Daily Egyptian 11/3/11

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NO DEAL Tenured faculty strike; talks go on with other unions

SARAH SCHNEIDER Daily Egyptian The union representing tenured and tenure-track faculty went on strike early this morning after negotiations with the administration failed to produce an agreement. “The administration decided they wanted a strike, not a settlement,” said Dave Johnson, spokesman for the Faculty Association. Chancellor Rita Cheng said as of 1 a.m. the administration’s bargaining team told her they were very close in settling with the other three unions. Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association President Anita Stoner said the union’s House of Delegates voted to authorize an extension of the strike deadline to 1 a.m. Union representatives were not responding to messages and their website had not been updated by 1:30 a.m.

The bargaining teams for the Graduate Assistants United and the Association of Civil Service Employees were still bargaining as of 1 a.m. and not responding to messages and their websites also had not been updated by 1:30 a.m. The unions have been negotiating for new contracts since the expiration of their previous agreements in June 2010. Johnson said the FA brought new proposals to the table and the board rejected them all. “They have showed no interest in bargaining,” he said. Cheng said she was very disappointed the union decided to strike. “Their actions today suggested they weren’t interested in working through the issues. They cancelled bargaining in the morning as I understand it and did not spend much time at all … with our bargaining team,” she said. Please see STRIKE | 3

PAT SUTPHIN | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Dave Johnson, spokesman for the Faculty Association and associate professor of foreign languages and literatures, updates media on the status of bargaining

for the FA and three other Illinois Education Association unions Wednesday while Graduation Assistants United members show their support behind him.

Poshard: Strike will hurt students, region, enrollment TARA KULASH Daily Egyptian

LYNNETTE OOSTMEYER | DAILY EGYPTIAN

SIU President Glenn Poshard speaks to David Gross, executive director of the office of the president, Wednesday about the progress of bargaining

meetings between four Illinois Education Association unions and SIU administration. The Faculty Association union called for a strike today.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

SIU President Glenn Poshard spent much of Wednesday night in his Stone Center office waiting for a phone call. When he got it, the news was bad. “I don’t believe there’s anything here severe enough that merits a strike by the union faculty of this university,” he said after hearing the news that contract talks ended with the Faculty Association calling a strike for today. The union represents tenured and tenuretrack faculty. Poshard said the strike will likely harm not only the university but the surrounding region as well. “I would bet it’s already affected enrollment,” he said. Visibly distressed by the situation, Poshard rubbed his temples. “I don’t think anyone has as much invested in this university as I do,” he said. He holds three degrees from SIU and has served on the Board of Trustees as well as in administrative positions. He also represented the area in Congress and the state Legislature.

Daily Egyptian

Poshard said the months of publicity around the labor dispute probably caused some prospective students to choose other universities. He said current students may even be tempted to transfer. He said a prolonged strike would hurt businesses in the area because if people are not getting paid they can’t spend money. Poshard said he didn’t think there was much sympathy for the union from the surrounding region. “They look at the university and think this is the greatest place in the world to teach, work, learn. What is so egregious here to have a strike for the first time?” he said. He acknowledged bringing in substitute professors would affect the students’ classroom experience, but he said it was necessary to keep the university going. “It can’t be the same as their regular professors,” Poshard said. “We know that. We understand that, but there should be some good learning and discussions in those sessions that students should be taking part in.” Please see POSHARD | 3

VOL. 97 ISSUE 53


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