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Saint Martin’s faculty, students walk out over union opposition

UPDATE (Mar. 2, 2017) — In the Olympian — Saint Martin’s University students, faculty hold one-day walkout — About 75 students, faculty members and union supporters rallied Wednesday in the Quad at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey. It was part of a day-long walkout organized by members of the SEIU Local 925, which represents the university’s contingent and adjunct faculty members.


LACEY (March 1, 2017) — Faculty and students at Saint Martin’s University plan to walk out of class and picket today to demand that university officials “give up their union opposition for Lent” and negotiate with the federally certified faculty union. A rally will be held at 10 a.m. at the university’s Old Main Stairs, 5000 Abbey Way SE in Lacey, and all are invited to attend and show their solidarity.

Saint Martin’s University has refused to negotiate with their contingent faculty, who voted to form a union and join SEIU 925 in June 2016. While the National Labor Relations Board certified the election results, the Catholic university argues it is exempt from the jurisdiction of the NLRB.

Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent, observed in many Christian traditions as a season of penance, fasting and self-denial. In the spirit of the Lenten season, students and faculty will again ask the university to stop spending student tuition money on blocking the faculty union. Saint Martin’s students and faculty will walk out of classrooms to demand the university to negotiate in good faith with the duly elected union.

 

Washington Faculty Forward is a project of SEIU 925, a member of the nation’s largest and fastest growing union SEIU (Service Employees International Union). SEIU is home to over 18,000 unionized college and university faculty who have won improvements in pay, job security, evaluation processes, and access to retirement benefits.

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