by P.D. Lesko

In the Land of Titles and Distinctions that is the University of Michigan (and higher education in general), the titles of Painter and Custodian bring more riches to their holders than the title of Lecturer. It’s a through-the-looking-glass scenario worthy of Lewis Caroll, and it’s why lecturers on the University of Michigan’s three campuses unionized last year. The 1,400 non tenure-track faculty hope their Lecturers’ Employee Organization (LEO) will pull them back through the mirror and into a world where the people who teach in college classrooms earn as much as the people who paint and clean them.

LEO President Bonnie Halloran and the other 13 members of LEO’s bargaining team have their work cut out for them. LEO leaders are fielding throws from President Mary Sue Coleman’s best knuckleballer-negotiators. In addition, there’s friction among the membership, as well.

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