The Labor Movement, the movement that fought for the eight hour day, the 40 hour week and vacations to become a reality in the American workplace, has officially arrived at the University after 100 years of it being a non-union workplace.
Well, almost.
The fledgling University chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) achieved their first milestone, getting 58 percent of the full-time faculty to sign cards stating that they wish to have a vote on union representation. In this election, all full-time faculty, tenured, tenure track and non tenure track will be able to cast a vote for or against certification of the union.
This topic fairly lit up the faculty discussion board in the latter part of 2008, and then it died down. From e-mails I have received, I assume it is setting the FDB on fire again. One of the problems with organizing a group of so-called smart people like the faculty is that sometimes, when it comes to basic issues, their massive intellect does not lend itself well.
One of the issues is the idea of shared governance; that is, when folks who consider themselves (the Faculty Senate) in a position equal with those in charge (President Cartwright and the Board) and think being able to make comments on proposed changes is “shared governance.” In the last couple of years, those who believe in this idea have made comments till the cows came home.
The result so far: President Cartwright and the Board of Trustees have all the points, and the Faculty Senate has none. So that pretty much sums up shared governance. The overwhelming corporatization of the University is why there is a need for an independent group to negotiate for the faculty.
Joe Hill, the famous Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) balladeer, who coined the phrase “pie in the sky” in his ballad, “The Preacher and the Slave,” was shot by a firing squad on his command, Nov. 19, 1915, in Utah. After being convicted on erroneous charges and sentenced to death, Hill wrote to the IWW’s Big Bill Haywood, “Goodbye Bill. I die like a true blue rebel. Don’t waste any time in mourning. Organize… Could you arrange to have my body hauled to the state line to be buried? I don’t want to be found dead in Utah.”
The organizing of a faculty union is a positive thing, for it will enable real democracy to become part of the scenery for the first time here at the University. An effective faculty union will essentially replace the existing Faculty Senate in its “advise and dissent” role to the power structure, with a more powerful voice backed up by law.
A union that encompasses all people here — faculty, classified staff and all part-timers (a University United Education Workers [UEW]) — would truly have more power. But sometimes these things have to take a life of their own and for some folks to finally figure out “whose side they are on.” A now-deceased friend and University Professor told me many years ago, a ditch digger has a better understanding of economics than a PhD.
If the attempt to bring about real parity with the University Board and President in these uncertain times is not successful, some might be like Joe Hill — not wanting to be found dead in Bowling Green State University.
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