Photo courtesy of OU AAUP

The third annual collaborative Labor Panel hosted by the Oakland University American Association of University Professors (OU-AAUP) and Oakland University Student Congress (OUSC) was held on March 27 in the Oakland Center’s Banquet Room B. 

Four guest speakers were invited to discuss the local labor situation from their respective fields in preparation for Oakland University’s faculty bargaining with the administration to negotiate a new contract. 

Matt Kirkpatrick, AAUP President at Eastern Michigan University, discussed the lessons learned while bargaining after OU’s faculty strike in 2020. Kirkpatrick explained that coordinating communication within the union and creating ethical proposals clashed with how universities are run. 

“If we think of universities as businesses, students are our customers, but these revenue generators are faculty members,” Kirkpatrick said. “This logic escapes when it comes time to adequately compensate and address things like workload, like health care, working conditions.”

Pontiac Councilman Mikal Goodman discussed responsible policy-making and the generational collaborations amongst unions. 

“There is this massive resurgence amongst young people, people who are politically active and are participating in union work,” Goodman said. “We’ve all begun to see what is possible, what is doable, and it has become more present now more than ever.

“It’s a larger sign that right now across the country, the world and especially here in Michigan, there is this massive focus on the power that labor has to affect change,” Goodman added. 

Deb Lotan, Michigan Educational Association Executive Director, spoke on the constant achievement of labor rights and laws pushing them back. Lotan focused on interest-based bargaining as an effective bargaining strategy.

“It’s important to be able to tell their [the workers’] story, which is what interest-based bargaining is about,” Lotan said. “You get to tell the history about what brought you here and what their issues are. Our members have a voice in an age where we don’t have agency shops.

“Even though school is being treated like a business and it’s being run like a business, it’s not,” Lotan said. “Our product is people, its students, and how do you deliver that? It’s not a car, it’s not a nut, it’s not a bolt. Those are interesting conversations to have with people.”

The last speaker, Chuck Browning, UAW International Executive Board Vice President, discussed strikes and transparency as part of the bargaining process. 

“Strikes are very romanticized. Everybody wants to go on strike, but the members have to be brave and committed to take strike action,” Browning said. “Strikes are really effective right now because there’s a shortage of labor and companies are more profitable than they’ve ever been.”

Browning listed constant and honest dialogue with union members, transparent communication programs during negotiations, and thorough explanations of contract ratifications as part of a successful bargaining campaign.  

Michael Latcha, OU-AAUP President, explained the union’s preparation for the bargaining season, which is expected to begin this spring.  

“We have spent a great deal of time surveying the faculty, going around to all of the academic units and talking to the faculty face to face,” Latcha said. “The advisory forum and the bargaining team are collecting all this data that will shape the course of the bargaining.”

After the event, Daniel Clark, Professor and Director of the Center for Public Humanities, touched on Lotan’s commentary on the lack of appreciation for educational staff.

“We are told that as faculty members we are a liability on the campus, that we are lazy and overpaid. Getting this message every bargaining season is demoralizing,” Clark said. “For Oakland University to thrive, we have to have faculty members who feel appreciated and committed to their work, and it’s hard to do that when they’re scraping to get by.”