University of Michigan. Personnel Office.

The University of Michigan Personnel Office was established on January 26, 1945. The office formally reports to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. Among the Personnel Office's many responsibilities are the development and implementation of the university's personnel policies, administration of the faculty promotion and tenure granting process, and negotiation and administration of contracts with unionized university employees. It also maintains the official employment record for all faculty and staff. In compliance with the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, the Personnel Office makes salary information for all university employees available to the public (The annually published salary list is located in the University of Michigan Office of Human Resources and Affirmative Action publications record group).

The Personnel Office develops and implements personnel policies for the University of Michigan. The office establishes the guidelines that govern the hiring and firing of all university staff, including academic faculty. The salary grades which determine an employee's initial compensation are based on the skills necessary to fill a position as well as previous experience relating to that position.

Recommendations for faculty promotions and granting of tenure are initiated by the department, college or school. These recommendations are transmitted through the Personnel Office to the president and provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, and then to the Board of Regents for final action.

The Personnel Office is the university's agent in labor negotiations with various staff and professional bargaining units. In the late 1950s, the University adopted a policy of neutrality with regards to employee union activities. Employees were allowed to seek union representation in grievance and other procedures. However, the university still refused to recognize any one union to speak for all employees, and thus refused to bargain collectively. At this time, the university saw an upswing in union activity, with the Association of Federal, State, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 1583, at the forefront. The Building Service Employees' International Union (BSEIU), Local 378, was also active on campus at this time.

In 1965, another surge in activity took place following the state's revision of the Hutchinson Act, recognizing the right of government employees to bargain collectively. In 1968, the Michigan Labor Mediation Board recognized the University's service and maintenance employees as an appropriate collective bargaining unit. These employees soon elected AFSCME to represent them. The first union contract signed by the university became effective September 13, 1968. The complexities of these negotiations can be seen in the events of 1970 when graduate student assistants petitioned the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) for recognition of a collective bargaining unit. The university argued that if graduate students were to be considered employees, they did not compose a bargaining unit by themselves, but rather were a component part of several larger bargaining units. Without ruling on the employment issue, MERC dismissed the student petition based on the university's second argument.

In February 1994, the Personnel Office and the Affirmative Action Office were combined into a new entity, Human Resources and Affirmative (HRAA).

From the guide to the Personnel Office (University of Michigan) records, 1940-1999, 1958-1995, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)