Eastern Michigan University Professor Testifies Before Michigan House Appropriations Committee About Effects of HB 5345 On Higher Education Employees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 10, 2009 -- Chair of the American Association of University Professors’ Collective Bargaining Congress, Howard Bunsis, Ph.D., recently testified before the Michigan Appropriations Committee regarding HB 5345. Bunsis told the committee that the legislation would deprive the faculty at any university in the state of its ability to negotiate its own health care benefits. Dr. Bunsis is also the treasurer of the Eastern Michigan University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (EMU-AAUP).

HB 5345 was introduced by Rep. Andy Dillon and provides for the consolidation of health benefits for public employees.

Bunsis said, “The AAUP represents a smaller amount of employees than the UAW and other public employee groups, so we are concerned we will be not be allowed to even be in the room of the state board overseeing the pool’s insurance options.” There are 500,000 public employees covered by the plan that now is in place; there are less than 10,000 AAUP faculty in Michigan.

He continued, “The biggest problem with this bill is that, currently, we collectively bargain health care costs. That right would be unilaterally taken away by this legislation.”

Higher education institution administrators and faculty collaborate on the collective bargaining process to control expenses. According to Bunsis, although the bill states that cost savings will be achieved, they will only help the state, not the universities, nor their faculties.

The faculty at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) has fewer single individuals and a population that is older than the public as a whole. Bunsis pointed out that EMU’s faculty health care costs are under control. This situation is similar at most of EMU’s peer institutions around the state.

Bunsis questioned whether dental preventive care and wellness issues would be negotiable locally and if other eligible adults would receive benefits He is worried that, with the proposed bill, schools would not be able to pass along information on cost differences for fulfilling prescriptions to employees. He stressed that a potential solution would be to have the public plan as an option, not a mandate.

The purpose of American Association of University Professors Eastern Michigan University Chapter (EMU-AAUP) is to promote the interests of higher education and research, to advance the standards and welfare of the academic profession, and to serve as the collective bargaining agent for the faculty of the University.

employees     health care     proposed bill