Western Michigan University’s Board of Trustees has approved a three-year contract with the university’s faculty union at its meeting Tuesday.
The trustees also approved an agreement with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents about 10 WMU stage workers, and an agreement on a consolidated dispatch proposal.
The American Association of University Professors voted to accept the contract a few weeks ago, just before the old one ran out. The contract will raise wages by two percent this academic year and the next, and by three percent in the contract’s last year, 2016-17.
The trustees also agreed to join four other Kalamazoo County authorities in taking steps to create a county-wide 911 dispatch system. WMU would join Kalamazoo Township and the City of Portage, which have approved the plans; the City of Kalamazoo, set to vote October 6, and finally the Kalamazoo County Commission, which will consider the proposal at a meeting October 7.
Proponents of consolidated dispatch say a county-wide system would improve 911 communications between the different authorities that respond to emergencies. Several previous proposals fizzled when they failed to gain support from all five parties. The current plan’s future looks favorable so far.
