Quantcast
Channel: Ohio.com Most Read Stories
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7876

UA full-time professors to take strike authorization vote next week

$
0
0

Unhappy with contract negotiations after more than a year of talks with little progress, full-time faculty members at the University of Akron will take a strike authorization vote next week.

The American Association of University Professors, University of Akron chapter (Akron-AAUP) announced they will take an electronic vote from Monday to March 11. There are more than 600 regular full-time, tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty members, excluding the law school and administrative appointees. There are about 850 part-time faculty members. They are not unionized.

The strike authorization vote doesn’t mean the professors will strike. But an affirmative vote would give the union’s leadership the authority to call one.

The latest contract proposal from the university does not include any increases in compensation. The university’s proposal also includes decreases in health and retirement benefits.

Akron-AAUP President John Zipp, a sociology professor, said the union is primarily concerned with the university’s lack of continued investment in its academic mission and the impact that the current proposals by the university would have on faculty retention, new faculty hires and most importantly, on the quality of education offered to University of Akron students.

“The university apparently has the time and money to devote to re-branding and other unproven initiatives while at the same time neglecting its core academic mission,” Zipp said. “It’s time the faculty had the opportunity to show our resolve to win a fair contract, a contract that will enable us to provide the best educational opportunities for our students. This vote will allow us to do so.”

The old contract ran from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2015, but both sides agreed to a day-to-day extension of the agreement until negotiations end. The two sides have been in negotiations since December 2014. A federal mediator was brought in last December.

“The University believes it best to make its comments within the confines of the negotiations,” said UA spokesperson Wayne Hill. “By mutual agreement, the University and the AAUP chapter have jointly selected an experienced individual to serve as both fact-finder and mediator in these negotiations.”

Four more negotiating sessions are scheduled over the next two weeks.

Kent State professors also had a strike authorization in place this year set for Jan. 25, but avoided a potential strike when both sides reached a tentative deal Jan. 22.

Their new three-year contract proposal was based on a fact-finder’s report, which both sides agreed to accept. They had been in negotiations since last May.

Check back with Ohio.com soon and read the Beacon Journal print edition on Friday for updates.

Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7876

Trending Articles