strike notice
Alrighty, here is what is going on.
The faculty contract ends tomorrow (august 31) at midnight, and there is not an agreement yet. Today there was a rally going on around Welch Hall (which looked like a picket line, but not quite), and following that was a vote by the AAUP on whether to strike or not after tomorrow night. The vote was to strike, and it was expected.
EMU/administration side has filed for professional mediation, which brings in a third party to help with negotiations. Typically this helps to resolve any gaps in the demands from both sides.
If the strike last longer than Wednesday morning, which it could (as every strike had that possibility in the past), classes may be canceled, replacement teachers could be brought in, or who knows what. Strikes are just strong threats to encourage quick resolutions in negotiations, and at this point has no bearing on our educational experience for the upcoming fall.
My advice to all of you is to just stay patient, don't freak out and start rumors of school closings, and just wait for news on how it resolves. I would suggest not reading too deeply into newspapers and watching channel 7 or 4 to get your news about this, because they have been really good at twisting the truth. We'll try to keep you updated as we find out things (typically as they happen).
The issues at hand include the university asking professors to pay a higher premium for health insurance, and paying for parking (among others), while the AAUP is asking for a bigger-than-inflationary raise (among other things). Check out the negotiations sites (both EMU and AAUP to get the full arguments) for more information.
In general, don't worry or panic, things will work out in the end, classes may start a few days late (vacation!), schedules may get delayed, but EMU will still function, and we will still learn. If you have any questions, please contact me or another member of Student Government, as we are here working on the students' behalf throughout the summer and the upcoming year.
Michael 'Big Mike' Haynes
EMU Student Government