AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron and the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors have filed their initial briefs in an arbitration case that will decide whether the elimination of more than 70 faculty positions will remain in effect.
In the briefs, which you can read in this post, the two sides predictably disagree as to whether the university’s financial losses related to the coronavirus pandemic constitute the “unforeseen” and “catastrophic” circumstances that would allow for the layoffs.
An arbitrator is expected to announce his binding decision on Sept. 18.
At issue is the university’s reliance on parts of the union contract that allow for changes to the bargaining agreement in cases of “unforeseen, uncontrolled, catastrophic and exigent” circumstances.
The university’s Board of Trustees on July 15 approved eliminating 96 union faculty positions – including tenured faculty – with the layoffs going into effect on Aug. 22. As of Aug. 16, that number had decreased to 72, as other faculty had retired or left, according to the AAUP’s brief. Union members voted in early August to reject the proposed layoffs.
The salaries of the 72 professors total about $5.85 million, or about $7.55 million including benefits, AAUP reported. If the union prevails in arbitration, the employees would be reinstated, and the process would cost the university an estimated $8 million to $32 million, according to UA President Gary Miller.
Scott Scarborough, a former UA president who now teaches accounting, was on the initial layoff list, but the trustees voted to remove him from the list in August. His salary for 2020 is $112,500, according to a UA spokeswoman.
In its brief, the university contends that the coronavirus crisis meets the threshold for unforeseen and catastrophic circumstances outlined in the contract.
The AAUP says UA’s finances are within the administration’s control, and that the university’s budget for the upcoming year calls for an overall surplus, while some areas, including athletics, are projected to run a deficit. The union has been asking the university to make cuts to athletics and administrative salaries before cuts to academics.
The university’s budget for fiscal year 2021, approved by trustees on Aug. 12, included $44 million in cuts and $29 million in lost revenue compared to the year prior. The cuts came from reducing the size of the workforce, eliminating unfilled positions, reorganizing the university’s 11 colleges into five, reducing benefits for some non-union employees and reducing university support of athletics by about 20%, or $4.4 million, including cutting three sports teams: men’s golf, women’s tennis and men’s cross country.
Those permanent cuts are in addition to temporary cost-saving measures, including salary reductions for non-union faculty, academic administrators, staff and contract employees.
In addition to its operating budget, UA’s reserve totals about $83.5 million, of which about $65 million is “readily available,” according to a university spokeswoman, but Miller has stated that the reserves are not to be treated as a “rainy day” fund.