State Asks U. of Northern Iowa’s Faculty Union to Reopen Contract

State officials have asked the faculty union at the University of Northern Iowa to reopen its contract amid concerns that the pact could hinder the ability of all three of Iowa’s public univerities to consider employee layoffs and salary cuts as they work to slash a total of $58-million from their budgets, The Des Moines Register reported. Negotiated raises at Northern Iowa have set a pattern for faculty members at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, which do not have faculty unions. Northern Iowa’s contract calls for no pay raise this year and a 3-percent increase for next year, Hans Isakson, the union’s president, told the newspaper.