their insulting across the board proposal for 1%, 1.5% and 2% increases to base salaries, modifying their initial compensation proposal only nominally to permit faculty in select ranks to choose between a 1% increase *or* a $2000-$2500 base increase in year one only.

Additionally, on other proposals of concern to our members, the administration continued to refuse to make any increases at all to our retirement contributions, and stood firm on their goal to move our fixed healthcare rate structure to an unstable variable rate structure (think: “balloon mortgages”).

In fact, after 5 months of repeated requests for the methods used to calculate their healthcare cost projections, the administration continues to delay providing the information, conjecturing in yesterday’s session for the first time that the information may be proprietary. In previous negotiations, the administration provided rate development information to FAMCO to permit informed negotiations. This time, and with President Leahy’s hired gun law firm and a new university healthcare consultant, that information has yet to be disclosed. Nonetheless, the administration expects faculty to agree to a healthcare cost structure without any access to the rate development methodology or without any finalized projections.

In what we hope is a sign of progress, the administration indicated they would be willing to modify their healthcare proposal to address our concerns about “balloon” payments by continuing the fixed cost structure for one more year, and then continuing with the variable structure that would be capped at the percentage not yet known to us.  We will be eager to see the details of that modification next week.

Administration Claims Equity Adjustments Would Mean “Overpaying” Faculty

Additionally, the administration continues to refuse to engage with us in any meaningful discussion around closing the massive gaps in salaries within ranks by discipline and gender at MU.  Citing what amounts to a black box “the market makes us do it” argument, the administration’s rationale included their assessment that leveling up the salaries of faculty in the lower tier salary bands, which also largely map onto feminized disciplines, would be “overpaying faculty” that they can already hire at low “market rates,” suggesting to us that they are willing to continue undervaluing many faculty relative to others simply because they can.  

Administration Outright Rejects Plan for Tenure Paths for Non-Tenure Stream Faculty

In a real surprise given Provost Veit’s previously documented support for select recommendations to tackle our recalcitrant problem of overreliance and exploitation of contingent faculty, the administration also rejected FAMCO’s entire comprehensive proposal to address these structural challenges, including a carefully crafted plan to provide a path to tenure for our non-tenure stream faculty who make up nearly 40% of our full-time ranks.

“Not Every Dollar Can Be Pumped into Faculty Paychecks” and Admin Pay “is the Norm”

On top of the unwillingness to move toward FAMCO’s economic proposals in a way that signals to us that they are hearing member concerns about salary inequities, and ones that have not kept pace with costs of living, the administration’s external lawyer also insulted faculty who questioned the university’s lack of transparency on the administration’s healthcare increase projections, and continued to deflect our concerns about economic security, citing that the average MU faculty pay is “within market” and even “top tier.” Despite our members’ repeated and compelling articulations of the mismatch between real faculty earnings and the realities of costs of living, the administration’s external counsel leaned on a vague narrative that the university needs to be “well-rounded” and continued the claims that faculty are simply asking for more than we deserve as “every dollar cannot be pumped into faculty paychecks.”

This, despite the recently released IRS 990 that shows MU’s 2023 net income as 13 million (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/210634584); our current enrollment numbers that have cleared President Leahy’s stated operational threshold; the securing of 3 million in state funding for capital projects as announced by Senator Vin Gopal; and the celebrated 20 million from donors for the development of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. To add to these accomplishments, just last week, we all learned of the new corporate deal with Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) that includes an expansion of the Ocean First Bank Center footprint and a new partnership with HMH to, in effect, outsource student health services.

Yet, when pushed to answer for how their “faculty salaries are within market” rationale squares with excessive pay for our senior administrators, including the now nearly one million dollar estimated total compensation for President Leahy, the administration’s lawyer defended administrator compensation levels as “the norm.” In fact, Provost Veit, normally a champion of faculty, sided with external counsel yesterday in a markedly combative alignment against the bargaining team when we challenged their unsubstantiated austerity narrative.

Signs of Limited Progress

In limited ways, the administration moved on several economic items, including the positive news that they accepted FAMCO’s proposal for modest promotion base pay increases, as well as our proposed minor increases to select travel funding caps.  At present, they have also agreed to a $40 increase to the minimum summer teaching pay per credit load hour.

Overall, Disappointing Week and Expect Administration to Do Better

We remain disappointed with our senior leadership and deeply troubled by the message of disregard and disrespect that their proposals send to us, to our students, and to the larger Monmouth University community.  It’s almost as if President Leahy and his team want us to leave the work to which we are so committed, and to be challenged at every turn in our desire to serve our students well.

We maintain hope and confidence that this is not the case. We are ready to return to the table next week to hear the administration’s promised responses to our latest proposals, and to find a viable way forward toward a compensation, healthcare, and stable workforce package that, instead of the stunningly miserly provisions, provides for equity, real earnings adjustments, and affordable, low-risk healthcare plan choices for our faculty. 

As we continue to hear of the important accomplishments that President Leahy and his cabinet have achieved in their recent publicly celebrated successes this summer, we know that Monmouth continues to be a thriving place that, while affording our senior administrators unusually generous salaries, can also afford compensation and benefits packages for employees that, at the very least, keeps them at pace with our rising costs of living.

Shout to Our FAMCO Members!

As always, we are proud to report that our members have continued to step up to voice their support for a strong contract, and we want to recognize our good colleagues who joined us this week as observers at the bargaining table (see below)! We also want to recognize the nearly 140 members of the full-time faculty who have signed on to the open letter of support for the bargaining team as we continue to press forward toward a settlement we deserve!  If you haven’t signed on to the letter yet, you can find it here: https://forms.gle/cKQCbpCK2ChpYrbX8.

What Else Can You Do to Help SEAL the Deal?

We invite you to join us as a FAMCO observer this Thursday, August 15 and/or Tuesday, August 27 for our next bargaining sessions.  Also, join us on YouTube with your video testimony about why it matters to you, your families, and your students that your own salary and benefits costs have made it difficult for you to keep pace with the cost of living. Reach out to Sanjana Ragudaran (sanjanamaniam@gmail.com) for more information about how you can serve as observers and/or participate as a YouTube Town Hall testifier!

GO FAMCO!