At the Union Membership meeting on November 17, 2020, the threat of layoffs at WPU was discussed as a foregone conclusion. Members of the caucus will join our local leadership at the Board of Trustees Meeting to support the statements they and our colleagues plan to make in that venue, but we also believe we can do more to save faculty jobs.
No one expects union leadership to fight alone, and we feel it is time for the membership to get active and creative.
While there is room to discuss the strategic timing of a public campaign, management has indicated that layoff notices will be delivered in January 2021. We believe it is time for open conversations about how an active membership can help our union to stand up and fight back.
To that end, we offer these suggestions. If you have additions, questions, or ideas based on what you read here, feel free to email us at aftsolidarity@gmail.com.
(1) Planning:
- What have other campuses done when facing faculty layoffs? (see links below)
- Create campaign branding (e.g. slogan, website, social media presence).
- Work with the ad-hoc committee to collect and challenge the data driving these cuts.
- Develop materials illustrating the impact of proposed layoffs on faculty and curriculum diversity.
- Develop lists of key power-holders, stakeholders (students, alumni, public), allies, media, politicians, and organizations.
(2) Engaging Key Stakeholders:
- Solicit letters and Op Eds of support (both to target media and power-holders) from:
- Students in areas of the university that will be heavily impacted.
- Alumni, especially those who graduated in areas we anticipate being targeted.
- Specific leaders and organizations in the academic fields where cuts are threatened.
- Collaborate with the Faculty Senate to protect curriculum that the University’s mission and core values, particularly of diversity and civic engagement.
- Generate local and social media attention.
(3) Taking Action:
- Consider how faculty can wield immediate and long-term power.
- Establish a coalition of campus unions.
- Plan rallies, various forms of protest, and/or job actions if/when layoffs notices materialize.
Sample letters and press coverage from other campaigns:
Akron:
- https://otenews.com/letter-to-the-editor-eliminations-of-ethnic-studies-professor-major-contradict-edgewoods-proclaimed-commitment-to-diversity/
- https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/akron-aaup
Canisius College:
George Washington University:
St. Cloud:
Northeastern Illinois State:
Western Illinois University:
East Tennessee State U:
- https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/etsu-budget-open-letter-to-president-calls-for-no-cuts-to-adjunct-faculty-levels-criticisms/
- https://www.wjhl.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/98/2020/07/An-Open-Letter-to-Preserve-Instruction-at-ETSU.pdf
University of Alaska:
University of Ohio:
Keene State:
Other Resources/Information:
- “The coronavirus is threatening diversity in academia” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-threatening-diversity-academia-n1212931
- “Fighting Back: The Human Cost of Layoffs” https://www.aaup.org/article/fighting-back-human-cost-layoffs
- “Survey on American Attitudes on the Humanities” https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/11/09/survey-american-attitudes-humanities
- “Faculty in Times of Financial Stress” [PDF guidebook] https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Faculty-in-Times-of-Financial-Distress-Examining-Governance,-Exigency,-Layoffs-and-Alternatives.pdf
- “The Fight for the University of Kansas”
https://sites.google.com/view/kufacultydemands/no-to-kbor-policy
Solidarity Caucus 