After months of trying to get Alabama State University to focus on issues of priority to the faculty, staff and students of the university, the community tried a new tack. On Dec. 13, they staged a silent protest near the president's office. They held signs reading "Fair Pay, Fair Play" and "I am a Man," evoking slogans from the struggle for civil rights.

The demonstration was sponsored by the Faculty-Staff Alliance (the nonbargaining AFT local representing faculty and staff at the university) and the Student Government Association. Their grievances include lack of respect, wages that leave some employees and their families living below the poverty level, and an ineffective means of participating in collective bargaining.

The most pressing issue of all is the staff's right to earn a livable wage. "The president makes $14,000 a month, and we have full-time people here who earn $15,000 a year," says Derryn Moten, chairman of the ASU faculty senate and co-president of the FSA/AFT.

In September, Moten addressed the ASU board of trustees. The community reaction, he says, "has been Ôright on!' The trustees have been put in the position of having to answer questions they don't like."

The FSA is seeking the university's voluntary recognition of the union because there is no collective bargaining law in Alabama. Since its inception, the union has grown in numbers and strength, especially because it now shares its leaders with the faculty senate. In addition to trying to improve the working conditions of the employees on campus, the union is seeking to play a greater role in academics. The university's current graduation rate is less than 25 percent. The faculty would like to see tougher admissions standards.

"Ultimately, our goal is to move the university forward," says Moten. In early January, the president agreed to talk.  [Barbara McKenna / AFT On Campus]

[March 17, 2003]