Queens Congressmembers Grace Meng and Gregory Meeks joined a growing coalition of protesters calling on St. John’s University to reverse its decision not to recognize two unions representing the school’s faculty in the midst of collective bargaining last month.
Photo via SJU-AAUP
Queens Congressmembers Grace Meng and Gregory Meeks urged the head of St. John’s University to reverse the school’s decision not to recognize the unions that represent its faculty, joining a growing coalition of protesters advocating for SJU faculty.
Yesterday, in a letter penned to St. John’s President Rev. Brian Shanley, both Meng and Meeks called for the university to return to the bargaining table and engage in good-faith negotiations with its faculty to reach a fair contract.
“This move by the SJU administration is deeply concerning and should not have happened,” Meng said. “It is an attack on workers’ rights, and I stand with the unions during this challenging and unfortunate time. I continue to support their efforts to negotiate a fair contract and I’ll continue calling for this decision to be reversed.”
“I’m disappointed that SJU has chosen not to recognize the American Association of University Professors and the Faculty Association as bargaining representatives for university staff,” Meeks said. “Educators deserve a meaningful voice in the decisions that shape their classrooms and students. I hope SJU will reconsider their decision and engage in a constructive dialogue moving forward.”
The March 19 letter penned by Congressmembers Grace Meng and Gregory Meeks to St. John’s president, Rev. Brian Shanley. Photo courtesy of the Office of Rep. Grace Meng
St. John’s decision was announced last month when the administration informed faculty that it would stop recognizing the two unions that represent university staff. The decision came as negotiations were underway for a new contract.
Pressure on the Queens-based school has continued to mount since Feb. 26, when students and faculty rallied in support of the St. John’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (SJU-AAUP) and its partner union, the Faculty Association (FA), which have been recognized by the university since 1970.
Together, AAUP and FA represent over 1,100 full-time and part-time faculty members.
On March 11, former City Comptroller Brad Lander joined students, faculty and representatives from other faculty unions and labor organizations to protest the university’s decision, as well.
According to previous reporting by QNS, a spokesperson for St. John’s said the university did not take the decision lightly, but it was necessary to advance St. John’s “organizational mission.”
“This will allow St. John’s the flexibility required to innovate while continuing to support our faculty and, most importantly, deliver on our promise to our students,” a university spokesperson said in a statement last month. “As the landscape of higher education undergoes a profound transformation, our commitment to providing an exceptional and sustainable educational experience consistent with our mission requires us to be agile and innovative.”
In an updated statement on March 11, a St. John’s spokesperson claimed the university was working directly with its faculty and adopting a “direct-engagement model that is the standard for the overwhelming majority of universities nationwide.”
However, Christopher Denny, president of the St. John’s FA chapter, called on St. John’s President Shanley to uphold and honor the tradition of Catholic social teaching, just as the previous four presidents of the university had done.
“President Shanley cannot simultaneously claim to respect our educators while attempting to bust the St. John’s unions,” Denny said. “As St. Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1981 encyclical On Human Work, unions are ‘a mouthpiece for the struggle for social justice, for the just rights of working people.’”
“President Shanley walked away from bargaining with his faculty without warning and without respect for New York State labor law,” added Sophie Bell, acting president of AAUP’s SJU chapter. “He can return just as easily, and he should do so today.”