Regents committee reviews labor relations, union coverage and recent graduate‑assistant contract implementation

At a February 2025 special meeting, the Special Committee on University Workforce received an overview of labor relations at the University of Minnesota. Vice President Horstman and senior labor relations consultant Coy Hillstead described the size and structure of the workforce, the university's obligations under the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA), and recent developments including adding graduate assistants to the university's labor‑represented population.

Horstman said the university's workforce is roughly 28,000 employees and that labor‑represented employees currently make up about 31% of that workforce. He identified the university’s largest union group as graduate assistants (their addition doubled the labor‑represented workforce) and listed existing CBAs with AFSCME (clerical, health care and technical), Teamsters, law enforcement, crafts and trades, graduate assistants, and faculty bargaining units at Duluth and Crookston. Horstman noted that changes to PELRA in 2024 enabled some non‑labor‑represented groups to organize in new ways.

Hillstead walked through the typical negotiation and dispute resolution process: stakeholder engagement in bargaining, filing for mediation with the Bureau of Mediation Services if parties reach impasse, tentative agreement and union ratification before board approval, and grievance steps culminating in binding arbitration as defined in each collective bargaining agreement. He said implementation of the recently ratified graduate assistant contract required updating HR systems, creating processes and job aids, and providing training; he noted the first payroll under that contract ran without complications.

Regents asked how the university manages labor issues when services are run by a contractor rather than directly by university supervisors. Horstman used dining services (a contract with Chartwells) as an example: those frontline employees are university employees represented by a union, but the supervisors are provided by the contractor; Horstman said the university engages directly with union leadership and with the contractor to resolve issues and that labor management committee meetings with unions are a regular forum for such concerns. Hillstead emphasized that the university maintains direct contact with unions and that the university’s Office of General Counsel represents the university in arbitration when required.

Horstman also flagged near‑term bargaining: three AFSCME units (health care, clerical/office, technical) are merging into a single contract and the university will enter negotiations earlier in the year than in prior cycles; Teamsters negotiations are also forthcoming. Regents thanked the labor relations staff for rapidly implementing the graduate assistant contract and getting the first new payroll processed.

No formal votes were recorded in this meeting; presenters said further updates will be provided as negotiations proceed and implementation work continues.