Colleagues,
We are writing to provide you with information about an agreement MSU recently reached with the Administrative Professional Association (APA) to continue employee furloughs through June 30, 2021. The new agreement continues the terms of the first Letter of Agreement on furloughs which was signed on May 6, 2020.
As you may recall when we first announced the furlough agreements earlier this year, protecting our employees’ access to health, dental and life insurance was and continues to be critically important to the university. Furlough agreements are also intended to ensure your units have the flexibility to quickly and efficiently recall employees, as many of your units have already been doing.
There are some changes to note in this new APA agreement:
The APA has indicated that ratification is not necessary. As such, this agreement is effective immediately.
Process Information
MSU HR will not select employees for furlough; unit leadership will make these determinations and initiate the furlough process. Impacted employees will receive an email from MSU HR with a furlough notice and further instructions; the employee’s supervisor or a designated unit representative and union will be copied on the notice.
If you are interested in volunteering for furlough, please contact your supervisor or manager.
Unemployment Compensation
Furloughed employees can apply for unemployment compensation. The State of Michigan, not the university, determines whether an employee qualifies. Find more information on how to apply for unemployment at http://www.michigan.gov/uia. Please note: MSU HR and/or individual units do not apply for unemployment on behalf of employees; it is up to each individual to apply for unemployment.
The university has also reached similar tentative agreements with the Administrative Professional Supervisor Association, and AFSCME Local 1585. Those unions are in the process of ratification votes on those agreements, which means they will not take effect unless ratified.
We are also in continuing discussions with IATSE Local 274 and the Clerical-Technical Union (CTU). We will provide additional information on those agreements as we are able to do so.
Sincerely,
Sharon E. Butler, associate vice president of Human Resources
Suzanne Lang, interim associate provost and associate vice president of Academic Human Resources