American Association of University Professors

Stolen wages at Western Michigan University: The nickel and diming of WMU-AAUP employees a negotiation message from WMU-AAUP president, Dr. Cathryn Bailey and vice president, Dr. Christopher Nagle With wage-reopener negotiations between the Western Michigan University Administration an…

Happy Labor Day! Thank you to all of our members for the work you do on your campuses, in your states, and nationally fighting for higher education as a common good.

Academic Freedom Under Attack by CSU Management - California Faculty Association CSU management has released a systemwide interim “time, place, and manner” policy. Because the Union has not met and conferred with the administration,

WMU faculty union speaks on contract negotiations outside of Student Center *UPDATE: Western Michigan University made a statement following the publication of this article, which can be found below.*

AAUP Condemns Wave of Administrative Policies Intended to Crack Down on Peaceful Campus Protest As an apparent reaction to student protests since last October, a number of college and university administrations have hastily enacted overly restrictive policies dealing with the rights to assemble and protest on campus. These policies, which go beyond reasonable time, place, and manner restrictio...

Higher Ed Unionization Has Surged Since 2012, Bucking U.S. Labor Trends

The number of unionized grad-student workers more than doubled in just over a decade, according to a new report from the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College on higher education labor. Most of the growth came at private institutions, where faculty unionization has also spiked. https://bit.ly/3Z9DFp7

Western employees occupy the Admin Building: Negotiation update and urgent call for action a message from WMU-AAUP president, Dr. Cathryn Bailey With the negotiation deadline just TWO DAYS away, the WMU Administration continues to insist that Western still can’t afford meaningful raises …

Destruction at union headquarters as WMU ramps up its campaign against its own employees The Western Michigan University Administration’s recent, unprecedented abuse of its campus-wide email system is a classic, anti-union propaganda effort to divide and pit employee groups against one…

New College’s Book Dumping Went Viral. A Beloved Student-Led Center Was the Biggest Loss. You’ve seen the photos. There’s more to the story.

***Bargaining Update, 8/28/24***

After a very long day, we remain without a new contract. We have agreed to a contract extension through the end of the day, September 3. While the next bargaining session with the mediator is scheduled for September 3, the teams have agreed to consider an earlier date in order to reach contract agreement as soon as possible.

Read the Bargaining Diary update here: https://oaklandaaup.org/bargaining-diary-2024/

❤ We look forward to continuing negotiations on behalf of our very deserving faculty. ❤

American Association of University ProfessorsAFT Michigan

With the negotiation deadline on Friday, every hour matters, Western Michigan University folks! If you absolutely cannot make it to Bronco Bash, stop by Montague House and grab some fliers. We’ll give you suggestions about what to do with them. WMU’s president seems determined, not only to force employees into accepting an insulting compensation offer but to BRING A POWERHOUSE WMU UNION TO ITS KNEES. If they succeed, then what do they have planned next?!

The WMU Admin stands by its lowball salary offer to faculty a negotiation update from WMU-AAUP president, Dr. Cathryn Bailey Dear Western Michigan University Colleagues, Unfortunately, today’s long day of mediation, which had been prematurely initiated by t…

Opinion | The AAUP Has Always Defended Academic Freedom. We Still Do. A new boycott policy doesn’t change that.

Combatting the Admin’s Dirty Negotiation Tactics at Western: “The next 72 hours are critical!” an urgent negotiation message from Cathryn Bailey, professor and president of the faculty union, the WMU-AAUP Dear Western Michigan University Colleagues and Allies, I’ve been a professor for over …

In precedent-setting vote, UW Regents close college and lay off 32 tenured professors The closures of UW-Milwaukee's Washington County and Waukesha campuses will lead to the layoffs of 32 tenured professors.

“We are seeing multiple schools adopting new restrictions on speech without respecting governance procedures. They will discourage protests, have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and threaten harsh sanctions without due process.”

