United Faculty of Central News Release 10/24/07

Contact: Robert Hickey, 509-899-3001 or unitedfaculty@gmail.com

CWU faculty plan to protest over pay

Professors and faculty members at Central Washington University will rally Thursday in support of their union bargaining team and to highlight the need for better pay.

The Oct. 25 rally is in room 121 at CWU’s Hebeler Hall in Ellensburg from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Organizers expect at least 150 faculty members to participate in the protest. United Faculty of Central President Robert Hickey said the rally is open to both union and non-union members.

Contract negotiations between faculty and administration began in the summer and are stalled over the lack of progress on compensation. Under the university’s latest proposal, most faculty members would receive less than the state-allocated cost-of-living salary adjustment.

“Looking at the research, it’s clear the administration’s budget priorities don’t include the faculty,” said Hickey, a geography professor. “We should be compensated for what we’re worth.”

Central’s faculty salaries are well below the average for peer institutions nationally, which makes it difficult to keep CWU’s high-quality teaching staff. Average class sizes have increased by 17 percent over the last seven years, which means professors have less time to devote to individual students. Meanwhile, the number of exempt senior administrative positions has increased by a whopping 67 percent since 2000. Central professors are underpaid, yet 18 CWU administrators earn more than $100,000 a year.

United Faculty of Central is affiliated with the United Faculty of Washington State , which includes faculty unions at Western and Eastern Washington universities and The Evergreen State College. For the first time ever under the state’s higher education collective bargaining law, faculty unions at all four schools are negotiating contracts. Each campus is covered by a separate agreement.

Hickey said Central faculty members want a fair contract that benefits both professors and students.

“Our working environment is our students’ learning environment,” he said.

UFWS represents 2,100 faculty members who teach 30,000 students. The statewide organization is affiliated with the Washington Education Association , AFT Washington, AFT and the National Education Association.