OU Professors to Strike!

[Danny]

The President's salary before was $250,000, it is now raised to $350,000, as I heard, to be more like other Michigan university president's salaries. So Mr. Russi, if all the Michigan university presidents fell of a cliff, would you do it too? He doesn't need a pay raise, he wants for an awfully stupid reason. Professors aren't looking for a pay raise, but they certaintly don't want a salary freeze and they need money to continue their research.

Those professors of OU want money not just for research proposes, but the cover their cost of living like paying for their insurance rates for their fancy cars and houses. They also paying bills for cable, lights, heat, water cell phones, ipods, iphones, groceries to feed their kids or other familes. Just like the avarage American Joneses.

If they want more grants for research ask the endownment agencies. They would happen to give them the grant money they need. But in return they need results from your master thesis. What they going to do with the money and how is their research is going to reform society and effect mankind in general.

In Wayne State University, The Board of Governors have to deal with 6 to 8 million dollar budget shortfall and cutting NCAA Men's Hockey Team and its Humanities Dept. But the professors, Administrators and Deans didn't pot and cry and strike about. They just have to deal with the cuts and come up with more endownment monies to keep their research going and they did.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

Capitalism is NOT PERFECT. Deal with cuts until the weed and greed are cut for Neda Soltani's sake.

[screamingfit]

The President's salary before was $250,000, it is now raised to $350,000, as I heard, to be more like other Michigan university president's salaries. So Mr. Russi, if all the Michigan university presidents fell of a cliff, would you do it too? He doesn't need a pay raise, he wants for an awfully stupid reason. Professors aren't looking for a pay raise, but they certaintly don't want a salary freeze and they need money to continue their research.

Actually, Russi received a pay raise to match the salary of the newly appointed dean of the new medical facility. Guess they didn't see that it was "fair" that a new appointee made the same as a president of a university.

They have spent A TON of money on the medical facility - six over-compensated deans in total - for a whopping 250 students once the facility gets up to full steam in a few years. Once the facility is finally open, the first class through will only have 25 students. The logic escapes me.

OU is an extremely rich school but yet they're cutting employee health care and trying to rid themselves of tenured colleagues.

You gotta give the strikers a hand, though. What they are doing is technically illegal since they are considered public employees.

[Retroit]

Another suggestion: A massive letter writting campaign to the Board of Trustees:

Jacqueline Long
Henry Baskin
Monica Emerson
Richard Flynn
Michael Kramer
Ann Nicholson
Dennis Pawley

Contact Information:
Board of Trustees
c/o Victor Zambardi
Vice President for Legal Affairs,
General Counsel and Secretary to the
Board of Trustees
203 Wilson Hall
Rochester, MI 48309-4401
[[248) 370-3112
Fax: [[248) 370-4474
zambardi@oakland.edu

[[http://www.oakland.edu/?id=2535&sid=32)

[dtowncitylover]

I learned while striking the profs today, that is also about intellectual property rights for the professors. As I understood it, OU wants to take some, if not all, the credit for work done by professors.

[EMG]

Nothing's changed. I graduated from U of D in '83 and even back then they were trying to nickel-and-dime us for everything. Fee for parking, fee for graduating, fees coming, fees going; I'm surprised I didn't have to pay a fee every time I used the urinal. Last stop at the pre-graduation event was the alumni association which tried to hit me up for future contributions, and after a long day of paying one fee after another in the last hours they had to milk my wallet before I was out of there for good, I gave them a royal piece of my mind. They've never gotten another dime out of me since and they never will.

[Danny]

Nothing's changed. I graduated from U of D in '83 and even back then they were trying to nickel-and-dime us for everything. Fee for parking, fee for graduating, fees coming, fees going; I'm surprised I didn't have to pay a fee every time I used the urinal. Last stop at the pre-graduation event was the alumni association which tried to hit me up for future contributions, and after a long day of paying one fee after another in the last hours they had to milk my wallet before I was out of there for good, I gave them a royal piece of my mind. They've never gotten another dime out of me since and they never will.

Good for you EMG, Go on with your life, control your future and let God shape and mold your personality as He continuously did for you in the past over 25 years.

