POSTED BY MARTIN KICH

In Ohio, the AAUP was historically apolitical. Then, in 2011, Senate Bill 5 was passed, completely eliminating our collective-bargaining rights in the space of just a few weeks at the beginning of John Kasich’s first term as governor. At the state and chapter levels, we mobilized to support the referendum that repealed that legislation by an overwhelming margin. Although a few members complained about and even resigned over our sudden involvement in politics, it was hard to argue that we should not mobilize to protect our right to exist.

That said, in our very polarized political environment, it is often difficult to advocate for our interests as a professional association and labor union without taking political sides and potentially alienating significant numbers of members. At Wright State, we have decided to become more politically engaged but for the purposes of supporting candidates on only two criteria: their support for public higher education and their support for collective bargaining rights. To that end, as the following communication to our members shows, we have begun to make endorsements of candidates and ballot issues, and we have established two political action committees—one for our members and the other for anyone else who would like to contribute, including our retired members, our extended families, and friends. Both PACs are for state-level elections, and neither uses dues money.

I would like to emphasize that I am not using this blog to solicit contributions to these PACs. Again, they are only for state-level elections, and we have already announced their creation to our members in Ohio. Although I am certain that some conferences and chapters in the northeast and on the Pacific Coast have been politically active for quite a long time, I suspect that in other states, the AAUP has functioned more closely to how it functioned historically in Ohio. So, I am sharing what we are doing to suggest some ways in which political activism might be initiated, expanded, and sustained, even in a post-Janus environment.

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AAUP-WSU Chapter Member Running for a Seat in the Ohio House

Ryan Taylor, a faculty member in CEHS is running for the Ohio House to represent the voters in the 40^th District, which encompasses Portions of Brookville, Englewood, Vandalia, Huber Heights, Riverside, positions of East Dayton.

In the past our Executive committee has refrained from endorsing political candidates, but we have decided to revise that policy and we are endorsing Ryan’s candidacy.

Indeed, we wish to encourage our members to seek elected office because it has become increasingly clear that that is the surest way to make public policy more supportive of public higher education and the AAUP principles of academic freedom, shared governance, and economic security and tenure.

Ryan’s campaign’s website includes the following statement on education issues:

We must invest in quality education that supports educators in all districts and prepares all our children to be career and college ready and have the tools they need to be successful in life. 

As a college instructor Ryan sees first hand that students who had access to a solid K-12 experience are motivated and able to complete their post-secondary training. Students with a solid educational foundation understand career and workforce opportunities and spend less time in developmental classes to “catch up” to their peers. Ryan has a firm understanding of how important education is to help lift families out of poverty and how education is a catalyst for generational change.

Her positions on other issues are also available at http://ryantaylorforohio.com/issues.html.

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Vote Yes on Issue 1

On the primary ballot this May 8, Ohio voters will be asked whether to approve Issue 1. Like the Ohio Conference AAUP Board, the AAUP-WSU Executive Committee has endorsed a YES vote.

Issue 1 would end the partisan gerrymandering process for congressional districts in Ohio. Gerrymandering is the practice that allows one political party to draw districts in a way that favors their party. This is why there are so few competitive congressional elections in Ohio and, consequently, very lopsided representation in Congress.

The amendment needs a simple majority of votes to become part of the Ohio Constitution. The proposed changes would take effect for the next redistricting process and be in place for the 2022 mid-term elections.

Issue 1 has received broad bipartisan support, with endorsements from both the Democratic and Republican Parties, as well as major Ohio newspapers. We encourage our members to vote in the primary election on May 8 and to vote YES on Issue 1.

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Contribute to Our New Political Action Committees and Encourage Others to Contribute

The Wright State AAUP chapter has established two political action committees (PACs) to raise funding to support candidates in elections for state offices in Ohio.

The two PACs have the same straightforward and limited mission: to support candidates who have records of supporting public higher education and collective bargaining rights.

Both PACs will rely entirely on voluntary contributions: that is, dues will not be allocated to the PACs.

The AAUP-WSU PAC has been established for members of the AAUP-WSU bargaining unit.

The SmartALEC(k) PAC has been established for anyone else who wishes to support candidates who support public higher education and collective bargaining rights. In other words, any other AAUP member in Ohio could make a contribution to this PAC.

Because AAUP-WSU needs to submit records on contributions made to both PACs, no anonymous contributions are permissible.

Contributions should be mailed to:

PAC Name: AAUP-WSU PAC or SmartALEC(k) PAC

AAUP-WSU

113 Medical Sciences Building

Wright State University

Dayton, OH 45435

Questions can be directed to AAUP-WSU President Marty Kich at martinkich@gmail.com.