Excerpt from WKEF/WRGT
Wright State University's board of trustees held their first meeting Friday since some university faculty began a strike earlier in week.
Across the street from campus, striking faculty members took a break from the picket lines to instead gather inside a conference room at the Wingate Hotel.
"We wanted to bring everybody together in part to just celebrate the hard work that's gone into a successful strike that we're carrying and ultimately, yeah it's cold out,” Gretchen Mcnamara, a senior lecturer at the School of Music, said.
Back on campus, the university's Board of Trustees held their first meeting since that strike began.
They almost immediately went into executive session, which lasted for nearly three hours.
Chairman of the Board Doug Fecker came out from the meeting, confirming no action would be taken Friday and instead read a prepared statement from the board.
“First, we would like to state how much we appreciate our faculty and are looking forward to having them back in the classroom for our students and for this great university that we all love. We understand the frustration on all sides, and are committed to working toward resolution of this unfortunate situation.
The terms and conditions that the board has implemented are fair and remain in place. We intend to clarify how these terms will be implemented, which we hope will allay some of the concerns on the issues. With that in mind, the university stands ready to negotiate a successor agreement for immediate implementation. We invite that discussion to begin now,” Fecker said.
But striking faculty members say that wording is misleading.
"They're willing to negotiate a successor contract. What that means: they're willing to negotiate the next contract. You know, it's a device so they can use the phrase, 'We are willing to negotiate,' when they're really not,” said Noeleen McIlvenna, a history professor and union officer.
