NOT EVERYONE IS COMPLAINING

Earlier this week faculty and staff members were being prepared to have their wages frozen, despite the promise Kathy Krendl made to bring Ohio University salaries in line with our peers (Objective 1 in Year One 5VOIP), a promise that was just beginning to show results. But more than one year's raises are at stake, as Post reporter Emily Grannis explained this past Monday. She highlighted the local implications of this year's national AAUP report, which shows how average faculty raises barely keep pace with inflation, if at all. Our administration has contributed to that national trend but seemed ready to make amends – until last week, when we saw how flimsy its promises are.

But let's consider a group whose raises weren't on the chopping. According to the Outlook report on the proposed raise freeze, it "would include annual salary increases for faculty and staff who are not bargaining-unit members." Who are these "bargaining-unit members"? At O.U., they belong either to the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees or to the Fraternal Order of Police. They are the electricians, dining-hall staff, custodians, plumbers, delivery persons, and the campus security. And they belong to unions.

Who still thinks this faculty is better off without collective bargaining?

True, not everyone at O.U. needs collective bargaining to do well for themselves. Despite repeated failures of confidence expressed by every constituency on campus, President McDavis will negotiate a new contract, including his salary, once he is reappointed. Coach Solich will get a fresh contract, too (he already makes $30,687 more than the mean salary for MAC Division football coaches). New administrators won't notice the tough economic times, either. Next year's athletic director will enjoy over $25,000 more in salary than his predecessor. The premier Director of Shared Services will draw $155,000 plus the paid services of a consultant to help him do his job. Even the brand new $60 million Baker Center will get a $722,000 boost, because someone forgot to install enough refrigeration in the food court.

"Where are the Priorities?" asks the AAUP's current report on our profession's economic status. All of us who teach, study, and work at O.U. are aware of the pressures affecting universities across the state and the nation. The problems and mismanagement that combine to make us worry about the future of O.U. also make us worry about education in America. That doesn't excuse local administrators or the Board of Trustees. AAUP-OU is important, not just for our local voice, but because the stakes are bigger than what we see in front of us. We are a professional organization, not a union, but maybe that should change.