******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ********************
#1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
#2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.
#3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern.
*****************************************************************
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Fwd: Faculty strike at Dayton's Wright State University -
please read and forward
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2019 13:58:27 -0500
From: Panayiotis T. Manolakos <ptmanola...@gmail.com>
AAUP-WSU’s Executive Committee’s Open Letter to Our Friends in the Community
January 16, 2019
Full-time faculty members at Wright State University now face a
difficult situation. Following two years of failed negotiations, the
administration has unilaterally imposed an unfavorable, unfair, and
unreasonable contract on the faculty. We believe that accepting their
contract would lead to a reduction in the quality of education at the
University and adversely impact our working conditions. For these
reasons, we have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike, which will
begin on January 22, 2019.
For a taste of who our faculty are and what they do, please visit:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u5tvvr17kvjjy2m/AABl99K5UuEXIF__pQRTAksGa?dl=0
<https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dropbox.com%2Fsh%2Fu5tvvr17kvjjy2m%2FAABl99K5UuEXIF__pQRTAksGa%3Fdl%3D0%26fbclid%3DIwAR2hxaBU3vjla0ta6NGtOF_u59gVspDoLgNkBq4aL09xMRKMycqEVRxL5Cc&h=AT3R_Ciy479bJPTrNLhrC5Zxm_O-0M7vjefbIHTOgbs9wRfpOKUiUTTMz_LTXCquR87YVjZ2PTWxKbMR3Y2CbdfTEeNwF9Cgjf-uCWa1xcKfnN49GH7nB7YGtHOKVru8r56kbZRFRh3gzcMEZg>
We do NOT want to go on strike, but the stakes have never been higher.
Over the past several years, our students, the local workforce, and the
region’s economy have been negatively impacted by the administration’s
poor stewardship. We must stand up to a Board of Trustees that continues
to be fiscally reckless and that prioritizes an expensive basketball
program and real estate boondoggles while slashing support for the
university’s academic mission, including deep cuts to the library.
The administration’s imposed contract is overwhelmingly negative for the
community we serve, our students, and the faculty. We cannot permit our
students to suffer the inevitable decline in quality of education if
faculty are forced to teach more and even larger classes, if critical
courses are offered much less frequently, and if Wright State is unable
to recruit and retain the best educators and researchers. We cannot
permit our alumni from having their WSU degrees devalued – but that is
what will certainly occur if the administration/Board is allowed to
continue attacking the academic core of our University. Already, some
top faculty who have been at our University for years have left WSU (or
have entered the job market) because they recognize that the
administration and Board do not respect or value faculty; we cannot
permit that hemorrhaging to continue.
Like other members of the university community we have also not received
raises for five of the last eight years and do not expect any raises in
the near future. But, we’re NOT striking over raises.
We are taking a stand over the following issues:
· Our legal right to bargain over healthcare benefits and receive
insurance that does not burden the sick and lowest paid among us
· Our ability to maintain the educational quality of courses offered
· Our need for job security
· Our right to expect that performance and merit pay are measured and
determined objectively rather than by who is friendly with administrators
· Our right to expect to be paid for the all of the work we do, without
the threat of furloughs
Want to help? Here’s what you can do to support WSU faculty:
1. Contact Doug Fecher, CEO of WPCU and Chair of WSU’s Board, and tell
him you want to maintain the value of a degree from Wright State by
making sure faculty don’t have to compromise their ability to teach
and conduct research. Ask them to negotiate with faculty! He may be
reached at (douglas.fec...@wright.edu
<mailto:douglas.fec...@wright.edu?subject=Negotiate%20with%20the%20faculty!>).
2. Stay up to date. Follow the AAUP-WSU on social media and post your
support:
· Facebook: AAUP Wright State University
· Twitter: @aaupwsu
· Instagram: @aaupwrightstate
· #RedforEd
<https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/redfored?source=note&epa=HASHTAG>
#fighting4Wright
<https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/fighting4wright?source=note&epa=HASHTAG>
#faculty4students
<https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/faculty4students?source=note&epa=HASHTAG>
#aaupwsu <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/aaupwsu?source=note&epa=HASHTAG>
1. Volunteer. We need community and alumni allies to help us get the
word out to others about the strike. If you are interested in
joining the picket line or volunteering in any other way, contact
aaup...@gmail.com <mailto:aaup...@gmail.com>. Or you canstop by the
AAUP-WSU office on the WSU campus in Medical Sciences 113, or in our
nearby strike headquarters – to be announced and opened soon.
4. Talk with your family and friends about the importance of affordable,
high-quality public education in the state of Ohio and why it is crucial
to support the Wright State faculty in their efforts to achieve a fair
contract that preserves quality for students. Most Wright State alumni
reside locally, and they contribute greatly to our region.
For more information, please visit our website at https://aaup-wsu.org
<https://aaup-wsu.org/?fbclid=IwAR3Yz3IxOcPTHG8G1lceXnIXLN8VIj62Q1wz8HxH8zDp0txSWsbf78CENeY>.
_________________________________________________________
Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm
Set your options at:
https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
