UNIONS GIVE FACULTY A VOICE
April 2008-
(NOTE: MSU faculty members recently wrote the following
guest editorial to the Bozeman Chronicle in response to
criticism over their campaign to form a faculty union. MEA-MFT
is working hard to help them achieve this goal.)
As faculty at Montana State University, we believe that
collective bargaining will empower us to improve the academic
environment for learning and research across campus. Beginning
with the University of Montana in 1977, the faculty members
at every other institution of higher education in Montana
have organized. They elect their own leadership, and have
a seat at the bargaining table. These other campuses participate
in negotiations, and democratically ratify a contract that
encompasses issues important to them.
This is not a new concept for America. As citizens we vote,
we elect representatives, and together we seek a democratic,
transparent process where we work together to set policy.
As members of the campus community who care about our students
and the success of MSU, we seek the same. Forming a union
with our peers is not about elitism or robbing Montana;
we live and work and pay taxes with our fellow Montanans.
Forming a union is about having a stronger voice on campus,
with the Board of Regents, and at the Montana Legislature.
We teach and mentor our students, and we provide new research
and learning for our disciplines and for Montana communities.
As faculty of an excellent land grant institution, the citizens
of Montana have entrusted us with a responsibility to give
back to the community. We take our role as workers for the
people seriously, and we believe that our voices can provide
greater transparency and accountability through a contract.
As members of the faculty of MSU, we happily serve the
people of this great state through teaching, research, creative
activity and outreach. As teachers, we help guide minds
both young and old, and we train new workers for Montana.
As researchers, we broaden and strengthen Montana's economy.
And in our creative activities and outreach, we enrich the
lives of members of our community. Montanans value quality
public education, and we work hard to make sure that our
investment as a state is well made.
Contrary to popular belief, teaching at Montana's higher
education institutions is not a path to wealth. Teachers
at MSU, like teachers in the public schools, make 75-85%
of the national average in their fields. According to data
from the US Census Bureau, the average per capita income
for all Montanans is about 88% of national per capita income—
so when compared nationally, teachers and professors are
paid lower than other professions in Montana.
It is not salary that attracts teachers in K-12 or universities
to enter the profession and we do not see salary as the
only, or even necessarily the most important issue that
forming a union can help to address.
Our faculty union will allow us to bargain the day-to-day
issues that all organized workers can legally bargain: wages,
working conditions and benefits. When workers feel that
their voices are heard, morale and productivity improve.
We understand that administration has many tough choices
to make each day, but through this collaborative process,
we hope to work in partnership with the administration to
improve the quality of education that we provide at Montana
State University as well as the service that we provide
our state as a first class land grant institution.
Representing the Associated Faculty of MSU,
Dr. Kirk Branch, English
Dr. Rob Campbell, History and Philosophy
Dr. Alex Dimitrov, Cell Biology and Neuroscience
Dr. Jon Harney, Music
Dr. Kristen Intemann, History and Philosophy
Peter Kommers, Architecture
Alan Leech, Music
Karen Leech, Music
Dr. Bethany Letiecq, Health and Human Development
Dr. Marcie McClure, Microbiology
Dr. Anneke Metz, Cell Biology and Neuroscience
Dr. Sandra Osborne, Health and Human Development
Dr. Aleks Rebane, Physics
Dr. Jim Robison-Cox, Mathematics and Statistics
Dr. Bok Sowell, Animal and Range Sciences
Dede Taylor, Art
Ronald Tobias, Media and Theatre Arts
Richard Wojtowicz, Library
Dr. Bill Wyckoff, Earth Sciences
Laurel Yost, Music
