Strike Watch #4

443 days without a contract

A “strike watch” means conditions exist which could lead to a strike by the Faculty Association and our sister unions, the Association of Civil Service Employees, the Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, and Graduate Assistants United. The administration can solve this crisis today with a fair settlement of our contracts. Make your voice heard by joining the FA!

SIUC Faculty Association Members to Vote on Strike Authorization

The Faculty Association Departmental Representative Council (DRC) voted unanimously Thursday night to hold a strike authorization vote on Wednesday, September 28th. No specific strike date is proposed. On the 28th, members of the Faculty Association will vote on whether to authorize their elected representatives on the DRC to initiate a strike. The text of the DRC resolution:

Resolved: The Departmental Representatives Council (DRC) calls for a vote of the Faculty Association membership on September 28th to authorize a strike and empower the DRC to initiate a strike.

The Faculty Association has been in negotiations with the SIU Board since April 2010. Last spring, the SIUC Administration unilaterally imposed the terms and conditions of their so-called “Last, Best, and Final Offer.” These terms included provisions that eviscerate tenure by permitting the administration to institute layoffs without justification and that undermine our collective bargaining rights by allowing the administration to reduce pay unilaterally through furlough days. Other crucial issues remain unresolved, including provisions concerning distance education and overload. Meetings with the Board bargaining team continue, but the Board has maintained their imposed terms while rejecting proposals to protect academic freedom and quality education here at SIUC.

Our ultimate aim is to achieve a fair negotiated agreement. To date, the Board has not felt compelled to address the critical issues that need to be resolved in order to achieve this agreement. This has left faculty no other alternative but to prepare to strike. The vote to authorize a strike is another step in those preparations.

For more information concerning why we are preparing for a strike and what a strike would mean, see the Strike FAQs:
http://siucunions.wordpress.com/strike-faqs/