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CAT Tracks for October 1, 2011
3RD SIU UNION AUTHORIZES STRIKE |
As an SIU alumnus, a life-long educator, and a 25-year union radical, two paragraphs caught my attention from the article below:
First up, SIU Spokesman Rod Sievers...
Good luck with that, Roy!
First thing Roy needs to do is take a course in "Negotiations 101". In typical negotiations, you don't get an agreement with which everyone is "satisfied". The goal should be to get an agreement that everyone will accept! At the "end of the day" in typical negotiations, nobody is "satisfied", but each side decides they have gotten as much as they are going to get, signs on the dotted line, and war is over.
Next up, SIU Chancellor Rita Cheng...
Really, Rita!
THAT should do wonders for SIU's image of a providing a "quality university education". I don't know about college students today, but back when I went to SIU - back in the glorious "Sixties" - faculty goes on strike, time to ParTAY! The less frivolous students? They will be outside walking the line with the professors et al!
Also, Rita...
Unlike K-12 students and parents, these folks are PAYING for an education...they have the power of the purse! Don't you think they might demand value for their hard-earned dollars. Replace established faculty with scab temps...how much of a discount/refund are you prepared to give for a third-rate higher education?
Roy and Rita need to climb down from their ivory towers, quit posturing, get to the table and resolve the outstanding issues.
Quit looking for some nebulous "satisfaction" (that even the Rolling Stones never found) and find a SOLUTION!
Final (musical) note to Roy:
If you don't have time for a class on negotiations, here's a bit of free advice from the aforementioned Rolling Stones...
From the WSIU TV Channel 3 Website...
SIU Graduate Students Approve Strike
By Emily Finnegan
Story Created: Sep 30, 2011 CDT
CARBONDALE -Concerns of a strike continue to grow at Southern Illinois University as another union authorized a walk out this week.
The Graduate Assistants United vote Friday night brings the total to three unions that have approved a strike; ninety-seven percent of voters said yes in the balloting. Earlier this week the faculty association and the civil service employees also approved a strike.
"The administration has managed to alienate all four unions simultaneously. That should tell you something," said GAU President Jim Podesva.
The votes this week don't mean a walk off is imminent, but give union leadership the authorization to call a strike if negotiations break down.
The graduate students have been working without a contract for more than a year, and members say they're fed up. Union leadership admits contract negotiations have reached critical mass.
"We don't want to strike, but we have to prepare for the worst," Podesva told News Three, "The whole purpose of this is just to send a message to the administration that we're serious. That we are not playing. This isn't a game. This isn't a joke. This is people's livelihoods."
Podesva remains hopeful that SIU's unions can still avoid a strike. The GAU was back at the bargaining table with the administration on Friday. For the graduate students, healthcare and fees remain the biggest points of contention. They've now been working without a contract for more than 450 days.
"It's really disappointing that it's taken so long. Because it makes you wonder if they were ever serious about negotiating to begin with," said Podesva.
Administrators insist that's not the case, saying SIU remains committed to reaching a compromise with all four unions.
"The idea is to see if we can come up with an agreement and prevent a strike. An agreement that everyone is satisfied with," said SIU Spokesman Rod Sievers.
But the university is also preparing for the worst. Last week Chancellor Rita Cheng sent a letter to students and parents explaining if a strike happens the school will use retired staff, alumni and local professionals to cover classes.
"There is a strike planning committee that meets weekly here on campus and they're looking at everything," said Sievers.
The graduate assistants don't want to see that happen and insist ratifying a new contract will be the best thing for everyone involved.
"This isn't gonna go on forever.," he said, "Our patience is wearing out. 460 days is ridiculous."
The final union voting on a strike--the non-tenure track faculty--is doing a mail ballot. The results of that vote will be in next Wednesday.
But the university is also preparing for the worst. Last week Chancellor Rita Cheng sent a letter to students and parents explaining if a strike happens the school will use retired staff, alumni and local professionals to cover classes.
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes
You just might find
You just might find
You get what you need
(Story Updated: Sep 30, 2011 at 10:54 PM CDT)
