The United Academics of Ohio University, or UAOU, organized a "Day of Action" on Tuesday afternoon on College Green, advocating for improved job security and academic freedom for faculty. It concluded with UAOU submitting a letter to the Office of the President requesting that Ohio University President Lori Stewart Gonzalez respect its wishes to organize and collectively bargain.
The event highlighted some of OU’s faculties current efforts to unionize. More than 150 faculty members, including those with tenure, instructional and clinical positions, administration staff, as well as students gathered to show solidarity by wearing red attire and waving red flags. The OU Samba Club provided music with attendees cheering in solidarity.
UAOU is affiliated with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Ohio Conference AAUP (OC AAUP), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
Joe McLaughlin, an associate professor of English, said the push for unionization largely began on campus in 2020 following the, in his words, unnecessary firing of 55 faculty members that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rally ended with faculty members marching into Cutler Hall to deliver a letter to the President with people behind them chanting “faculty working conditions are student's learning conditions.”
The letter states a majority of full-time employees signed cards designating UAOU, AFT and AAUP as their exclusive bargaining representative. UAOU will file a petition for a representation election for a bargaining unit representing all full-time tenure, tenure track and instructional faculty across Athens and regional campuses.
The letter also states UAOU hopes the university will respect the wishes of faculty by not objecting the petition, working fast to stipulate an agreement for a fair election and remain neutral in the time before an election.
University spokesperson Dan Pittman wrote in an email the university will review and consider the request from the UAOU and offer a response by their stated deadline of March 8.
According to information on the UAOU website, OU is one of three public universities in Ohio without a faculty union, alongside Ohio State University and Northeast Ohio Medical University. Over 200 four-year colleges and universities nationwide have unions with collective bargaining agreements.
John O’Keefe, an associate professor of history and president of OU-AAUP, wrote in an email that unionizing is a legally protected activity and other unionization campaigns at universities in Ohio have seen no retaliation.
Kyle Butler, an associate professor of instruction in the Ohio program of intensive English and vice-president of OU-AAUP, discussed the importance of negotiating reasonable workloads and salaries and having a voice in university decision-making to better serve students.
“If we feel like we are disconnected from the decision-making process and if we’re disconnected and disempowered, it just makes it that much harder for us to serve our students,” Butler said.
According to a UAOU press release, over the past 7 to 8 years, faculty at OU have had minimal annual raises, with an average of only a 1% annual raise or less. It also said many faculty lost up to 20% of their buying power over this period while administrative spending at OU has continued climbing.
John Cotton, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, discussed faculty salaries at OU compared to other Ohio universities as he spoke to the crowd. He said of the 10 public research universities in Ohio, OU has the lowest average salary.
Cotton said the provost formed a task force to study faculty compensation which found that OU faculty are underpaid by over $5 million per year, an average of $7,000 per faculty member.
Arthur Smith, a professor in the physics and astronomy department, discussed the importance of valuing faculty.
“Ohio University will become a great R1 institution when we create workplace conditions that are conducive to greatness; when hard work and merit are properly rewarded,” Smith said. “With both, you can attract and retain our best and brightest young faculty.”
Hannah Louck, a senior studying history and sociology on the pre-law track, spoke in front of the crowd in solidarity with her professors. She spoke about how unionization would positively impact students.
“Decreased workloads would allow professors opportunities to have special academic connections with students like me and increase the academic morale across campus for both students and professors,” Louck said.
According to UAOU’s website, if the union is approved, professors would have the option to become members, though all faculty will benefit from the union in negotiations with the university.
O’Keefe wrote in an email that UAOU has strong support for unionization among faculty with a majority having already signed cards. While speaking to the crowd, Butler said UAOU spoke with faculty from all schools across the Athens campus and regional campuses, gaining a supermajority of support. O’Keefe wrote he believes many people in the OU administration would be sympathetic to a union.
Pittman wrote in an email the university respects and values all employees and acknowledges the crucial role they play in the success of the university. He wrote OU codified its commitment to its employees through its ongoing Dynamic Strategy process.
O’Keefe emphasized the link between faculty working conditions and student learning environments and the commitment to creating a supportive and valued teaching environment within the university.
"Faculty working conditions are student learning conditions,” O’Keefe wrote in an email. “We are passionate about our teaching and want to ensure an environment where faculty feel supported and valued. We would like to see a university that is a more united place where people work to support one another,”
