Salaries among contract issues. About 300 Winona Sate people. mostly members of the State University Administrative and Service Faculty union, marched through campus for a new contract and pay adjustments.
Labor strike could cripple new semester
WINONA, Minn. – In less than a week an 1,600 new students, mostly freshmen, will arrive at Winona State University for orientation for fall semester — amid a pending strike by 111 campus program managers that could cripple operations. Members of the managers’ union, a Teamster unit, staged a demonstration to alert the public how close to the brink that negotiations have come with the MinnState university system. Unless an agreement is reached in a final round of negotiations, scheduled in St. Paul on Tuesday, the union has served notice it will strike on August 22 — the second day of fall classes. A strike also would hit six additional MinnState campuses. The union’s demonstration Thursday at Winona State was organized as “an informational picket line.” The campus managers, who run core support programs, were joined by dozens of students and some members of the faculty, who belong to another union. Their placards emphasized salaries. Some managers complained that barely make it paycheck to paycheck. These managers run programs including:
> Admissions.
> Advising.
> Cultural diversity.
> Financial aid.
> Health services.
> Intramurals.
> Academic records.
> Dorm life.
> Student affairs.
> Sports information.
MinnState response
Responding the news media inquiries, MinnState administrators in St Paul issued a statement that contingency plans are in place in case of a strike. “Essential services” will continue to be offered, the statement said.
Student impact
Confusion always reigns at the start of a fall semester, especially for 18-year-old freshen away from home in a new environment for the first time This is the make-u-up of the new arrivals:
> 1,170 new first-time students.
> 390 new students with a previous degree.
> 88 transfers from other colleges.
Strike vote
The State University Administrative and Service Faculty union has 11 members at Winona State. The membership statewide has voted 93% authorize a strike.