Green River Faculty Officially on Strike

The faculty have decided to go on an Unfair Labor Practice strike against the college and its administration due to concerns about potential program cuts and the handling of finances.

Jaeney Hoene, United Faculty Coalition president, said the plan is to strike for three days and then return to work.

Jamie Fitzgerald, English division chair, said the faculty are striking because of the administration’s refusal to communicate. All the faculty’s attempts to get the administration to listen to them have failed, and Fitzgerald said the strike is a signal to the state.

“We know the administration won’t do anything,” Fitzgerald said.

The faculty have a feeling of nervousness and fear, but have become energized for the strike, Hoene said. Over 100 people have signed on to participate in the strike and another 100 adjunct faculty have promised to honor the strike and not cross the picket line.

Kaite Mark, union representative for the campus, said Human Resources offered an ultimatum for the classified staff. They could take vacation days, go without pay, or work from home to honor the strike. Mark said many of the classified staff are afraid to show up to support the strike. The tenured faculty have job security and cannot be fired for the strike, but classified and adjunct faculty do not share that protection, Mark said.

Ridwan Ibrahim, ASGRC president, and Lavina Tang, ASGRC vice-president, are both concerned about the strike’s impact on students. Tang said the faculty have every right to strike, but they want the faculty to inform the students about the impact to their college lives. Ibrahim said there are going to be reactions to the strike and students are going to be mad. Some students have come to the ASGRC student senate with questions about what the strike will do to their graduation, Ibrahim said.

“It is not our responsibility to take a side,” Tang said.

The ASGRC senate wants to give the students a voice in the strike and that is the reason they spoke up about student’s concerns during the May 19 Board of Trustees meeting, Ibrahim said. 

Amanda Bentz, a criminal justice student, said this strike has been a long time coming for the faculty and she helped get students to support their instructors.

Michelle Marshman, history instructor, said the best case scenario for the strike is the Board of Trustees convince President Eileen Ely to work with the faculty. The faculty want a freeze on all cuts to programs until all hard evidence of the college’s finances can be presented, Marshman said.

Lynne Dodson, secretary treasurer for the Washington State Labor Council, said the faculty are standing up for every working person.  

“We need a leader who can set their ego aside,” Marshman said. 

The Reduction in Force notices are cutting programs that make a profit, and Marshman said the history program, which was in Q5 during the Program Prioritization Process, generates over $500,000 thousand for the college.

The faculty are hoping this will get the government to pay attention to the issues at Green River College and help, Fitzgerald said. Though the college works fairly autonomously, Hoene said, the state is trying to assess the situation and are worried about the climate on campus.

Marty Brown, executive director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, said there are fiscal issues, lost enrollment, and a decreased tuition that has impacted Green River’s finances. This has been a long simmering issue, but Brown said he thought things would have died down when the faculty got their new contract.

“Usually strikes are over contract,” Brown said.

There is uncertainty right now, Brown said, and he is worried for the students and how the strike will impact them. He said he has received calls from students about the strike and he said this will impact Green River’s reputation.

There has been no contact from the administration concerning the strike, Hoene said, but there will be a special Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, May 23 to discuss the strike. Hoene said that no one can check their Green River emails, so communication with the administration is difficult.

“There’s no solid two way dialogue, only proclamations,” Marshman said.

The faculty will return to work on Thursday, Fitzgerald said, to ensure the students are not heavily impacted by the strike.

Allison Friedly, executive director of College Relations, is not on campus for comments on the strike but she has been contacted through email.