Letter of Support from United Faculty and Staff, University of Wisconsin- Madison and University of Wisconsin-Extension

January 28, 2019

United Faculty and Academic Staff

P.O. Box 260323 • Madison, WI 53726-0323

President Cheryl Schrader

Wright State University

260 University Hall

3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy.

Dayton, OH 45435

President Schrader and Members of the Board of Trustees:

I am writing to you on behalf of the elected leadership of United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS), American Federation of Teachers Local 223, AFL-CIO. Established in 1930, UFAS is a democratically organized labor union for faculty and academic staff at the University of Wisconsin– Madison and University of Wisconsin-Extension.

We write to express our extreme concern about the dire state of affairs at Wright State University, and we join in support of the faculty in their demand for a fair contract. It is the students who will suffer from the inevitable decline in quality if faculty are forced to teach more and even larger classes, if critical courses are offered much less frequently, and if WSU is unable to recruit and retain the best educators and researchers.

AAUP-WSU has been attempting to negotiate a fair contract since January 2017, despite the administration’s aggressive attempt to roll back basic job security provided to faculty throughout Ohio and the nation—even where faculty are not unionized. The AAUP-WSU has made all of the concessions; the administration has not been willing to compromise on anything. All the while, WSU students, the local workforce, and the region’s economy have been harmed by the administration’s poor stewardship.

We demand that you change course immediately, and reconsider your hard line with the faculty, whose stellar work in teaching, mentoring, and research has built the university’s reputation and made it a top choice for area students. Students, faculty, and staff deserve leadership that values them and provides the support needed for their—and Wright State’s—success. We urge you to negotiate in good faith with the faculty union in order to end the current impasse.

Respectfully,

Chad Alan Goldberg

Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin–Madison

President, United Faculty & Academic Staff, AFT Local 223

United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS) is a labor union democratically organized to represent its members—faculty and academic staff at both the UW-Madison and UW-Extension. UFAS is an independent affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, Local #223, AFL-CIO