WSU faculty brave cold to walk the picket line

CELINA - Wright State University union faculty members faced freezing temperatures on Tuesday morning to picket at the entrances of the Dayton and Lake campuses.

More than 20 members of Wright State's branch of American Association of University Professors held up signs that could be seen by passing motorists along State Route 703. Many read "On Strike for Wright," while other members made their own signs.

Among them was history lecturer Steve Pedler, who said, "This is not fun, but unfortunately we're in a position where we feel we've been driven to it because it's necessary for us as faculty members and for the educational conditions for our students."

They were joined by union members picketing at the Dayton campus.

"I am ecstatic about the turnout," union president Martin Kich said. "Students and members from other union chapters came to show their support, and community members brought food for us."

Nearly 560 of WSU's 1,700 faculty members are union members. Lake Campus has 40 full-time and more than 75 part-time instructors. Of the full-time instructors, just more than 30 are union members. Part-time instructors are not eligible to join.

Greg Homan, associate professor of agriculture at Lake Campus and not a union member, said he doesn't support the union or its actions.

"The students and taxpayers do not deserve this," he said. "In my opinion, the new president and board of trustees are doing their best to lead the institution through a serious financial situation and have had to make tough decisions to move the institution forward. I wish the union would be more cooperative.
  "I hope we move past this quickly and continue to serve the local community with programs that meet local needs," he added.

While union members are picketing, students are encouraged by university president Cheryl Schrader to go to class and complete assignments as directed.

"Our staff is working hard under uncertain circumstances to fulfill our obligations to students," Schrader said. "Students should know we are working hard to prevent disruptions from continuing. We ask them to please contact their department chairs to report any further class schedule disruptions."  

So far, 40 percent of faculty members are teaching or will teach their classes, according to a survey conducted by the university. At Lake Campus, 53 percent of represented faculty are teaching their classes.

About 80 percent of classes taught by members were held without issue, including 99 percent at the Lake Campus, university officials stated in a news release.

"I know our students feel they are caught in the middle today," Schrader said. "While many classes went on as normal, some also experienced disruptions. In those circumstances, our students exercised great patience and respect as we knew they would. I thank them for their patience and positive attitude as we continue to assess our coverage requirements based on faculty attendance."

Qualified instructors were scheduled to fill in and classes wouldn't be canceled, university officials have said. However, some students showed up to find no one there to teach the class, despite the teacher's indicating to the university he or she would be there, university officials stated. The appropriate academic department of those classes has been contacted. In some cases, students in those classes were given alternate assignments or dismissed.

Studying in the student lounge, freshman Lauren Eilerman said one of her teachers was absent on Tuesday, and the substitute told students to teach themselves.

Members are on strike after two years of contract negotiations with the university board of trustees members failed. Earlier this month, trustees enacted final terms for union members until the AAUP-WSU's next contract for 2020-2023 is negotiated and approved.

In a strike notice filed Jan. 7, the union took issue with the terms' furlough policy, changes to health care and workload policies.

Pedler claimed university officials are seeking the right to force instructors to teach more classes.

"If we have to teach more classes, that means we have more students. We're not going to be able to provide them the same level of individual instruction to each student," he pointed out.

However, university vice president of legal affairs Larry Chan wrote in an email to union chairman Rudy Fichtenbaum, "The workload policy will not hurt students, spread faculty thinner nor lower the quality of education."

The terms also require members to work two cost-savings days. Pedler called this unfair because faculty members would be required to work for free.

Chan, however, said employees will not be expected to work and in fact are not permitted to work on a cost-savings day.

"This is a reasonable alternative to a more permanent cost-savings measure like a layoff," he said.

Trustees included terms to maintain faculty salaries at current levels, which are higher than those at similar state universities.

Union members are prepared to accept not getting raises, Pedler said, as the university is trying to recover from financial difficulties.

Since 2016, Wright State has been navigating a financial crisis in which the university was required to address a $30 million structural budget deficit caused by years of unbudgeted and uncontrolled spending that used $130 million in reserves, university officials have said.

The financial recovery included three rounds of staff layoffs and sweeping budget controls and cuts across the university, officials said. Those efforts have provided some short-term relief.

Picketing will continue at the Dayton campus until members receive a contract from the administration that is fair to both sides and protects the students' education, Pedler said.