AAUP makes a statement re: SB 5

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110218/EDIT02/102190353/Bill-would-weaken-Ohio

Bill would weaken Ohio

AAUP-UC PRES. JOHN T. McNAY
Feb. 18, 2011

About the author: John T. McNay, a history professor at Raymond Walters College, is president of AAUP-University of Cincinnati.

Ohio Senate Bill 5 is a radical bill that will undermine the quality of work performed for the Ohio public and almost certainly result in massive full-time job losses - not what Ohio needs. Without the safeguards of contracts, firemen, policemen, nurses and teachers will lose the ability to do their jobs safely and efficiently.

Yet, even the bill's sponsor, Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, facing questions from other senators, declined to identify any immediate savings. She argued instead that the primary goal was employer "flexibility." So, if the bill's sponsor chooses not to identify real savings, what is it really for?

The University of Cincinnati's 1,750 full-time professors have engaged in collective bargaining as an American Association of University Professors chapter since 1975. Statewide, the AAUP represents faculty at 11 other colleges and universities. Nationally, the AAUP was created in 1900 to defend the right of professors to teach without fear of political reprisal. Being able to teach students and engage in research that benefits the public without fear is what makes the university a great place for students and faculty alike.

The AAUP champions shared governance in which faculty and administrators share in the decision-making process to ensure quality education and good financial stewardship. It is our experience that decisions made solely by business managers or accountants end in failure.

If Sen. Jones' proposed bill were to pass, we can expect an erosion of basic salaries, benefits and working conditions which will inevitably mean the departure of great numbers of fine faculty. It could mean the departure of many scientists who would take with them millions of dollars in research funding as well.

This legislation will produce a race to the bottom that will turn our fine universities into third-rate institutions. We ask for Bearcats everywhere and the public at large to join with us to defend UC and higher education statewide. We've all got to tighten our belts. But attacking the people who teach and generate the research and investments we need to take Ohio forward isn't the way.