“The college administration has employed delaying tactics that have stalled our attempts to reach consensus on a collective bargaining agreement, which led us to file these charges with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC),” MEA UniServ Director Kurt Murray stated.  Those delaying tactics included the college’s insistence that further negotiations be conducted in-person, even though NCMC classes are currently held via Zoom, and the college’s refusal to provide the union with relevant information to develop proposals for mandatory subjects of bargaining.

“The college administration’s insistence on in-person bargaining during a global pandemic, which puts the health of both bargaining teams in jeopardy, coupled with their refusal to provide legally entitled information to the union are both direct violations of the Public Employment Relations Act.  We look forward to presenting our case to MERC and, following a successful resolution of these issues, to move forward with the collective bargaining process,” said Murray.