BGSUFA

Know the Facts: Adversarial Relationships?

In a prepared statement, KSU President Carol Cartwright said, “We are not only
pleased with the tentative agreement that has been reached by the faculty and
the university but with the respectful process that has allowed both sides to
communicate openly in order to move closer to our contract.”
—The Plain Dealer, 12 September 1995

Does collective bargaining lead to an excessively adversarial relationship between faculty and
administrators? The BGSU-FA does not believe so. In fact, we would suggest that exactly the
opposite is true. By reducing uncertainty, frustration and fear collective bargaining can
strengthen collegiality and respect between faculty and administrators at BGSU.

Frustration and fear are significant causes of conflict. Because of lagging salaries, BGSU faculty
members feel underappreciated. But, perhaps even more importantly, we feel frustrated
because it seems like we can't do anything about it. For too many years our salaries have
ranked near the bottom for public universities in Ohio. Committees make recommendations
that administrators politely ignore (or promise to do something about before departing from
BGSU), and the situation remains the same or worsens.

During our hundreds of conversations, colleagues have shared with us many fears about the
future of BGSU. What is going to happen to our health care benefits? Will class sizes increase?
Will departments, programs, schools and colleges be consolidated or eliminated? These (and
many more) are the legitimate fears of faculty members who are committing themselves to a
career at BGSU. Conflict is only increased when faculty members are made to feel like their
concerns don't matter, and that our ideas are not to be taken seriously.

While we all want what is best for the university, faculty and central administrators see BGSU
from different perspectives. Even with good hearts and sincere wishes to do what each believes
is best for the university, because of the different places from which we view the institution,
faculty and administrators are not always going to agree on exactly what is best, nor how to
achieve it. These differences are only natural. So, the real question is how to manage the
conflicts that arise from these differences of perspective, not how to eliminate them.

Collective bargaining provides a transparent and democratic process for solving these conflicts.
Frustration dissipates as we gain actual power to negotiate our salaries, benefits and teaching
conditions. Conflict based on fear of the future subsides when we all look realistically at the
problems we face, and work together to solve them in an atmosphere of respect that is only
achieved when our goal is to negotiate a contract, not engage in a never-ending conversation.

By reducing uncertainty, fear and frustration, collective bargaining will greatly improve the
relationship between faculty and the central administration at BGSU.