Bristol, R.I. — The elected leaders of the faculty, support staff, and facilities bargaining units at Roger Williams University acknowledge the announced retirement of President Ioannis Miaoulis and wish him well in his next chapter.
At the same time, this leadership transition does not resolve the serious challenges facing the university community.
Over the past several months – and increasingly in recent days – our members have raised ongoing concerns about the university’s financial decision-making, including the implementation of a furlough program without transparency, meaningful engagement, or legally required bargaining.
Despite repeated requests, the administration has yet to provide sufficient financial information to justify these decisions or to support informed, good-faith dialogue. Meaningful discussions cannot take place without access to the underlying financial data or when workers are asked to engage under the threat of unilateral implementation of major workplace changes.
In response to these actions, all three unions have now filed for arbitration, and multiple Unfair Labor Practice charges have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board. Recent communications to individual employees also raise serious concerns about efforts to bypass the union and pressure workers to make individual arrangements regarding their imposed furlough – actions that are inconsistent with established labor law and further erode trust.
These decisions have had a real impact on the people who make Roger Williams University function every day – faculty, staff, and facilities workers who are deeply committed to students and to the institution’s mission. We remain concerned about a pattern of actions that has undermined trust and failed to respect the role of collective bargaining on our campus.
As the university begins a transition in leadership, it is critical that the next phase be marked by a renewed commitment to transparency, respect for workers’ rights, and good-faith engagement with campus unions. We remain prepared to pursue all appropriate avenues to protect our members and to ensure accountability.
Our unions stand ready to work collaboratively with new leadership to address these challenges and to help build a more stable and sustainable future for the entire RWU community.
This statement is attributable to Lori Medeiros, President of the Professional Support Staff; Clifford B. Murphy, Ph.D., President of the Faculty Association; and Kenneth Marshall, President of the Facilities Workers.
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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