The faculty of Washington College has submitted a petition for voluntary union recognition to College Administration and the Board of Visitors and Governors. The unionization measure is supported by an overwhelming majority of tenured, tenure-track, and contingent faculty. Faculty would be organized under the Washington College Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-WC).
The push for unionization comes on the heels of a turbulent few years for the College, which has included instability in leadership, the marginalization of faculty voices in strategic decisions, decreases in compensation and benefits, and most recently, the announcement that the College will terminate some faculty members this semester and begin a process of program change meant to terminate more faculty over course of the next two years.
“There is no denying it has been a tough few years for the College, financially,” said Prof. Ken Schweitzer, President of AAUP-WC. “The faculty are not the College’s fiscal stewards, yet we bear the burden of the decisions of those who are. Salaries have been stagnant for years, out-of-pocket insurance costs increased, cost of living adjustments ended in 2017, and this year the College completely cut retirement contributions – all while increasing faculty workload. At the same time, some senior staff salaries have gone up and faculty have been shut out of decisions that immediately and substantially affect our conditions of employment. The situation is untenable.”
College faculty have been discussing the idea of unionization since May, and the focus is on three main pillars: stability in fulfilling the College’s educational mission; financial transparency and accountability; and equitable and humane compensation and working conditions.
“The College is at a critical point in its history,” said Prof. Clayton Black, a member of the faculty-appointed group exploring unionization, “and unionization will ensure that all voices are equal partners in its transformation. We want to work with College leaders, which is why we’re asking them to sit down with us voluntarily and move forward together.”
“There is a lot of misinformation around unions – the biggest myth is that they divide workplaces,” said AAUP-WC Vice President Prof. Rachel Durso. “This is untrue. Unions provide critical, long-term structures to ensure all voices are heard and all members of our community are valued equally. Faculty know that; we’re confident College administration will understand that the overwhelming majority of faculty support a mandate to work together for the good of the future for our College.”
When asked about the potential role of the union on campus, Durso said: “Not only will we work for faculty, but we are exploring ways to help staff as well. Staff on campus, often some of the lowest paid members of our community, have been disproportionately impacted by the College’s financial situation. It’s totally unfair, and AAUP-WC is committed to supporting them and working to help in any way we can.”
AAUP-WC is an advocacy organization dedicated to improving classroom conditions for faculty and their students, defending academic freedom, encouraging faculty participation in shared governance, and protecting and advancing the professional status and interests of all faculty at Washington College. For information visit us online here.
h Greg says
as they should. the faculty provide the best part of the college and administration keeps trying to tank the school even more. the education I’ve gotten from wac is incredible and helped me in my field, but anytime administration gets their filthy little hands on things they ruin them. the board needs to be replaced and cut, not the faculty
Ron Jordan says
Greg, I agree with you. Can you explain to us all how the BOD is selected by whom and what criteria is used in their selection?
Kevin Blimline says
My association with Washington College began in 2008 when my son began attending. He graduated in the Spring of 2012. That Fall, my daughter began attending and graduated in 2017. During that time I witnessed the performance of four presidents, their staff, and faculty. The trajectory of Washington College is going downward, financially and culturally. Maybe these two issues are interrelated, but they must be dealt with. A revolving door of presidents is not the answer. A top-heavy administration staff is not the answer. More importantly, a faculty union is not the answer because it will bring about financial and communication barriers that will hasten the demise of this college that has endured wars much closer and epidemics far more deadly. The real answer is strong and consistent leadership with the goals of financial security, a leaner and efficient administrative staff, aggressive marketing, recruiting quality students, and, most importantly, fostering a cultural change where students and faculty look forward to being in class every day.
George J Spilich says
Kevin: thank you for your thoughtful response. Strong and positive leadership is hard to come by but sorely needed in higher ed in general and at Washington College in particular. I’m of the belief that the College’s current slide can be reversed with smart leadership and an ‘all hands on deck’ philosophy. Also I believe I had the pleasure of knowing your son in class. He was very bright, but more than that, he was a person of real character.
Skip Middleton says
I’m no fan of unionizing, which, by the way, the faculty has yet to do – they’re exploring the avenue. However, in this case, the faculty, who really create the experience, provides the content that partly, or in most cases, mostly creates the students’ experience for college – have been poorly neglected by the board and the administration. They are treated as passengers and the board and admin have repeatedly driven the ship into a myriad of icebergs. Faculty and alum are called upon to be part of the solution, while the board plays on – carelessly and without consequence.
I’m embarrassed this effect has arisen, but the community, the alum, and the ex-employees have repeatedly pointed out the emperor is almost naked, and with this repeated definition of insanity happening almost annually- it feels like only the governor can step in to flush the board. The wealthy alum on the board have used their position to create opportunities in local real estate for leasing property back to the college – they call upon the same misguided and inexperienced group of board members to vet new candidates for the administration – and the rest of the very large board are told to follow or get out of the way – which, like sheep, they do. We have a group of 200-300 alum that for years have tried to right the ship with advice – yet the board continues to hide their decision making, they continue to hide their fiduciary gaffes, and the continue to maintain their strangling grasp on the control of school’s future. The faculty have felt powerless for a long time, and pride in this 250 year old institution is at an all time low.
The board needs to be comprised of alum, comunity members, faculty, and true leaders that can restore stability, pride, and a future for this college. If faculty see this, and see they have a say in securing the school’s future, then they will have a greater sense of comfort that every semester they’ll be back and working on the concerted good of the school. If status quo of staying in line and keeping their mouths shut no matter what the next president, or provost, or dean does to sink the ship, this faculty will likely unionize – those that don’t find greener pastures elsewhere. If the alumni see more of the same, they will continue to shrink their donations. If the community and potential parents see no benefit for their children, they will send their kids and relatives to schools that have their house in order.
A large group of mostly alum has repeatedly asked for transparency from the college for years, since the turnover prior to the appointment of Landgraf, on the following problems identified as board based –
Communication
Turnover – costs of same and alarming rate
Rising Tuition
Weakened Athletic Programs
Fundraising regardless of performance
Annual Budget to be open
Community interaction
Liberal Arts and its role today
Student Life (Diversity and related)
Graduate Job Placement weaknesses
When we took this to the admin and the board, we were basically told we were owed no responses. Understand not only did we point out these issues, we showed up with proposed solutions. We have talked to community leaders, county council, alumni, faculty and employees to arrive at this list and proposed solutions. Current faculty were too scared to have their names involved, as were alumni with children in attendance. After a year of trying to work through this, the general response was akin to, pardon me, ‘Go shit in your hat’. We then made the point to refrain as a group from donations, and we waited, faculty included, for the inevitable. Covid was a larger surprise of course, but it certainly expedited the latest turnover, in a perfect storm scenario.
My point here, our point here though I didn’t circulate my intentions of responding to the group, is OF COURSE FACULTY ARE TRYING TO CREATE A SAFETY NET. It wouldn’t surprise me if the current rank and file employees were not exploring a similar path. There is no one what wants to see the school fail, it should be a beacon in the community, the region and the country for the future of private colleges – it should not be afraid to modify its stance in creating the next generation of comunity members and leaders. But until parents, alum, and faculty feel the course is steady, everyone will have a foot out the door – until the board turns over.
It’s a tired phrase, especially related to the college- but expecting different results from the same decision making and methods is insane.
JH Greg says
as they should. the faculty provide the best part of the college and administration keeps trying to tank the school even more. the education I’ve gotten from wac is incredible and helped me in my field, but anytime administration gets their filthy little hands on things they ruin them. the board needs to be replaced and cut, not the faculty