May 4th 2026
| We held our most recent bargaining session on Thursday, April 30, following a pause since March 26. Two previously scheduled sessions – April 9 and April 23 – were cancelled by the NSU administration due to procedural disagreements related to our mutually agreed-upon ground rules. We worked collaboratively with NSU to address the issue and bargaining has resumed. We will continue to negotiate through the end of Spring Semester. Where things stand: Tentative Agreements (TA’s): Recognition | Non-Discrimination | Academic Freedom Parked: Union Rights (to be revisited alongside other workload articles) Active: Retrenchment: NFA-NSU presented our counterproposal on 3/26, which establishes clear and fair processes in the event of workforce reductions due to financial exigency or program cuts. Our counterproposal includes appropriate notice, opportunities to reassign or convert faculty before layoffs occur, and clear procedures for restoring or recalling faculty if funding returns. We await the administration’s next counterproposal. Grievance: NFA-NSU presented our initial proposal on 3/12, which establishes the process by which members can formally raise and resolve disputes under the contract. We continued to discuss NSU’s position on elements of the proposal at our 4/30 meeting and anticipate receiving NSU’s first counterproposal before the end of the semester. Consultation: We narrowed and revised our earlier Governance and Consultation proposal to focus specifically on NFA-NSU’s role in consulting with institutional leadership. We presented this article to the administration on Thursday, 4/30. Alignment with NSHE Policies: The administration presented this article on 2/26, and continued to discuss NSU’s position on elements of the proposal at our 4/30 meeting. We anticipate presenting NFA’s first counterproposal before the end of the semester. To be introduced: Discipline and Due Process Procedures: Our initial proposal addresses gaps in the NSHE Code relating to faculty discipline, ensuring clear and fair procedures for NFA-NSU members. We anticipate presenting this at our last meeting of Spring on 5/14. |
We will send another update following our next session. In the meantime, keep an eye out for an NFA-NSU bulletin in your non-NSU inbox in the coming week – it will include a look back at the year
March 26th 2026
Most of this week’s negotiation session focused on working through our counterproposal to the administration’s Retrenchment article. Our counterproposal pushes the administration to establish clear, fair processes in the event of workforce reductions due to financial exigency or program cuts. This includes appropriate notice, meaningful opportunities to reassign or convert faculty before layoffs occur, and clear procedures for restoring or recalling faculty if funding returns.
We also need members to help increase the visibility of NFA-NSU- we have new swag! It’s critical that the administration sees they are not negotiating with just a handful of faculty, but with representatives of a supermajority of NSU faculty. We’re asking faculty to display posters on their office doors and wear their pins.
Our message – “Faculty working conditions are student learning conditions” – is central to why we’re at the table. Making that message visible across campus matters. Visibility demonstrates solidarity, and solidarity strengthens our position in negotiations.
If you haven’t received your pin and poster, please reach out to an NFA representative and we’ll coordinate a drop-off.
At our next session, we expect to continue discussions on the Grievance article, as the administration plans to bring their first counterproposal. We meet again in two weeks and will share another update afterward.
February 27th 2026
We hoped we would be able to generate a clean copy of the Union Rights article today; however, the administration’s fifth counterproposal led to a protracted discussion about the role of NFA activities as service for annual evaluations. We are no longer close to agreement on the Union Rights article.
The institution also presented two new proposals: Retrenchment and Alignment with NSHE Policies. The Retrenchment article addresses the procedures and faculty protections that would apply in the event of financial exigency or program discontinuation that could result in position reductions. The Alignment with NSHE Policies article outlines how potential future changes to the NSHE Code and Handbook would interact with the collective bargaining agreement. We will be preparing counter proposals on both articles over the coming two weeks.
Our next bargaining session is in two weeks, and we’ll be back with another update then.
February 12th 2026
We reached our third Tentative Agreement (TA) today- on Academic Freedom! We continue to make steady progress at the bargaining table.
At this session, we also presented our initial proposal for the Governance and Consultation article. This article:
- Outlines NFA-NSU representation on institutional committees that address matters within the scope of the contract, and
- Seeks to formalize and codify the regular meetings we already hold with the NSU President, Provost, and executive leadership.
We will take a break next week, with our next negotiation session scheduled in two weeks. At that meeting, we hope to receive the administration’s next counterproposal on Union Rights and continue discussions on Governance and Consultation. We also hope to receive the administration’s initial proposal for a Retrenchment article. Retrenchment refers to the process the university would follow in the event of financial exigency or program discontinuation that could result in layoffs or position reductions. A retrenchment article establishes procedures, protections, and faculty rights in those circumstances.
We’ll be back with another update after our next session!
February 5th 2026
We reached our second Tentative Agreement (TA) this week—on the Non-Discrimination article!
We also generated a clean copy of the Academic Freedom article for legal review and made substantial progress on the Union Rights article. We’re close on Union Rights, and the pace of negotiations really picked up this session—we were able to cover a lot of ground, and we’re pleased with the progress. (We’re attributing at least some of that momentum to a well-timed tub of peanut M&Ms.)
Pending legal review, we hope to TA the Academic Freedom article next week. We’ll also be bringing our next counterproposal on Union Rights, along with a new article on Shared Governance to the table. Shared governance emerged as a top priority for faculty in both our bargaining survey and one-on-one conversations, and we’re glad to bring this important topic to the table.
