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Following a spring and summer of negotiations, ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University is committed to keeping the campus community informed of the status of collective bargaining with the Faculty Alliance of ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, AAUP-AFT (“FAM” or the “union”).

The 2023–2026 faculty collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired on June 30, 2026. Consistent with applicable Ohio public-sector collective bargaining law, the university and FAM continue to operate under the terms of the expired agreement while negotiations — and any applicable statutory dispute resolution processes, such as mediation, fact-finding or conciliation — remain underway.

Negotiating teams for the university and FAM began formal negotiations for a successor agreement on March 11, 2026. Consistent with the parties’ bargaining ground rules, the parties have met at least three times each month, most recently on Sept. 8, 2026. Sessions have remained cordial and productive. The university looks forward to reaching an agreement with the union as soon as practicable and will continue to negotiate in good faith with the union until the parties ultimately reach an agreement that acknowledges the dedication of our faculty members while maintaining the obligations to our students and educational mission.

Where Things Stand

The parties have reached tentative agreement on a number of articles and have made significant progress on others. Since early June, FAM and the university have exchanged most remaining proposals through two principal packages, one focused on economic issues and one on non-economic issues. Package bargaining allows each side to evaluate movement on one issue together with movement on others; proposals within a package therefore reflect reciprocal tradeoffs rather than stand-alone concession.

As of the close of the Aug. 28 bargaining session, both economic and non-economic packages were in the university’s court. The university returned revised economic and non-economic packages on Sept. 8. During that session, FAM reorganized its prior non-economic package into two separate packages: one containing provisions it identified as aligned and another containing Faculty Evaluations, Performance Counseling and Performance Improvement Plans, and an Artificial Intelligence MOU. Because the university’s prior movement on the non-economic package was made as part of an integrated set of reciprocal tradeoffs, the university is evaluating the restricted proposals in that context. The university remains optimistic that the parties can address the package structure and continue narrowing the remaining substantive gaps.

Articles where the parties current package proposals reflect alignment, although the packages have not yet been accepted:

• Management Rights
• Separability
• Appointment and Promotion of Tenure-Track and Tenured Faculty
• Appointment, Renewal, and Promotion of TCPL Faculty
• Leaves
• Professional Development Leaves and Appointments
• Duration
• Labor Management Meetings
• Performance Counseling and Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs)

Issues that remain open or otherwise unresolved within the Economic and Non-Economic packages:

• Compensation
• Benefits
• Faculty Evaluations
• Grievance and Arbitration
• Financial Exigency and Academic Reorganization
• Memorandum of Understanding: Artificial Intelligence

The union also previously proposed two items that are not part of the expired agreement: a Memorandum of Understanding on Immigration Enforcement Access and Information Sharing, and a new Shared Governance article. The university has sought withdrawal of both proposals. Because that package has not been accepted as a whole, those withdrawals are not yet final.

Primary Open Issues

Compensation

The university's most recent proposal (Sept. 8, 2026) includes annual base salary increases of 3.00% (AY 2026–27), 2.50% (AY 2027–28), and 2.00% (AY 2028–29), payable to faculty who receive an overall evaluation rating that meets or exceeds performance expectations. FAM's most recent economic proposal, presented Aug. 28, seeks increases of 4.25%, 4.25%, and 3.75%, respectively. The university’s proposal also includes updated promotional increases, an increased minimum salary floor, a $1,200/credit-hour overload rate (for all campuses), and a mechanism under which any Board-approved increase for non-bargaining-unit employees above the negotiated percentages would create a discretionary merit pool for bargaining unit faculty.

Benefits

The expired agreement, ratified in 2025, permits the university to increase faculty health insurance premium contributions rates by up to 7.5% per plan year and expressly provides that this framework survives expiration absent a negotiated change. FAM’s current proposal would reduce the annual cap to 3%. The university’s Sept. 8 proposal maintains the 7.5% cap through plan year 2027, reduces it to 6.5% effective Jan. 1, 2028, and adds parity protection: the year-over-year percentage increase for bargaining unit faculty may not exceed the increase applied to the same plan and coverage level for similarly-situated non-bargaining unit employees.

ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú maintains one workforce and one benefit structure that is consistent across union and non-union employees alike. The university must retain sufficient flexibility to forecast and manage benefits costs over the life of the expected three-year agreement. Although employee benefit costs have not increased significantly in recent years, healthcare costs may rise. The university’s proposal seeks to preserve long-term sustainability while adding protections for bargaining unit faculty.

Faculty Evaluations

The Board of Trustees adopted a faculty evaluation policy last year that includes an internal appeal process required by Ohio law. The university’s position is that applicable law places certain faculty evaluation matters outside of collective bargaining and that the Board process should be the primary avenue for challenging annual evaluations.

Its most recent proposal would permit grievances only as to express procedural requirements where legally permissible, while preserving academic and professional judgment over substantive evaluation decisions. The university believes a single, defined review path avoids duplicative challenges and keeps academic judgments with academic decision-makers.

FAM's current proposal also uses the Board appeal process but would preserve a limited grievance and arbitration route after that process is exhausted. The parties continue to negotiate the scope of any arbitral review.

Artificial Intelligence

FAM’s Sept. 8 AI proposal has been narrowed from earlier versions. It would prohibit the university from using generative AI in faculty evaluations, require the parties to discuss AI’s impact at Labor-Management meetings, permit proposed guidelines for specific AI tools, and make alleged violations subject to the grievance and arbitration procedure. Artificial Intelligence is not a subject of mandatory bargaining, and the university is declining to open negotiations regarding AI. Its position is that the university is not and has not proposed to use AI in the manner outlined above. Moreover, AI is an emerging and disruptive technology, and the university must maintain flexibility to respond to that technology as it matures without being confined by CBA language negotiated in the abstract. The university’s package calls for withdrawal of the union’s demand for an MOU on artificial intelligence.

Financial Exigency and Academic Reorganization

The university's proposal amends this article to conform its terms to the requirements of Ohio Senate ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú 1 (SB 1). The union disagrees with certain specific language the university has proposed to accomplish that conformance, and the parties continue to discuss precise wording.

Grievance and Arbitration

This article remains open. The parties continue to discuss the scope of arbitral review across several other provisions, including Faculty Evaluations, PIPs, and Financial Exigency and Academic Reorganization, each of which cross-reference the limits on arbitral authority set out in this article.

New Union Proposals: Immigration Enforcement MOU and Shared Governance Article

The union has proposed a new Memorandum of Understanding regarding university immigration and customs enforcement access and information sharing, and a new stand-alone Shared Governance article. Neither was part of the expired agreement. The university's current package proposal asks the union to withdraw both items. These remain open issues.

Salary Increases Following Expiration

The expired agreement provided scheduled base-salary increases through July 1, 2025; it does not provide a general salary increase for AY 2026–27. Bargaining-unit faculty therefore have not received a base salary increase for the current academic year while negotiations continue. Whether any salary adjustment is retroactive for the post-expiration period is part of the parties' economic bargaining. The university's Sept. 8 proposal includes a one-time $500 ratification payment to eligible bargaining-unit faculty within 60 days after union ratification and Board approval.

Next Steps

The parties are scheduled to return to the bargaining table on Sept. 18, 2026. The university remains committed to bargaining in good faith and believes a successor agreement is achievable. If the remaining issues cannot be resolved at the bargaining table, applicable Ohio law provides a structured dispute-resolution process. The university's focus remains on reaching agreement through bargaining on fair and sustainable terms that recognize faculty contributions, support students, and protect ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú's long-term academic and financial health. The university will continue to update the campus community as bargaining progresses.

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