Engage • Educate • Empower
The MSU Administrative Professional Association (APA) is officially recognized by the MSU Board of Trustees, becoming one of the first bargaining units under the Public Employees Relations Act (PERA).
From the beginning, the APA establishes a foundation for fair wages, strong benefits, and workplace protections. At its founding, it includes both supervisory and non-supervisory administrative-professional employees.
As the organization expands, members grow concerned that the APA cannot fairly represent both the interests of supervisors and the non-supervisory staff they oversee. After a judicial ruling under the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC), the group separates supervisory and non-supervisory employees.
The APA is certified as the bargaining agent for all regular, full and part-time administrative and professorial employees in non-supervisory roles. With new leadership in place, the APA moves quickly to negotiate agreements that protect working conditions, strengthen grievance processes, and secure member rights.
The organization distributes a proposed contract to its approximately 600 members. In May, the APA’s Executive Board examines the idea of an association with the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and the state affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). The union affiliates with both organizations in a pivotal moment that:
This move accelerates the APA’s ability to win stronger contracts and advocate beyond campus.
As membership expands across hundreds of roles and departments, the APA continues to deliver:
Through coalition bargaining, APA helps shape university-wide agreements that benefit the entire union workforce.
Due to the consequences of the global pandemic, the university forecasts a bleak and uncertain long-term outlook for campus operations. Non-organized MSU employees face wage reductions and unprecedented cuts in retirement benefits.
The APA successfully opposes proposals to eliminate existing contractual rights and protections while also preserving a negotiated 2.75% wage increase. With the support of the MEA, the APA also signs a Furlough Letter of Agreement with the university— a first for both parties. Among other things, that agreement protects fully-funded healthcare, preserves seniority and benefits, and guarantees pay and raises upon return to work for furloughed employees.
Beginning January 1, 2021, APA support staff became eligible for MSU’s paid parental leave (PPL)—a long-sought benefit secured after years of persistent negotiation. The policy provides up to 4 weeks of paid parental leave per birth, adoption, or placement of a child, with expanded benefits phased in to 5 weeks in January 2022 and 6 weeks in January 2023.
The MSU APA proudly represents nearly 3,500 professionals at MSU and in Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids—covering 300+ diverse job titles. As part of MSU’s Coalition of Labor Organizations (CLO), we team up with other campus unions to negotiate healthcare agreements, protect workplace rights, and tackle the issues that matter most to our members.
APA leaders also serve at the highest levels of MEA and NEA—ensuring MSU voices influence decisions statewide and nationally.
For more than 50 years, the APA has delivered results through collective action. Recently, we:
And we’re just getting started.
Want to be a part of our forward momentum? Reach out to Membership Chair Lisa Goforth (lgoforth@msuapa.org) today to get involved.