January 29th 2026
As anticipated, we generated a clean copy of the Non-Discrimination article today for review by our respective legal teams. We’re hopeful that this will lead to our second Tentative Agreement (TA) soon!
The remainder of today’s session focused on reviewing the administration’s counterproposal on Union Rights. We discussed how the union and administration will interact, including who may request information and when that information will be shared. As in our last session, the conversation turned to issues relating to workload, equity in service responsibilities, and faculty autonomy – topics that will be addressed more directly in future workload-related articles. Ultimately, we were able to get through the full Union Rights counterproposal and will return next week with our own (fourth) counterproposal.
January 23rd 2026
We’re back at the bargaining table for the spring semester! We discussed three articles at today’s negotiation session.
We received the administration’s counterproposal on the Non-Discrimination article, which affirms a workplace and learning environment free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. We made substantial progress in this area and will be preparing our next counterproposal. We’re close to an agreement and are hopeful that we will be ready to generate a clean copy of the article for legal review by the end of our next negotiation session.
We also spent time answering questions related to our Union Rights and Academic Freedom articles. The Union Rights article outlines and protects the rights of NFA-NSU, our representatives, and our members in the workplace. The questions prompted a lively discussion that previewed some of the issues we expect to address when we begin negotiating articles related to faculty workload. We anticipate receiving the administration’s next counterproposal on Union Rights at our next session.
The Academic Freedom article affirms that academic freedom is essential to the work we do at NSU and outlines protections for teaching, research and creative activities, and broader expression. The administration’s bargaining team raised several initial questions, and while we hope to receive a counterproposal, it likely will not come at the next negotiation session.
Our next bargaining session is next week- stay tuned for another update!
December 18th 2025
We reached our first Tentative Agreement (TA)!
After review by both legal teams and additional negotiations, we signed a TA on the Recognition article – a major milestone in our bargaining process.
It took some work to get here. Some aspects of faculty roles at Nevada State (particularly those involving chairs and directors) are structured differently than at other NSHE collective bargaining institutions like WNC, CSN, and TMCC. It took time to reach shared definitions about who is included in the bargaining unit, but we’re proud of the thoughtful work that led to an agreement that reflects NSU’s structure.
At this session, we also presented our second counterproposal on Union Rights, along with our initial proposals on Non-Discrimination and Academic Freedom.
Our next negotiation session is scheduled for Thursday, January 22nd. Until then, happy holidays to everyone!
December 11th 2025
We returned to the bargaining table on Thursday after a brief break for the holidays and made some exciting progress this session!
We finalized the remaining details of the Recognition article, including its definitions, and generated our first clean copy for review by both parties’ legal teams. Once that review is complete, we expect to reach our first Tentative Agreement (TA).
Our next negotiation session is scheduled for next week, on December 18. We will be presenting our second counterproposal on Union Rights, and we’ll be back with another update after that meeting!
November 20th 2025
We continue to move closer to our first tentative agreement, or TA. A TA means both bargaining teams have reached agreement on an individual article of the contract. We move article by article, reaching TAs as each one is completed. Once all articles are tentatively agreed upon, the full contract is finalized and the union membership will vote on ratification. Today, we finalized the process for reaching a TA on an article:
- The teams reach consensus on the ideas and content within the article
- A clean copy is generated and reviewed by the legal teams of both parties
- We TA the contract language that’s been reviewed by the legal teams
The negotiation session today also focused on clarifying definitions for key terms that will appear throughout the contract. It’s important that we get these definitions right- and that includes some future thinking to account for ways in which Nevada State is growing and will continue to grow, while remaining aligned with the NSHE handbook and NSHE code.
We are currently working on the fourth counter to the Recognition article, a second counter to proposed definitions, and a second counter to Union Rights. We hope that this fourth Recognition counter will be the version sent to our respective legal teams for review.
Our next meeting is 12/11 due to the holiday and the Board of Regents meeting on 12/4. We’ll be back with another update then!
November 13th 2025
NFA-NSU’s bargaining team wrapped up our second negotiation session this week, and we’re excited to share another update with you!
We kept up the productive momentum from last week and passed a new counterproposal on the Recognition article. Only a few final details remain, and we’re feeling optimistic that we’re close to reaching agreement.
The administration also presented their counterproposal on the Union Rights article. We spent most of the meeting walking through their revisions and asking key clarifying questions to ensure your rights and workplace protections are clearly and accurately represented. Our team will now begin preparing our counterproposal.
Our next negotiation session is on 11/20, and we’ll be back with another update then. Thank you for staying engaged and standing with us as we work toward a strong first contract for all NSU faculty.
November 6th 2025
NFA-NSU’s bargaining team held our first negotiation session this morning! We presented two proposals to the NSU administration’s bargaining team:
- Recognition: An article formally recognizing NFA-NSU as the representative body for collective bargaining.
- Union Rights: An article outlining key rights of NFA-NSU and its members, including access to campus spaces, the ability to engage in union activities, and the distribution of union-related materials.
We had a productive discussion on both proposals. The teams are close to consensus on the Recognition article and will continue refining key definitions and terms next week. We answered several questions about our Union Rights proposal, and we look forward to reviewing the administration’s counterproposal at our next session.
