PSU-AAUP: we have a lot of fight!

by José Padín, President

Our membership is up. Up to 84%!

We have elected a new Vice President for Membership and Organizing, our colleague Jennifer Kerns from the History Department.

Our leadership has seen an infusion of new blood from member ranks in the last year. The “freshman class” includes three members of our Executive Council, Jennifer Kerns (VP Organizing, History) and Amanda Byron (VP Grievances, Conflict Resolution), and John Newton (Councilor, Music); and three members of our Collective Bargaining Team, Michael Clark (English), Theresa Kaimanu (College of Urban and Public Affairs), and Courtney Bailey (Student Activities and Leadership Program). Finally, we have three members who are running for elective office, for Executive Council, for the first time.

The third of our “Faculty/Academic Professionals Matters” Conversations, “LGBTQ in the Workplace,” was well attended, vibrant, and planted the seed for establishing an LGBTQ caucus in our union.

At the winter-term member meeting we had a full house and there were animated conversations about ways to respond to online attacks on faculty and to the national policies creating fear among our minority and international students.

Higher education, public education, and labor are under attack. It is an inspiring sign of the times that PSU faculty and academic professionals are not standing by passively.