KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — There was a rally on Campus on Monday afternoon as one of the teacher’s unions at Western Michigan University expressed their disappointment with the college over compensation.
While contract talks were ongoing inside WMU’s Fetzer Center, the group outside held signs and rallied in front of the building.
President Thomas Fisher represents about 450 members of the Teachers Assistants Union, who make only about 14-thousand a year, with no benefits and no guarantee of work beyond the next semester, despite all the work they do.
“The three main principles that we’re focusing on is a living wage, fairness and respect,” said Fisher. While he was reluctant to go into details with talks underway, the TAU President said that they did have some general goals in the negotiations.
“Either have secondary instructional roles so we’re supporting faculty members in teaching courses. A lot of us are also primary instructors, so we are responsible for teaching a class,” said Fisher.
All three of the Professor’s Unions have expressed deep disappointment in how they have been treated during the pandemic while also being sharply critical of University administrators as enrollments are dropping nationwide as higher education continues to reshape its role to fit the times.
Monday’s planned demonstration followed months of concerns raised by the TAU and other unions on campus regarding an apparent shift in values on the part of WMU’s administration and Board of Trustees.
REPORTING BY: John McNeill
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