Judge extends order ending CMU faculty's walkout

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) -- A judge last Friday extended an order that ended a faculty work stoppage at Central Michigan University earlier last week. Isabella County Circuit Court Judge Paul Chamberlain's order ensures that faculty members who engaged in a one-day strike last Monday will remain in the classroom. Members of the Central Michigan University Faculty Association returned to work last Tuesday, and classes have continued as scheduled. The faculty union and the university have fact-finding hearings scheduled with an appointee of the Michigan Employment Relations Commission next month as they continue to work toward resolving their labor dispute. "We are extremely pleased with today's court action, which places the priority on student learning and academic achievement," Central Michigan University Executive Vice President/Provost E. Gary Shapiro said in a statement. "We now look forward to reaching an agreement through fact finding." The university said last Friday's order came following an agreement with the faculty association "subject to several conditions." The faculty association said the order and agreement restores their members' ability to peacefully demonstrate and have informational pickets. Laura Frey, the faculty association president, called the order a "win for the faculty and the students" at the university. The faculty association has about 600 members who are either tenured or in the tenure system at the university. The walkout did not include instructors at Central Michigan who aren't part of the tenure system, such as fixed-term faculty and graduate assistants. The faculty group says its previous contract expired June 30 with disputes continuing over wages and other issues. Central Michigan has about 28,000 students, including roughly 21,000 enrolled at the Mount Pleasant campus. Published: Tue, Aug 30, 2011