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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2025

�鶹��ý reaches tentative 3-year contract agreement with union representing adjunct faculty

Tentative agreement comes one week after Regents approved similar, 3-year contract with another faculty union

(FAIRBANKS) — The University and United Academics – Adjuncts (UNAD) today reached tentative agreement (TA) on a new 3-year collective bargaining agreement. The agreement with the union representing most adjunct faculty comes after over 1 month of negotiations and follows the Board of Regents’ approval last week of a 3-year CBA with United Academics (UNAC), the unit that represents tenured faculty and post-docs. The new contract will replace the old contract, which is set to expire on June 30th, 2025.

“�鶹��ý’s adjunct faculty make meaningful and important contributions to our University, and this contract recognizes their impact within the confines of our current fiscal realities,” �鶹��ý President Pat Pitney said. “I appreciate the work of both bargaining teams over the past month to reach this agreement, and look forward to submitting for legislative consideration this session.”

�鶹��ý and UNAD began negotiating the new contract on January 21 through both virtual and in-person negotiation sessions. The agreement is effective through June 30, 2028, and provides an estimated $730K to UNAD members over the duration of the agreement. The new agreement, while largely a continuation of the current contract, includes across-the-board increases of 2.75%, 3%, and 3.25% for FY26, FY27, and FY28, respectively, mirroring the recently approved UNAC contract. It also aligns with �鶹��ý’s desire to balance faculty recruitment and retention with fiscal sustainability.

Once ratified and funded, the agreement will apply to all UNAD unit members at all three of �鶹��ý’s universities: the �鶹��ý Anchorage (�鶹��ýA), the University of Alaska Fairbanks (�鶹��ýF), and the �鶹��ý Southeast (�鶹��ýS).

“I’m very pleased we were able to reach tentative agreements with both UNAD and UNAC this year,” President Pitney said. “The contracts provide certainty for unit members as well as the University, and will help us maintain fiscal sustainability over their terms. I want to sincerely thank and recognize our bargaining teams for their time and energy on behalf of our faculty and the University.”

The next steps include ratification by UNAD membership, approval by the University Board of Regents, and approval by the Alaska Department of Administration. The request will then be submitted through the governor’s Office of Management and Budget and to the legislature for legislative appropriation this session.

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For more information, contact Jonathon Taylor, director of public affairs, at 907-350-0168 (cell), or via email at jmtaylor9@alaska.edu.