Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Wright State University’s faculty union took its message Friday to Columus to plea for state lawmakers and the governor to intervene in contract negotiations to end an ongoing strike at the school.
State Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat, and other lawmakers from her party expressed support for members of the Wright State chapter of the American Association of University Professors during a meeting in the Statehouse.
The AAUP-WSU’s strike will end the week in its 19th day Saturday as a stalemate over health care benefits continues.
A group of democratic lawmakers has sent a letter to the Wright State board of trustees in support of the AAUP-WSU, Liston said. Wright State’s faculty and Ohio’s students “deserve better,” Liston said.
“Without a strong commitment to higher education and those who make it possible we risk falling behind as a state,” Liston said
The AAUP-WSU and its supporters said they traveled to Columbus in an attempt to put pressure on Gov. Mike DeWine and his administration to step in to help negotiate a deal. DeWine and Ohio Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner have both been monitoring the ongoing labor dispute.
DeWine said earlier this week that he had no plans to take any action regarding the strike. On Thursday, he said it would be inappropriate to announce the options he may consider to address the strike.
