About the FA
The Faculty Association (FA) was organized in 1969 and is the oldest faculty union at a 4-year institution in the United States. Affiliated with the Michigan Education Association and the National Education Association, the FA is the sole representative of the regular faculty when it comes to our working conditions.
The FA serves faculty in a variety of ways including negotiating the collective bargaining agreement that covers all full-time regular faculty. Equally important is the FA's work pursuing formal grievances to protect the interests of various individual faculty and groups of faculty that may have been harmed in some way by CMU Administration decisions and activities. Representatives of the FA and the administration meet regularly to discuss contract issues and faculty concerns. In addition, members of the FA – your colleagues – sit on numerous budgetary, research, and policy-making committees across the campus.
What are the advantages of joining the CMU Faculty Association?
You get a much greater voice in the operations of the organization that will, in any case, represent you.
Members are eligible to vote in FA elections and referenda and are eligible to serve as officers, board members, and members of FA committees.
As members of the NEA and MEA, members of the Faculty Association automatically receive $1,000,000 in professional liability insurance through NEA. They are also eligible for group rates on auto insurance and life insurance, as well as a number of other financial services. (See http://www.mea.org/ and http://www.nea.org/ for details.)
Members of the FA receive many money-saving opportunities through MEA.
Members receive various NEA and MEA publications on professional issues.
How much does it cost?
The dues for our local Faculty Association are set locally. However, FA members must also pay NEA and MEA dues set by those organizations. For current dues please contact the membership officer. Dues are tax-deductible as business expenses as long as you itemize and meet the minimum percent of adjusted gross income for such deductions. Consult a tax advisor for details.
What if You Do Not Join?
Currently, more than 85% of regular faculty members belong to the Association. Nevertheless, you are free not to join. If you do not join you are expecting others to carry the financial burden for the benefits you receive, including the rights to have your interests represented by the FA and its parent associations in bargaining, grievances, investigations, or disciplinary hearings.
Ready to Join the CMU Faculty Association?
Send an email to Heather Polinsky, FA Membership Officer at polin1he@cmich.edu.