MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University faculty continues to work without a contract, its union announced on Thursday.

The NMU American Association of University Professors union and the university’s administration were unable to come an agreement before the one-year contract expired at midnight Thursday.

Union President Dwight Brady said he asked for a contract extension, but the NMU Board of Trustees did not grant it.

“I was a bit surprised that the contract was not extended, but I am still hopeful we can reach an agreement soon,” Brady said in a statement.

According to the union, negotiations have been going on since March 1, but talks regarding financial items did not start until May, and compensation is where the two sides still differ.

“We took one for the team last year to help the university get through the pandemic,” Brady said. “We agreed to a one-year contract that froze salaries and made deep cuts to summer pay and professional development funding. Now, we simply want to get back to pre-COVID levels of compensation.”

According to the Michigan Public Employment Relations Act, a public employer like NMU continues to pay wages at the levels in place when the previous contract expired, the union said. However, any wage increases negotiated in a new agreement are not retroactive for the period employees worked without a contract unless agreed upon by the employer

NMU administration issued a statement on the issue.

“While we are disappointed an agreement with the AAUP faculty union was not finalized in June, we expect that an agreement can be reached quickly,” it said. “It is important that we continue productive negotiations on the outstanding issues so that everyone at the university can move forward as we plan for an exciting fall semester on campus.

“During our extended negotiation period, our faculty will continue to be paid and their benefits continue normally.”

NMU plans to return to predominantly in-person instruction and on-campus living with the start of fall classes on Aug. 23.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.