Oakland University faculty strike unresolved
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Oakland University’s faculty union and the OU administration haven’t reached an agreement for a new faculty contract by Saturday, and the faculty strike that caused OU to cancel all fall classes since Thursday is ongoing.
“They are still bargaining so that means there is some progress being made,” said Lizabeth Barclay, management professor and spokeswoman of OU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, on Saturday afternoon. “I hope that things continue progressing. I would not like the administration to ease up the discussion because there is no school on Sunday or Monday. We continue to be concerned that they will continue to behave in ways that precipitated the unfair labor practice.”
AAUP filed an unfair labor practice suit against OU Wednesday because it believes the university’s administration hasn’t bargained fairly.
OU’s campus was mostly barren of students Friday, on what would have been the second day of classes, because classes were canceled.
The teachers on strike picketed with signs and fliers near campus entrances, and some students supporting the faculty strike as well as some campus maintenance trade employees were picketing with them.
Picketing ended around 3 p.m. Friday and the 3-7 p.m. shift was canceled because there were few people around in the afternoon, said Daniel Clark, history associate professor.
“We would rather not be back Tuesday,” Clark said. “But we will if we have to.”
Barclay said Friday afternoon that AAUP and the OU administration were at the bargaining table in a hotel in Rochester with a state mediator present, and the talks would go late into the night and even into Labor Day weekend if necessary.
“They are still discussing all of the issues… they haven’t been resolved yet,” Barclay said.
AAUP, representing about 600 faculty members, called for a “job action” at 12:30 a.m. Thursday — the first day of classes — because union and the OU administration haven’t reached an agreement on the faculty contracts for 2009-2012. OU canceled classes at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
OU administration doesn’t comment on ongoing contract negotiations and ongoing legal matters.
But Mary Beth Snyder, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management, has been sending all students e-mail updates and confirmed that OU classes on its main campus and other sites will remain closed Saturday. OU doesn’t have classes on Sunday, and Monday the university is closed for Labor Day.
“For those of you with concerns about your coursework, I would like to reiterate that you will receive a full course of instruction for the fall semester,” Snyder said.
Snyder invited students to attend the Welcome Week events scheduled through Friday, Sept. 11. But a welcome back pizza party that Tau Kappa Epsilon planned to hold Friday was pushed to next Tuesday. TKE president Mathew Mulka said TKE did so because they didn’t think anyone would come because of classes being canceled.
Some OU locations like the library and career services remain open during the strike. Several students were on campus working, socializing with friends, buying books and reading.
Abdihamid Haji, a pre-med freshman from Grand Rapids said it was “not a good sign” to have classes canceled on his first day of college. He, and some other students, said their instructors have e-mailed them with reading suggestions, but no specific assignments.
Faculty members with critical research are allowed to continue their research during the strike — which some faculty calls “withholding of services” or “job action” for legal purposes — without AAUP considering it crossing the picket line.
Biological science associate professor Shailesh Lal is one of those who is continuing his research and still picketing. Frank Giblin of the Eye Research Institute said he is writing an application for a $4 million grant because the deadline is next week.
Many students said they support the faculty in the strike because they feel their teachers should get what they deserve.
Sam Hyrn, a freshman international relations and Spanish double major, started a Facebook group for students supporting the faculty, and is also circulating a petition to give to the administration, “hopefully to President Russi himself.”
OU Student Congress president Kristin Dayag said OUSC doesn’t have an official position on the strike, but plans to hold an informational forum on campus Tuesday so faculty can explain why they went on strike.
Some non-faculty employees of Campus Maintenance Trade, which is represented by Michigan Education Association, also picketed with the faculty. CMT president Chris Turkopp said they could only do so during their non-work hours.
About 130 CMT members have been working without a strike after their contract expired in fall 2008. Turkopp said CMT and OU are meeting back at the bargaining table Sept. 10 with a state mediator present.
Professional Support Services members, with clerical and administrative positions, have also been working with expired contracts since fall 2008. A call to PSS’ president was not returned by press time.
OU recently settled a contract negotiation with the Police Officers’ Labor Union, which represents patrol officers in OU’s police department, and gave them a retroactive 3 percent raise for 2008 with no pay increases for the next two years.
The university also announced this summer that about 500 employees not represented by unions, ranging from President Gary Russi to lower-level administrative personnel, will have their wages frozen this year.
