Faculty members at Minnesota's seven state universities have overwhelmingly approved a new contract, more than a year after their last one expired.
Members of the Inter Faculty Organization voted 1,081-16 to accept a tentative settlement reached in late July, union officials announced this week.
The new contract includes a retroactive 3.2 percent salary increase for the 2013-14 academic year, and 1.45 percent for this year.
Adjunct instructors, who are paid by the course, will receive a 3.9 percent raise this year, in addition to a 3.2 percent retroactive raise, increasing their minimum pay to $1,349 per credit hour.
The contract covers about 4,000 faculty members at the Minnesota state universities in Bemidji, Mankato, Moorhead, St. Cloud and Winona, as well as Metro State University in St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
A similar contract was approved this summer by faculty members at the state's 24 public two-year colleges, part of the same umbrella organization, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
Maura Lerner
