Solidarity

On January 22nd, the majority of Bargaining Unit Faculty represented by AAUP-WSU made the choice to go on strike. Not for higher wages but for the protection of the academic mission of the university and our right to negotiate over our terms and conditions of employment. We stood strong for 20 days as the administration drug their feet to the bargaining table. Our  #solidarity prevailed.  The end result? A much stronger contract than the one the administration imposed on January 4th with restored protections and the preservation of our legal rights. We call this a win, but it comes at a price.  Collectively…

Community support has been critical to our successive wins these last several months, and without you behind us at every step, Burgerville Workers Union would not have been able to accomplish all that we have. Since we filed for elections with the NLRB and won with overwhelming majorities at 2 locations this spring, we’ve been engaged in negotiations with Burgerville for our first contract. Negotiations have been tough as Burgerville has met even our simplest proposals with resistance, but we’re more determined than ever to continue putting pressure on the company to do right by their workers. While Burgerville promised…

The AAUP joined this week with other groups, including members of the California Community College System, in filing an amicus brief in support of a permanent injunction against a Trump administration executive order that sought to strip federal funding from “sanctuary jurisdictions.” The lawsuit resulting in the injunction was filed by the city of San Francisco. The AAUP’s interest in the case stems from the potential application of the executive order to colleges and universities. Such an extension would negatively impact colleges’ and universities’ ability to carry out their public mission and their interests in developing a diverse student body. Allowing the…

In the newest issue of Academe, two professors share how their AAUP chapter responded to violence on campus. “What can AAUP chapters do? We can watch for, notice, track, and respond to incidents of harassment or violence as they occur on our campuses. While individual students and their associations have some power to get the attention of administrators and outside authorities, their voices are amplified if we join them.” Read more here.

In response to the conditions in Puerto Rico—especially the water crisis—the AFT launched Operation Agua, a collaboration with Operation Blessing, AFSCME, the Hispanic Federation and the Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico. Operation Agua’s initial goal is to purchase and distribute 100,000 individual water filtration systems for households and classrooms, and 50 large-capacity clean-water devices to a network of nonprofit organizations, union offices, schools, and other community-based groups to provide stable and reliable sources of safe water. A single $30 contribution provides an in-home purifier that requires no electricity and provides more than 10 gallons of safe water per day to a family. And $5,000 delivers a disinfectant generator that…

At our membership meeting on October 23, UA members and family celebrated the ratification of our recent contract extension and engaged a host of other timely issues. At the recommendation of faculty with family in Puerto Rico, Professors Cecilia Enjuto-Rangel (Romance Languages), Alaí Reyes-Santos (Ethnic Studies), and Rocío Zambrana (Philosophy), we devoted space in our meeting (over dinner and drinks) to a silent auction and donations. Two prints from Puerto Rico’s beloved artist, Antonio Martorell, were auctioned alongside other donated items. Students from Professor Reyes-Santos’ class explained why they are raising money for a service project in Puerto Rico –…

As faculty with family in Puerto Rico, we recommend a focused fundraiser for ISER Caribe. Here is also a helpful list of local organizations. Among other topics at our membership meeting, we will hear from Professor Alaí Reyes-Santos who is organizing a delegation of students for a trip to Puerto Rico. The pedagogical goals are: To engage the ethical issues raised by the current crisis in Puerto Rico through documentation and relief efforts in affected areas. Deepen our understanding of what digital humanities research can provide to address issues of racial, economic and environmental justice through documentation and distribution of…