Members of Wright State’s faculty union staged a protest Friday amid ongoing contract negotiations with university administrators.
Negotiations have been ongoing for well over a year. Union representatives say several contract issues are still on the table, including health care benefits and tenure-related policies. The union amended its bylaws to allow for a strike late last year, and since then has repeatedly threatened a walk out if a deal is not reached.
The crowd at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting was packed with faculty union members, all wearing blue t-shirts. Some carried signs with phrases like “No Trust in Trustees” and “Education Not Administration.”
Wright State Professor Dr. Noeleen McIlvenna was one of several union members to express her disappointment to the Board.
“Do not inflict any additional damage to this university. Get the power grabbing articles off the table. It’s okay to admit you don’t know anything about higher education.”
Doug Fecher, a member of the Board of Trustees, says officials are working to come to an agreement.
“This notion that the board is not willing to work to find a way forward is untrue. We may disagree on what that way forward is and that's typical. I understand that the offers that we've made may not be palpable or acceptable but that's where progress I hope comes from.
A mediator’s fact-finding report is due October 29. After that, union members say they may move forward with a strike if an agreement is still not reached.
