After a two-month hiatus from negotiations as UPAMM worked on its comprehensive contract proposal, the University and UPAMM will return to negotiations on Tuesday, March 23. The University has proposed, and UPAMM has agreed to, a more streamlined bargaining process that will help expedite conversation to achieve the goals of concluding negotiations and reaching a tentative agreement by early May.

This process includes holding a week-long negotiation session in May with the expectation that at the conclusion of that intensive negotiation window, we will have reached a final tentative agreement that can be presented to the UPAMM membership for a vote. During this week, we will focus on negotiating key substantive elements of the agreement template, as agreed upon by the teams in advance. In the time leading up to this week, subgroups will be formed with representation from both parties to lay the foundational terms and templates for use during the larger session. This will allow us to reach agreement on as much language as possible prior to the intensive May bargaining week so that time can be spent efficiently. These subgroups will meet twice a week until May.

This creative approach, which is a departure from traditional University bargaining practices, will allow us to meet the parties’ mutual interest in expediting negotiations. We appreciate UPAMM’s flexibility and look forward to collaborating with them on this approach.