Michigan State University Extension employees secured higher wages and improved benefits as part of a tentative agreement reached with the university, the union representing Extension workers announced Thursday evening.
The tentative agreements reached cover both support staff, nonacademic employees, and academic staff. For both groups, there will be a 2% raise in October 2025, according to Extension employee Stathis Pauls, who was present at the bargaining agreements. Upon signing the agreement, all employees in the union will be awarded a 1% raise.
The tentative agreement, which took eight months to reach, will be sent to the union’s voting members for ratification next week, where it needs an over 50% vote to be ratified. If passed, the agreement will be effective for three years.
It's been a tumultuous year for employees within Extension — MSU's outreach arm that operates throughout Michigan. Extension employees voted to unionize less than a year ago, and layoffs due to federal funding shortages have affected nearly 100 workers.
President of the Union of Nontenure-Track Faculty, Extension United’s parent union, Victor Rodriguez-Pereira said one of the most crucial aspect to the agreement was the increase in salary minimums.
“Many of these folks have not gotten a salary raise for a decade or more,” Rodriguez said. “Some people have been working there for 20 years and barely ever saw a raise.”
Rodriguez also said a stronger merit-based raise system will be put in place, as well as a "grievance" policy allowing employees to contest unfair discipling, with the hope of adding an extra layer of job security.
Academic staff will continue paying for 14% of health care premiums, while support staff will begin paying 5%. Previously, the support staff was not paying into health care premiums.
“We fought to keep it at what it is now,” Pauls said. “It became evident that was not something management was going to budge on.”
Jeremy Jubenville, who represented the academic employees during negotiations, said that this detail was a reflection of the current economic climate, and the union knew it would have to "concede" on the issue.