“We can strongly infer [the rules] are made to appease politicians calling for the use of a heavy hand on protests, donors and boards of trustees,” she added. “It’s this external audience that universities seem to be most concerned about.”

-Risa Lieberwitz, AAUP General Counsel

Link in comments.

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to get us to this point!

Cornell University Staff Strike Over Wages https://bit.ly/3Meu9t8

***Bargaining Session Update, 8/21/24***

The bargaining team met today with the employer’s team without the state-appointed mediator. In a more productive round of talks, one language item was agreed to and the teams exchanged ideas on the outstanding economic issues without any formal proposals being made. In addition, the remaining language issues were discussed and while some movement was made between the two sides, there remain some sticking points.

The two teams are scheduled to meet next on 8/28.

https://oaklandaaup.org/bargaining-diary-2024/

❤ We understand the concern and worry many of you have as you wait for updates from your team and that makes us all the more appreciative of the support of all of our members. ❤

American Association of University Professors AFT Michigan

“As Nelson Mandela told the African National Congress, “In some cases . . . it might be correct to boycott, and in others it might be unwise and dangerous. In still other cases another weapon of political struggle might be preferred. A demonstration, a protest march, a strike, or civil disobedience might be resorted to, all depending on the actual conditions at the given time.”

Both the 2006 report and the 2024 statement cite this quotation approvingly. Cary Nelson nonetheless thinks otherwise.

Between the two Nelsons, the AAUP sides with Mandela.”

Link in comments.

"It is Nelson, not the AAUP, who has politicized the question of academic freedom by objecting to its extension to faculty and students who, for principled reasons, might support academic boycotts in the name of those systematically denied it.

Careful, thoughtful AAUP policy is still “the gold standard for academic freedom.” The alternative Cary Nelson offers — a selective principle, an exclusionary practice, driven by a hardline Zionism — is a corruption of that enduring standard."

- from Joan Scott's take down of Cary Nelson's critique of the AAUP's new Academic Boycott statement published today in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Link in comments.

Why U. of Florida Professors Decry ‘Chaotic’ Post-Tenure Review That Failed Nearly a Fifth of Those Evaluated The striking results from the first round of Florida’s controversial state-mandated reviews have confirmed the fears of many faculty advocates at its flagship campus.

Cornell staff strike over wages as students arrive Campus operations staff at Cornell University went on strike Monday, just as students were scheduled to begin arriving on the Ivy League campus in Ithaca, N.Y., according to Syracuse.com.

Tracking Higher Ed’s Dismantling of DEI We’ve documented actions taken on dozens of campuses to alter or eliminate jobs, offices, hiring practices, and programs amid mounting political pressure to end identity-conscious recruitment and retention of minority staff and students.

"As the new school year begins, classrooms should be bastions where critical thinking thrives and ideas are explored freely. Yet, in the face of growing repression and efforts to silence dissent, undermine faculty rights, commodify students and strip education of its role as a democratic public sphere, it is imperative that students, educators, parents and concerned citizens unite in mass resistance."

Link in comments.

“We know how it ended for the N***s. The German people, to their credit, have openly marked every step in their fall to fascism. We cannot say, in the United States, that our incipient decline into public evil will have started with firing a college president or with pulling titles from Palm Harbor U. Who knows where the path of Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, and other political extremists will lead? But we can say the story has started this way before. With culling books from Berlin libraries. Or a telegram, firing the professor of art.”

“Tell our leaders to stop.”

Link in comments

***Bargaining Session Update, 8/15/24***

Today our team met with the employer and the state appointed mediator via Zoom due to health concerns. Our team made a good faith effort to engage in productive discussions, making proposals and counter proposals to resolve language issues so that more fruitful discussion on economic issues could take place. Unfortunately, little progress was made. You can read the update on our bargaining diary:

https://oaklandaaup.org/bargaining-diary-2024/

❤ The team is grateful for your support and encouragement as we enter the most difficult phase of this process. ❤

American Association of University Professors AFT Michigan