McMaster University Faculty Association Brief on Librarian Remuneratioin for the Period June 16, 2006 to June 15, 2008

 
The MUFA Librarians’ remuneration brief is based on the Librarian Policy on Salary and Benefits Negotiations approved by the Board of Governors on October 25, 2001.  The intention of this Policy is to help convert a Joint Committee agreement regarding faculty remunerations to an agreement covering librarian remunerations. We begin by applying the Policy to the Joint Committee Agreement on faculty remunerations as ratified by faculty on April 5, 2006:
 

Remuneration Components Covered by the Policy:

1.  Term
     Two years from June 16, 2006 to June 15, 2008
 

2.  Across the Board Salary Increase
     Effective June 16, 2006 1.5% increase of June 15, 2006 base salary
     Effective December 16, 2007 1.5% (based on December 15, 2006 salary for those employed at McMaster as of June 15, 2006)
     Effective June 16, 2007 1.5% increase of June 15, 2007 base salary
     Effective December 16, 2008 1.5% (based on December 15, 2007 salary for those employed at McMaster as of June 15, 2007)
 

3.  Salary Floors
     Effective June 16, 2006 Increase all floors by 3.5%
     Effective June 16, 2007 Increase all floors by 3.5%
 

4.  Pension Contributions

• Effective June 16, 2006, an increase in librarian contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan from 3.5% to 4.25% below YMPE and from 5.0% to 5.75% for pensionable earnings above YMPE.

 
• Effective June 16, 2007, an increase in librarian contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan from 4.25% to 5.0% below YMPE and from 5.75% to 6.5% for pensionable earnings above YMPE.

 
• An agreement regarding pension contributions:

 
1. if total employer contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan are less than 90% but greater than or equal to 75% of total employee contributions for any month in the future, librarian contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan will be reduced to 3.75% below YMPE and 4.875% for pensionable earnings above YMPE.

 
2. if total employer contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan are less than 75% but greater than or equal to 50% of total employee contributions for any month in the future, librarian contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan would revert for that month to 2.5% below YMPE and 3.25% for pensionable earnings above YMPE.

 
3. if total employer contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan are less than 50% but greater than or equal to 25% of total employee contributions for any month in the future, librarian contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan would revert for that month to 1.25% below YMPE and 1.625% for pensionable earnings above YMPE.

 
4. if total employer contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan are less than 25% of total employee contributions for any month in the future, librarian contributions to the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan would revert for that month to zero.


In the above, “total employer contributions” means employer payments to the trustee of the McMaster Salaried Pension Plan.  “Total employee contributions” means payments by all employee members of the plan, not just employees who are Faculty Association members.

•  For librarians who begin at McMaster July 1, 2006 or later, vesting becomes “after 2 years”.

 
• The Rule of 80 stays in place until December 31, 2011.  From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012, the Rule of 80 would be replaced by the Rule of 81.  From January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013, this would become the Rule of 82.  From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, this would become the Rule of 83.  From January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015, this would become the Rule of 84.  From January 1, 2016 onwards, the Rule of 85 would be in place.  For librarians who begin at McMaster July 1, 2006 or later, the Rule of 85 applies immediately.

5.  Health and Other Benefits after Retirement

For librarians who begin at McMaster July 1, 2006 or later, 10 years of service will be required before becoming eligible for medical and dental benefits on retirement.

6.  Health Benefits

• Effective June 16, 2006, remove the per visit limit on paramedical benefits.  The ceiling per person per practitioner remains in place ($300).

 
• Effective June 16, 2007, modify vision care plan to provide for employees only up to $100 every two years for an eye examination.

7.  Market Sector Adjustments

•  Effective June 16, 2006, a Market Adjustment will be added to the salaries of all librarians. The Market Adjustment will be $500 for any librarian with a June 16, 2006 salary less than or equal to $42,000. For librarians earning in excess of $42,000, the Market Adjustment will be $500 plus the lesser of $975 and 0.0125 multiplied by the June 16, 2006 salary less $42,000.  That is, if the salary is $60,000, this sum will be $500 + 0.0125 x ($60,000-$42,000))= $725.

 
• Effective July 1, 2007, there will be a further Market Adjustment. For any  librarian with a July 1, 2007 salary of less than or equal to $44,000, the Market Adjustment will be $500. For librarians earning in excess of $44,000, the Market Adjustment will consist of $500 plus the lesser of $975 and 0.0125 multiplied by the July 1, 2007 salary less $44,000.

 
• These Market Adjustments will be built into the base salary for each librarian, in the same manner as the ATB increase.

8.  Value of CP/M Component

According to the negotiations policy, we must establish the percentage of faculty salaries attributed to the CP/M component.  While the current policy sets that number at 2.43%, we propose that each year this value be updated to its current value.

9.  Salary Ceilings

The librarian salary structure has ceilings as well as floors.  These ceilings should be increased by 4.25% each year, so that a librarian at the ceiling would receive the same effective scale increase awarded to faculty at similar salary ranges (i.e., the 4.25% less the 0.75% adjustment for increase in pension contributions).

Remuneration Items to be Negotiated Separately

10.  Librarian Professional Development Allowance

 We propose that the Librarian Professional Development Allowance (LPDA) increase by $50 each year.

11.  Research Leave

In the previous agreement, significant advances were made in the research leave policy.  In the Appendix, we propose further changes that will make it more flexible and improve the opportunities for academic librarians to contribute to the research enterprise of the library and the University.

12.  MUFA Membership

Virtually all faculty members are members of MUFA, including the President and Vice-Chancellor, the Provost and the Vice-President (Research and International Affairs).  By last year’s agreement, the MUFA membership rules were extended to incoming librarians, with grandparenting provisions.  There were exceptions for “persons appointed as an Associate University Librarian, who may voluntarily choose to become or remain members of MUFA, or to resign their membership.”  MUFA would have preferred including the University Librarian and the Director of the Health Sciences Library under this provision, but the eventual agreement explicitly ruled them ineligible for membership.  We propose that the University Librarian and the Director of the Health Sciences Library be given the options to become, or remain, members of MUFA, or to resign their membership.

13.  Personal Leave Days

Librarians who have completed their probationary period shall be entitled to five (5) paid Personal Leave Days per calendar year.  Personal Leave Days address the need for work/life balance.

Appendix
Research Leave Policy for Librarians

 
 

 
pdk - April 18, 2006