Negotiations between the faculty union and the administration at the University of New Hampshire broke down for the second time in a year yesterday.
NHPR’s Sam Evans-Brown has the story.
UNH’s negotiator says that in light of the quote “epic” reductions in state funding to the university system, it’s only reasonable to ask professors to share in the cuts.
But the faculty’s negotiator, Dale Barkee, says that pressure to reduce salary and benefits began before cuts in the state’s contribution.
He says that the university spends too much on management salaries, and capital and research projects.
Barkee: I think the university should take a hard look at the budget and before they start making damaging cuts to the people who really make the university work, they should think very carefully about their priorities.
The negotiations will now move into mediation, where a neutral third party will suggest a compromise.
Barkee says that the professor’s union approaches mediation with full intention of reaching a settlement.
For NHPR News I’m Sam Evans-Brown