Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
An ongoing faculty union strike at Wright State University could end this week with a negotiating session planned for this evening, according to union officials.
Members from the administration and the Wright State Chapter of the American Association of University Professors met for more than three hours Sunday following a hearing before the State Employment Relations Board over the legitimacy of the strike. SERB sided with the union, allowing the strike to go on.
Sunday evening’s meeting was productive and will likely lead to some sort of deal being hashed out in the next few days, said Martin Kich, AAUP-WSU president. Kich said an agreement will likely come “sooner rather than later,” though he was hesitant to make a more specific prediction.
“We kind of worked out a framework that would facilitate negotiations,” Kich said of the Sunday meeting. “I think everybody’s making an effort to bring it to a close as quickly as possible.”
This news organization has reached out to a Wright State spokesman for comment from the administration.
Kich said that he expects the Wright State board of trustees to schedule a meeting before midweek to vote on a potential deal to end the strike. The board must vote on any agreement in order for it to be implemented.
“I can say the discussions were good but I was the only board member in the room,” Fecher said. “They were just discussions and I need to report them back to the board.”
Kich on Monday credited Ohio Higher Education chancellor Randy Gardner with bringing both sides back to the table to find a resolution.
“He made a great effort here to facilitate a meeting between the two sides,” Kich said. “I’m extremely appreciative of those efforts.”
