Missouri Faculty Union Against Plan to Raise Wages

A faculty and staff union at the University of Missouri opposes a plan to pay for wage increases through cutbacks, the Associated Press reports:

The university’s plan would free up about $7 million to increase professors’ salaries to make the school more competitive compared to other universities.

The university has not finalized how it will get the money, but has mentioned several ideas, including adopting a faculty hiring freeze on 30 to 35 positions, combining administrative functions, or consolidating services.

Robert Smale, an assistant professor of history, said professors need a pay increase, but the university’s plan could end up “cannibalizing” the school.

“They have correctly diagnosed the problem, but they are incapable of coming up with a viable solution,” said Smale of the university’s National Education Association branch.

Union members say they’re particularly opposed to the idea of a possible hiring freeze. They fear that such a move would lead to larger classes and more work for professors while hurting the quality of instruction. The administration, however, says it’s not looking to burden professors:

Vice Provost Brian Foster, who helped formulate the pay increase plan, said university leaders are looking for ways to minimize extra work. For example, the university might opt to have small classes taught less often. Another idea is to combine classes if two departments happen to be teaching similar classes.