No, not the fun kind of trend watching that involves music, celebrities or innovations but one that definitely bears watching. This one is about stripping public service employees of benefits and rights, including the right to organize. All faculty ~ not just adjuncts ~ and staff in public colleges and universities are public employees, as are K-12 teachers, police, firefighters, corrections officers and others.
but the law is changing...
It's happening in other places besides Ohio but Ohio Senate Bill 5 is the one that caught my eye trolling my rss feed reader.
Briefly, from Stepping Up for Union Rights on the AAUP news page,
SB 5 opponents, including some AAUP members, packed hearing and overflow rooms in Columbus, Ohio, at a committee hearing Wednesday. SB 5, a piece of legislation introduced last week, seeks to prohibit Ohio public employees, including faculty at state universities and colleges, from collective bargaining.
Read more detailed coverage in the Dayton Daily News, "GOP has Statehouse clout to change collective bargaining." Proposed collective bargaining changes for state workers would eliminate collective bargaining for state workers, including higher education employees, and calls for the development of a merit-based system; allows employers to hire permanent replacement workers during a strike; remove automatic pay increases for experience and education; eliminate leave policies and automatic sick days for teachers.
More news on Ohio SB 5 + video (Newt on "resurgence in Ohio")
Time to start collecting and sharing data and narratives. "Trend Watching" seems like a good series for the blog, plus a newsletter counterpart part.
What's happening in your neighborhood?
Well...we were aiming for parity in Ohio collective bargaining law...but we didn't think it would happen this way.
ReplyDeleteSounds like it's time for Ohio's teachers' unions to reach out to adjuncts in an effort to derail this train. This could lead to a work stoppage and help further solidarity between TT and contingent faculty...we just need to make sure that contingents are part of the conversation.
@Ohio adjunct -- On behalf of one Ohio teachers' union, please contact me to discuss how we may involve contingents and adjuncts in our effort to stop SB 5. Email me at savecollectivebargaining@gmail.com
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