Hands Off St. John’s! Faculty Unions Rally Outside Madison Square Garden

On Wednesday, the St. John’s University AAUP chapter, along with students, allies in the Labor Movement including the CLC, candidates and religious leaders kicked off SJU’s basketball team’s participation in the Big East March Madness Tournament by demanding that Father Shanley get back to the bargaining table, because union busting is a flagrant foul. The rally was held outside Madison Square Garden, site of the Big East Tournament.

Speakers called on the university administration to reverse its decision to end recognition of its two unions that were formed in 1970—the St. John’s University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (SJU-AAUP) and the Faculty Association (FA)—and to return to negotiations. Faculty members warned that the move threatens decades of collective bargaining at the university and undermines the rights and working conditions of the educators who teach and mentor St. John’s students.

The rally was part of an ongoing campaign by faculty and their supporters to defend the unions and push the administration back to the bargaining table. Show your support by signing the petition that tells Father Shanley to keep hands off St. John’s Faculty Unions!