Open Letter to Our Akron Colleagues

POSTED BY SUE RAMLO A couple of months ago, the Provost’s office sent faculty, through their deans, a survey, asking us what we thought the criteria for firings should be. Akron-AAUP saw this for what it was: direct dealing with faculty, and a failed attempt to legitimize the gutting of the faculty. At the time,…

Why Billionaires Want You to Opt Out of Your Union

POSTED BY MARTIN KICH This message is borrowed from our friends at the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT). Educators in Ohio are starting to be contacted by “The Freedom Foundation” to encourage them to “opt-out” of their union membership in an attempt to further weaken unions after the Janus U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Who is…

On This Workers’ Memorial Day

POSTED BY MARTIN KICH This holiday is not as well-known as May Day, Memorial Day, or Labor Day. But, especially during this pandemic, when many non-unionized, low-wage workers are in the “front lines” with insufficient personal protections and insufficient healthcare and paid sick leave, this day seems more “essential” than ever. The commemorative day was…

Berkeley Tenure-track Faculty Group Supports Lecturers

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN The following is the text of a statement in support of the union representing non-tenure-track faculty members, or lecturers, in the University of California issued today by the Berkeley Faculty Association (BFA), which includes tenured and tenure-track professors (so-called “senate faculty”) at the University of California, Berkeley.  BFA is affiliated with…