Excerpt from the Dayton Business Journal
The union representing hundreds of Wright State University faculty has completed a strike authorization following a vote among its members.
The American Association of University Professors — Wright State University Chapter voted Sunday to initiate the strike next week, citing an "unfair labor contract" imposed by the university's board of trustees. The union filed an intent-to-strike notice with the State Employment Relations Board last week, but the final decision on whether to strike was dependent on a vote among members.
Of the more than 500 faculty members eligible to participate, 85 percent voted to authorize a strike. The strike will begin at 8 a.m. Jan. 22.
Wright State's board of trustees issued a resolution for a final contract offer to the AAUP-WSU executive committee on Jan. 4, which was subsequently rejected by the union prior to the strike authorization.
AAUP-WSU says the contract imposed by the administration makes it "more difficult for faculty to offer individualized attention to students who most need it." The union also says the contract will "reduce the percentage of students completing their degrees or completing them in a timely manner," while reducing "the quantity and the quality of the research and scholarship produced by the faculty."
"We have a deep interest in the long-term viability of our university and are devoted to its academic mission," stated Marty Kich, president of AAUP-WSU. "Faculty working conditions are student learning conditions, and the value of the degrees that our students earn is defined in no small measure by the professional contributions of our faculty.”
Kich added the professors represented by the union also want to preserve the faculty's role in making decisions about the university.
"No one who has been following what has been happening at Wright State in recent years can possibly think the administration or trustees need more power," Kich stated, in reference to the university's ongoing financial troubles.
