As of Wednesday, the United Academics of Ohio University have gone 91 days without receiving a response to their proposal for improved compensation. Compared to nine other universities' faculty salaries in Ohio, OU has the lowest-paid research faculty, a disgraceful fact which the university’s continued silence makes significantly worse.
The faculty-led union represents approximately 800 full-time, tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure-track instructional and clinical faculty members at OU. UAOU’s current compensation proposal intends to advocate for higher pay with a three-year plan to make it happen.
On Oct. 30, the UAOU Negotiations Team initiated a proposal to collectively negotiate in what are known as bargaining rights for faculty members’ terms of employment.
The U.S. Department of Labor defines collective bargaining as a process in which an organized group of workers, known as “labor,” and its employer, referred to as “management,” negotiate a mutual agreement over workplace issues.
OU faculty who are members of the organized union are governed by laws that require financial transparency and integrity, as well as fair representation of all workers.
“For nearly three months, Ohio University senior administrators have declined to respond on compensation and benefits,” UAOU posted on Instagram. “That silence sends a message to students, families and alumni.” Not only does the silence alert students to a refusal to hear out its faculty, but as a similar feat in silencing those who are begging for an ear to talk to.
Union members have resorted to public university events and rallies to garner support from alumni, students and the Athens community. The effort to gather and push for bargaining rights as a faculty member sends a very positive message to students. However, the university seems to be taking this positivity and enthusiasm for education as unworthy of acknowledgement.
On Wednesday, 10 faculty members met with the OU administration for the first time in six weeks since the previous bargaining session. In a report from the UAOU Negotiations Team, the administration brought nothing new to the table. No counterproposals and no new proposals were offered to the union, another move from the university administration to dismiss the concerns of UAOU’s members.
The university administration is committing blatant idleness and purposeful inactivity. Where a known table meeting is in place with the union after weeks of silence, it’s a form of true dismissal of the right to bargain collectively.
On Jan. 15, UAOU members attended a public happy hour event where OU administrators also attended. It’s extremely admirable to see our faculty publicly show up to defend themselves against ongoing silence, yet they are receiving no communication from the university.
The union members who attended the happy hour wore red, a modern tradition dating back to 1989 with the Communication Workers of America, whose members wear red on Thursdays after Gerry Horgan, a unionizer, was struck by a car. To wear red means to stand as a symbol of solidarity, strength and unity for labor rights.
It’s vital that, as students, we stand with UAOU to ensure faculty are treated with respect and dignity as they push for fair compensation, among other proposals. Where the union values its vision of a “transformative learning community where students realize their promise,” we too must support the faculty who defend our education while dedicating themselves to research and the betterment of our academic experiences.
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