No new bargaining sessions have been set since the College canceled the bargaining that was scheduled last Thursday, April 10.
Since the WOAW union went on strike March 27, the College and WOAW have met for three bargaining sessions. There was some movement towards more tentative agreements between WOAW and the College on the following articles: Prohibition for Discrimination and Harassment, Recognition, Union Rights and Access and Dining. The News previously reported that disagreement still remains on larger issues such as Compensation, Workload and Reappointment.
On Wednesday, April 9, Provost Courtney Coile and Carolyn Slaboden, Chief Human Resources Officer sent out a college FYI to the Wellesley community, which stated, “We believe holding bargaining sessions during which the College offers proposals that the UAW refuses to consider is fruitless and will not advance our shared goal of finalizing a contract.”
Initially, a bargaining session was scheduled for the afternoon the next day. However, the College canceled this bargaining session.
A spokesperson for the College told the News:
“Based on lack of progress across a range of issues at recent bargaining sessions, the College asked the union for a clear demonstration of willingness to make meaningful progress in negotiations or to agree to pursue mediation. The union has not demonstrated such willingness and so today’s scheduled bargaining session did not take place.”
The union described being “disappointed” by this cancellation in an email and website update.
“We were prepared for a productive session on Thursday, ready to ask the College questions to better understand their positions and to clarify ours,” read the statement.
The statement also addressed the College’s continued calls for a private mediator.
“Our members do not have confidence that mediation will prove productive considering the College’s bargaining history,” stated WOAW in their update, “Mediators do not settle disputes; both sides need to explain their positions and be open to compromise.”
Future bargaining sessions remain unscheduled as the College and WOAW remain at odds over whether to engage in private mediation or continue bargaining.
“We look forward to meeting again when the union shows a renewed willingness to engage in good faith bargaining,” a spokesperson for the College told the News.
WOAW has also asked the College to schedule additional bargaining sessions every day this week except for Thursday. However, it seems unlikely that bargaining will occur if this stalemate continues.
In the meantime, WOAW members told the News in an email statement that they hope the College returns to bargaining but “are prepared to take legal action if they refuse to do so.” The union has already filed two Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) with the National Labor Relations Board against the College for “coercive rules and threats to Union members” and for a “unilateral change to a mandatory subject of bargaining and [the College] refused to bargain with the Union upon request.”
Community events
On Wednesday, April 9, Provost Coile attended a tea at Tower Court. Students asked her questions about a variety of campus issues, such as her role as Provost, the College’s responses to threats to higher education, but focused primarily on the College’s response to the strike.
Coile noted that while she does not attend bargaining, she is actively involved in College responses after each session. She also emphasized that both she and other members of campus administration, including Megan Nunez, Dean of Faculty Affairs, who does attend bargaining on behalf of the College, know non-tenure track faculty personally and professionally.
“All of us are friends with people in the bargaining unit, [we] know what their contributions are,” said Coile.
Coile defended the College’s plan that will reduce striking NTT classes to 0.5 units at the end of the semester, which has forced many students to enroll in new classes to maintain eligibility for graduation, athletics, financial aid and visa status. Coile said that this plan and new registration were meant to ensure that every student met all credit guidelines. When asked further about the plan, Coile noted that this was a second plan after they failed to find enough professors to cover striking classes.
“I have yet to hear somebody suggest something else that we could have done,” said Coile.
On Friday, April 11, WOAW and Wellesley’s Union and Labor Advocacy Taskforce (UniLAd) held a community cookout at a union member’s house. The event had catering and was attended by both students and union faculty.
Phoebe Rebhorn contributed to reporting.
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Sazma Sarwar, Galeta Sandercock, and Valida Pau.
Updated on April 15 at 8:49pm to reflect more recent statements from WOAW.
