Excerpt from Cleveland.com
The strike was triggered by years of failed negotiations. Wright State’s board of trustees imposed a contract on Jan. 4.
Both sides claim they have made concessions in proposed deals, but the union and the trustees are still at an impasse.
One major sticking point is the ability to bargain over healthcare. Wright State trustees want to be able to to change faculty health plans with 60 days notice, which McIlvenna likens to writing a “blank check.”
The parties last met Saturday, with no further meetings scheduled.
Meanwhile, Wright State University posted a wide-ranging list of adjunct faculty jobs on an higher education website on Monday.
“We value our faculty and respect their right to collectively bargain,” Wright State spokesman Seth Bauguess wrote in an email. “We have engaged them in good faith throughout this process. The actions of those faculty members who continue to participate in the union’s strike do not change the university’s obligations to its students, the taxpayers and our community to continue operating the university.”
Union presidents from both UA and Kent State visited the picket line at Wright State. They said the support from students and the community was impressive.
“This is just union busting," UA faculty union president Pamela Schulze said. “It’s not about a fair contract. This isn’t about money, or about financing.”
Since faculty members from Northeast Ohio might not be able to make it to Wright State, the unions decided to show support on UA’s campus. A group of faculty today have set up a table with signs supporting the strike and answering questions as administrators and students walk by.
“(Unions) do not operate in bubbles,” Kent State union president Melissa Zullo said. “We need to work together in support of our students.”
