FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2025
Contact: John O'Keefe, johnok@gmail.com
Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
Photos are available on request.
OU Faculty Engage Students and Families About Contract Negotiations
United Academics of Ohio University conducted outreach during campus move-in weekend
ATHENS, OHIO — Ohio University faculty engaged students and their families about their fight for a fair union contract today, during the university’s move-in weekend. The faculty, members of the United Academics of Ohio University (UAOU), flyered on the corner of Washington and Court Street and asked students and families to sign UAOU’s solidarity pledge. Faculty also arranged for a mobile billboard about contract negotiations to drive through campus all day.
“It’s critical that we negotiate a strong first contract because it will help OU faculty gain fair and competitive pay, greater job security, and safer and healthier workspaces at a time when higher education is under attack,” said Courtney Koestler, an Associate Professor of Teacher Education. “Legislation like SB1 is eroding academic freedom, faculty protections, vital support systems for students and faculty, all of which harm our institutions of higher education. Through collective bargaining, we can work with university leaders to secure the rights of faculty now. Having a strong and protected faculty is the foundation for high-quality education for students.”
Faculty overwhelmingly voted for union recognition in March, but Ohio University’s administration is still trying to overturn the election result, even though the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) ruled that OU’s objection was without merit. UAOU’s union contract will be the first new public higher education contract after the implementation of SB 1, which went into effect in June. SB 1 is an extreme new law that strips faculty of some collective bargaining rights, overloads administration with unfunded mandates, and demolishes bedrock principles of academic freedom.
“The OU Administration has made it clear that we are on our own after the passage of SB 1,” said Matthew deTar, an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Culture. “Faculty and university leaders should be working together in an ‘all hands on deck’ moment to defend higher education for our students. Instead, university administrators are wasting university money by diverting precious resources to fight against a fair contract and wasting faculty time by repeatedly canceling bargaining meetings that we have prepared for. We need a strong first contract because it is now only faculty who seem interested in defending the educational mission of OU.”
Messages displayed on the mobile billboard include: “Faculty and Students Deserve a Fair Contract Now,” “OU President Gonzalez, Stop Sending Our Money to Lawyers Instead of Investing in Faculty and Students,” and “Tell OU Administration: Stop Stalling!” A QR code on the billboard directs people toward a “Solidarity Statement with the United Academics of Ohio University” that students and community members are signing in support.
“We appreciate all the students and other members of our university community who are speaking out and standing up in support of a fair contract for faculty,” said Jackie Tudor, an Associate Professor of Biology, at OU’s Lancaster campus. “They know that when we have a voice, we can push back on Senate Bill 1, a sham piece of legislation that leaves Ohio's public institutions unable to protect academic freedom, produce research that improves the lives of millions, and set standards of excellence. Ohio University's AFT-AAUP chapter refuses to allow senseless regulation to interfere with academic freedom and the ability of students to improve their lives.
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UAOU is affiliated with the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, and the American Federation of Teachers.