About 15 SLU union members attended this meeting, and we covered four major areas from the agenda.

The meeting began with a wide-ranging conversation considering SLU’s response to the election and how to begin affirming and fortifying the college’s values and communities. Co-workers were clear in the need for providing and safeguarding material support for SLU’s immigrant students and brought up support for our queer community members. Faculty workers reported on the student experience in the classroom since the election results, noting an array of student responses from acute emotional distress, renewed energy for action and organizing, and looking towards SLU as a site of support and solidarity. Co-workers also discussed the initial responses from SLU and CUNY managements in the wake of election results, and in contrast to the 2016 post-election moment. Co-workers reporting back from a number of different SLU spaces and meetings all emphasized the clear messaging of  “non-partisanship” and “freedom of speech” positions from the college’s senior leadership. This stance on the part of our college stands in contrast to SLU’s mission as a social justice institution and labor school, prompting co-workers to discuss ways our union could better actualize that mission. For initial next steps, co-workers suggested connecting with the SLU Student Union, pushing administration on the long-running issue of providing scholarship funds to undocumented students, as well as considering the broader SLU budget for ways to effectively marshal resources.

The next item on the agenda was bargaining updates. Co-workers noted how the post-election results and projected austerity could negatively impact the contract. With intense bargaining  underway, the potential to settle tentatively as soon as the end of the semester. In this critical period both in the current contract fight and in light of impending vulnerability for organized labor and the public sector, co-workers stressed the importance of turning out to bargaining, especially with the tentative offer from management still far from matching inflation.

Finally, we concluded our union meeting discussing ongoing workplace issues and Labor Management planning. Co-workers raised several issues to be potentially moved forward in LM planning for our next LM agenda, including: the need to extend solidarity to IT colleagues in DC37, inconsistencies in adjunct reappointment letters, clarity needed in new HR processes, and issues with HEO hiring and NTA payments.