Bristol, R.I. — Members of the Roger Williams University faculty, professional support staff, and facilities unions submitted a petition to the Board of Trustees on Wednesday calling on them to invoke their authority as university fiduciaries and stop the furlough plan announced by University President Ioannis Miaoulis on November 13.
The petition, signed by more than 200 RWU union workers, describes the imposed furlough as unlawful, unfair, and unnecessary, and urges the Board of Trustees to revoke the plan immediately and work collaboratively with employees to address the university’s financial challenges without forcing workers to absorb the cost.
“Employees across this campus work every day to support students, maintain facilities, and uphold the academic mission of the university,” said NEARI Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Azevedo. “The administration’s unilateral decision to impose a furlough violates federal labor law and multiple collective bargaining agreements, and it places the heaviest burden on the lowest-paid workers. The Board has both the authority and the responsibility to intervene.
"Because the university has no authority to impose furloughs without good faith bargaining, the three bargaining units will not be submitting any forms to Human Resources regarding acceptable furlough dates," added Azevedo.
Union members say the manner in which the furlough was announced – via email and without prior consultation – and subsequent statements by the administration to the media mischaracterizing the communications between the parties have further eroded trust and damaged morale across campus.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the university came to the community, shared the facts, and worked collectively toward solutions," said RWU Professional Support Staff Association President Lori Medeiros. “That did not happen here. This financial crisis was foreseeable and preventable, and there are alternatives that do not involve taking wages from workers who are already struggling to make ends meet.”
The petition appeals directly to Trustees, urging them to act in the best interest of the university’s long-term financial health and reputation, calling the furlough a short-sighted decision that has divided the university community rather than uniting it.
In a separate letter following submission of the petition, Azevedo communicated to the Board the actions that the union has taken following the furlough announcement, which she previewed in a letter sent on November 24 to the RWU General Counsel.
All three bargaining units on campus filed grievances asserting that the action constitutes violations of various provisions of their respective collective bargaining agreements. Azevedo also reiterated that the program was an unlawful unilateral change to terms and conditions of employment and that a formal request to bargain had been, in at least one instance, ignored. NEARI also submitted an extensive request for financial records related to the university’s fiscal claims, the vast majority of which were never produced aside from that which was already publicly available. Federal law requires the university to produce this information in connection with bargaining and prosecuting grievances.
“Our members will continue our work as scheduled and contracted,” said Clifford B. Murphy, Ph.D., president of the RWU Faculty Association. “If the administration proceeds, it will be acting unlawfully and without our consent. We will not abet them in violating our contract or the law.”
The full petition to the Board of Trustees is available here: [link to petition]
The Azevedo letter is available here: [link to letter]
NEARI’s November 24 legal letter regarding the furlough plan is available here: [link to 11/24 letter]
RWU CFO Gloria Arcia December 3 Response Letter [link to CFO letter]
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The National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI) is a union and professional organization with a proud history of serving Rhode Island since 1845. NEARI is 12,000 members strong, we are classroom teachers; education support professionals; higher education faculty, staff, and graduate assistants; municipal and state workers; and retirees. We are affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA) and RI AFL-CIO. Learn more at www.neari.org.
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