We have just received the transcripts of the FAM hearings on whether our collective bargaining unit should be the inclusive one we want — including all who perform faculty duties, such as non-tenure-track faculty, librarians and some staff — or the exclusive unit the Miami administration prefers, which would comprise only tenure-line faculty. The hearings took place in Columbus on December 12 and 13, 2022. 

Download complete transcripts of the hearing below. The two transcripts include testimony from Miami's four administrator witnesses and FAM's thirteen faculty witnesses. They are each roughly 300 pages long. We will be organizing and excerpting over the coming weeks and a summary is available here. Meantime, dig in. 

FAM continues to push for an inclusive collective bargaining unit for all full-time faculty at Miami. At a hearing December 12 and 13, a state-appointed judge heard testimony from Miami’s administration in support of excluding all except tenure-line faculty and from FAM in support of an inclusive unit. A summary is below, and you can read our coverage on Twitter @famiamioh.

SERB Hearing Will Decide Who Votes in Union Election 
A caravan of FAM supporters is traveling to FAM's State Employment Review Board hearing on Monday to prove to the administration and their lawyers that we are #OneFaculty. A judge will hear Miami administration’s case for excluding all faculty except tenure-line faculty from our bargaining unit and FAM’s case for including all full-time faculty, librarians, and staff who have faculty duties. 

Let's pack the room with strong FAM solidarity! ​Show your support for FAM’s LUVing, inclusive, and accurate vision. When: December 12 & 13, Monday and Tuesday. Where: SERB HQ, 65 E State Street, Suite 1200, across from the State House in Columbus. 

Live SERB Hearing Updates
We'll be live-tweeting the SERB hearing! Follow along on Twitter @famiamioh. 

It’s Nearly GOTV Time!
After the hearing, the judge will make a recommendation about who will be in the bargaining unit to SERB. Soon after that, if all goes well and Miami does not create further delays, we'll have an election!
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Voter Turnout = Bargaining Power 
It's crucial that EVERYONE make a plan to vote! The stronger the election results, the more leverage the union will have at the bargaining table and the better our contract will be. The voting window lasts only two weeks. Faculty & librarians should watch their home mailboxes for the ballot and click here to confirm that their mailing addresses are up to date.

Ask Friends, Family & Students to Support FAM!
Upwards of 1400 supporters have signed FAM's Community Ally petition (students, faculty allies elsewhere, alums, parents). Many--including the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Ohio AFL-CIO, many local unions, and local and state legislators--have also written letters of support for FAM to Miami's administration.

With the Columbus hearings around the corner, it’s time to call on allies in Oxford and beyond to step up. They can pressure Miami to drop objections and let us vote. Ask everyone you know—students, friends, and family—to sign now! Share the petition from @famiamioh on social (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) or send allies to tinyurl.com/LetThemVote.

Get the FAM Facts
As we gear up for GOTV, review and share the FAM Facts with your colleagues! These are the FACTS about unionizing, not the union-busting myths. And see our FAM Facts for International Faculty and for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty!
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Real Budget Talk
On November 17, in a talk co-sponsored by #StudentsForFAM, AAUP financial expert Howard Bunsis demystified Miami’s finances. Miami’s financial situation is very strong, said Bunsis, but faculty salaries are lower than our peers—while management and athletics costs are higher. Bunsis also exposed transparency issues, stressing that as a public institution, more of our staffing, enrollment and financial data should be publicly available (something that will happen once we have a collective bargaining unit).
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You can watch the full, captioned recording on Youtube and check out the slides. Here's a short clip on Miami's financial health (more clips here):

On November 17, faculty and students welcomed finance expert and CPA Dr. Howard Bunsis for an exhilarating, witty deep-dive into Miami University's finances.

Co-sponsored by FAM and #StudentsForFAM,  "Follow the Money: Miami's Finances & You" covered Miami's overall financial condition, spending on instructional and administrative salaries, faculty pay as compared to our peers, enrollments, athletics deficits, and more. ​Here's a short summative clip :

More clips below. Watch the full recording on YouTube and explore the slides.

Bunsis' findings:

• Miami University is in very strong financial condition. This conclusion is supported by solid reserves and cash flows, modest debt levels, and increasing state support.
• There are significant transparency issues at MU, as data that is publicly available at most universities is not available for Miami
• The bond rating of MU is Aa3 stable, which Moody’s supports by noting solid reserves and state support
• There was a decline in auxiliary revenue (housing, dining, parking, athletics) from 2019 to 2021, but total revenues were relatively stable, as COVID support and the state helped.
• There is an issue with high administrative costs when viewed over time, by campus, and versus peer institutions
• Faculty salaries are well below peers at all campuses.
• MU Athletics had a huge deficit in 2021, but there were huge deficits even before the pandemic.

Some highlights from the presentation: 

FAM and #StudentsForFAM are grateful to Professor Bunsis for his time. Bunsis is an accountancy scholar and attorney with many years of experience analyzing university finances for the American Association of University Professors. Howard holds a PhD and MBA from the University of Chicago, a JD from Fordham University, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He is professor of accounting at Eastern Michigan University, where he has served as president of the AAUP collective bargaining chapter. He is easy to find and mentioned that he's happy to answer questions about his data and conclusions.