I have read with interest the materials produced by the Ohio University Committee for an Independent Faculty. Here's what I've learned so far: They don't want a faculty union, they've studied faculty pay at other institutions, and they enjoy printing their statements on lime green paper.
But here's what I don't understand: What exactly does the group want? Besides being critical of a union that has not yet established itself, what does the organization stand for?
Well, now I have learned. It didn't come from OUCIF itself, it came from news reports from The Post and The Athens News. Here is the CIF's de facto platform as I understand it - a logical extension of the idea no change is for the better:
1. They are satisfied with a pay freeze for faculty in the same year the president enjoys a $85,000 pay increase. Even if the freeze seems to defeat some central aims of Vision Ohio about faculty compensation.
2. They are satisfied with a plan, to quote The Post, that pushes greater costs onto employees
including faculty. They are satisfied with premiums that would increase from 9.85 percent to 12.15 percent, even though the university has run a surplus in our health care under current plans.
This is the meaning of independence on our campus. And I wish that instead of simply arguing against the formation of a union, the CIF would start to use these as their talking points on the future course they would like to see faculty chart at OU. It sure is an impressive track record.
Kevin Mattson is a professor in the Department of History at Ohio University. 4
Opinion
Letter to the Editor
