Joint Statement from the College and Faculty Union on Reaching an Agreement

To the Emerson community,

We are pleased to share that on Wednesday, January 31, the Emerson College Full-time Faculty Union, ECCAAUP (Emerson College Chapter of the American Association of University Professors), overwhelmingly ratified the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement with Emerson College by a near-unanimous vote of 179-2 with eight members abstaining. 

After several months of good-faith bargaining, the College and ECCAAUP reached an agreement, retroactive to September 1, 2023, that includes significant wage increases that will enable the College to attract and retain highly talented faculty members. The new contract runs through academic year 2028.

Other key aspects of the agreement include:

• An optional one-time process for term faculty to transfer to the tenure track;
• A doubling of the mass transit benefit and increased parking subsidies for commuters;
• Enhancement of important benefits such as short-term disability coverage, with equal treatment of both term and tenure-line faculty;  
• An innovative “living Salary Grid” that will enhance Emerson’s competitiveness in future hires through the life of the contract, alongside a methodology to create meaningful promotion salary increases;
• A continued commitment to offering attractive phased retirement options for eligible faculty;
• Renewed support for Directed Studies;
• A continued commitment to engage in conversations around online course development and other related workload issues, with resolutions obtained by the end of the academic year.

The agreement reached between the College and the Faculty Union reflects the shared values of the Emerson community. Throughout contract negotiations, the College and the Union remained collaborative and committed to finding solutions to the proposed changes they sought for economic and non-economic provisions in this new agreement. 

We are grateful for this positive outcome, and we thank the members of our respective negotiating teams for actively listening to each other and engaging thoughtfully throughout this process to tackle the challenging issues raised during these discussions. Today is a very good day and portends a very good future for Emerson College.

Sincerely,

Jay M. Bernhardt, President
Jan Roberts Breslin, Interim Provost
Russell Newman, ECCAAUP President