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#LIULockout and the Librarians Part 2

September 14, 2016

Over the Labour Day weekend, the administration at Long Island University (LIU) in New York locked out all 400 faculty members of its Brooklyn campus, including librarians. Librarianship.ca has invited librarians from LIU Brooklyn share their perspectives on the lockout and its impacts.

As Professor Gloria Wilson mentioned in the first blog post the near 400 faculty members of Long Island University (LIU) were locked out at midnight on Saturday, September 2nd, 2016. Long Island University President Kimberly Cline declared the lock out before the union voted on the contract proposal. This meant no salary and no healthcare (including dependents) unless fully funded by the employees for a cost beginning at a little more than $1,000 and reaching into the multiples of thousands of dollars, per month.

But it meant more.

It meant the past eight days students have not learned despite Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and University Counsel of LIU Gale Haynes insistence on LIU being “laser focused” on our students.”

It meant an administrator resigning rather than teaching a class in the role of scab.

It meant the galvanizing of a union that refused to allow for adjuncts to suffer as much as a 40% reduction in pay and benefits combined.

It meant the rejection of librarians being forced to work more for less pay.

It meant the President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten and New York City Public Advocate Letitia James passionate speeches at the gates of LIU and the support of the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association President Julie Todaro.

Gale Haynes, is this laser focus? The report of a physics class that waited an hour and yet the scab instructor had not showed? One student within the class tweeted she was “begging for an education right now.” Or perhaps this is what Ms. Haynes meant by laser focused; administrators assigned to teach 42 and 55 credits this semester. Ms. Haynes your laser has misfired.

One administrator refused to teach six credits let alone the 42-55 mentioned above. Sam Schreiber resigned. He stated that “crossing a picket line is a hard sell” and that being a scab was not even a question for him. As an administrator he needed to work with faculty and did not want to poison the relationship.

Rest assured we want to end this lockout. We want to be back in the library and in the classrooms providing the critical thinking skills and knowledge that our students came to LIU to receive. We want to end this fairly. LIU President Kimberly Cline is fond of saying that the university has saved $30M dollars the past fiscal year. If so, than the statement that our demands were not viable financially ring hollow. Our wage requests are modest; negotiating for equal pay with our sister campus, LIU Post, is a rational and just position.

There is one lesson being taught at LIU; a lesson in fraudulence. The students know they are getting the short shrift. They have organized walkouts, marched on campus, and withdrawn from classes to express their opposition.

I can assure you we are not of the mind to break LIU financially. What we want is to teach our students.

Please follow #liulockout #liuwalkout #liuresolve and the Long Island Faculty Federation twitter account, @LIU_FF for updates.

Thank You
Chuck Guarria MSLIS MSES
Associate Professor/Librarian
Long Island University

One reply on “#LIULockout and the Librarians Part 2”

  • Chuck says:

    Update: The lockout is over. A mediator is being brought in. http://www.liuff.net/blog/2016/09/14/lockout-over/

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