[dtowncitylover]

Nothing's changed. I graduated from U of D in '83 and even back then they were trying to nickel-and-dime us for everything. Fee for parking, fee for graduating, fees coming, fees going; I'm surprised I didn't have to pay a fee every time I used the urinal. Last stop at the pre-graduation event was the alumni association which tried to hit me up for future contributions, and after a long day of paying one fee after another in the last hours they had to milk my wallet before I was out of there for good, I gave them a royal piece of my mind. They've never gotten another dime out of me since and they never will.

That's because UofD is a private university, so they look to their alumni to provide some financial support. A fee for parking, though, is nothing new. I'm pretty sure most other public universities [[except OU because it is 80% commuter) charge their students to park on campus.

[WWJNewsradio950]

Just to update everyone:

Both sides to resume talks at 2 p.m. today.

OU spokesman Ted Montgomery told us that they're going to court today to try to force professors back to work. They feel the professors are conducting a strike, which is illegal.

AAUP spokesman Joel Russell told us that their actions are legal because--in their view--OU is taking part in unfair labor practices, which gives them legal right to take part in their "work action"--they're avoiding using the word 'strike.'

[dtowncitylover]

Thanks WWJ! I was actually listening to you all this morning!

But, yes I noticed they use the word "action" instead of "strike". I hope to be in the classroom by tomorrow, and I expect I will. What the profs are doing is legal. The administration keeps on sending us emails that are mean-spirited towards the professors. The administration has only brought this upon themselves for being obilivious what they want to do with the professors.

[WWJNewsradio950]

Thanks! And there's a court hearing at 10 a.m. today about the whole thing.

By now, you've heard that there are no classes at OU this morning....

[Danny]

It least there a law PERA The Public Employment Relations Act of 1965

What is PERA?

The Public Employment Relations Act was approved by the Legislature in 1965. It gives public employees the right to form together to bargain with their employer. The law requires public employers to bargain in good faith with the representative of the public employees on wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. It also establishes a series of unfair labor practices and a mechanism for adjudicating those unfair labor practices.
Why did the Legislature pass PERA?
It was passed to broaden and enlarge the rights of public employees. It amended the Hutchinson Act, which was a very anti-public employee law that dates to 1947. The Hutchinson Act prohibited strikes but also said any public employee who engaged in a strike was deemed to resign his/her employment. Moreover, if that person was re-employed in the next five years by any public employer, they could not be hired at a wage higher than the wage they had when they went on strike. There was no right for public employees to collectively bargain before 1965 in Michigan.
Who is covered by PERA?
All public employees, including those who work in higher education, except for classified state civil service employees.
Why is PERA still relevant today?
Every time MEA members sit down at the bargaining table, the ability to make the school board bargain in good faith is based on PERA. With PERA, we can speak with one voice.
What subjects can/do school employees negotiate in a contract?
Wages, hours and other working conditions. Everything from how many preps a teacher has to the number of subjects they teach to contact time with students is bargained. Also, does a school employee have a duty-free lunch, or not? The right to take sick days and be paid for them. Layoff and recall language, which is important as many districts cut jobs and lay off employees. MEA members should know what’s in their contract and know who to contact with questions or concerns.
Are there any subjects prohibited during negotiations?
Yes. Public school [[K-12) employees can’t negotiate the policyholder for group health insurance programs, though we can bargain the insurance carrier, administrator, and level of benefits. They can’t negotiate the first day of the school year. Other prohibited topics include the subcontracting of noninstructional support services, the composition of site-based decision-making committees, the use of volunteers, or pilot or experimental programs. All of these were added to PERA as Public Act 112 in 1994 and they’re limited to public school employees.

Now here's something interesting:

Can school employees collectively picket?

Public school employees can picket as long as it doesn’t interfere with their school duties.

Are strikes by public school employees illegal?

A strike, as defined in PERA, is UNLAWFUL!.

How are strikes defined by PERA?

Public school employees cannot engage in strikes to force a public employer to agree to better contract terms. They also can’t strike to protest unfair labor practices. PERA does not cover safety strikes, where employees refuse to work because of unsafe working conditions.

Does MEA support any changes to PERA?

MEA did not support Public Act 112 of 1994 and the association would support its repeal or revision, most notably the prohibition against bargaining over the decision to outsource bargaining unit work and the impact of that decision on school employees.

Updated: June 4, 2009 11:19 AM


WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

Sorry OU Professors! Once the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that yout unsocialized union strikes is ILLEGAL, Get back to work!