University administration plans on looking at the possibility of reducing faculty pay and benefits as well as increasing teaching workloads, according to an online statement from Adrian Corbett, Chief Negotiator of the Wright State chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-WSU).
As it currently stands, there is no official proposal for the next contract. A lawyer hired by the Board of Trustees sent a narrative presentation to AAPU-WSU, which outlined the Board’s position in regards to negotiations; it contained no specific Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) proposals.
Despite the fact that the presentation provided no specific proposals, it did outline the Board’s position on each CBA article and workload agreements, according to Corbett’s statement.
AAUP-WSU adopted an amendment to its constitution which called for a strike authorization procedure. On the afternoon of Nov. 8, faculty members voted unanimously in favor of the amendment.
The approval of the strike authorization is a necessary move, according to Martin Kich, president of AAUP-WSU, in a statement he made in a press release.
“Even though most misspending [on behalf of the administration] occurred in areas irrelevant to the university’s academic core missions… the administration’s budget cuts have actually targeted the academic core,” said Kich in the press release. “Any erosion of faculty working conditions is an erosion of student learning conditions.”
