Torch Photo / Nicholas St. Cyr
The St. John’s University chapter of the American Association of University Professors (SJU AAUP) and the Faculty Association (FA), as well as their supporters, gathered in front of Madison Square Garden on March 11 for a second “Hands Off St. John’s Faculty Unions” rally. This was announced in a press release following Rev. Brian J. Shanley’s decision to end negotiations with University unions.
The event featured speeches from students, faculty and labor leaders in front of a crowd of concerned supporters.
“We think that it is really important to stand with our professors and support them when they are bargaining with the university and to use our power as students to support our professors just like they support us,” concerned St. John’s student Sara Kirkman told The Torch in an interview.
“We feel the instability of the professors when they are being exploited and overworked and underpaid,” St. John’s student speaker Kai Hall said in an interview with The Torch.
As St. John’s Men’s Basketball begins its hunt for the Big East Tournament trophy, the University’s professors returned to their 253rd day of working without a contract.
The timing and location of this second rally were chosen to call out the current University Administration’s perceived bias toward athletics over academics and faculty working conditions.
“They have increased spending on athletics by 10% while cutting instructional budgets by 3.7%,” Christopher Denny, President of the FA, said in an interview with The Torch.
“So when students go into buildings like St. John’s or St. Albert’s Hall and see the state of disrepair, and then you see they are putting 27 million dollars into a practice facility, I think that just illustrates visually where Father Shanley’s priorities are right now. They are not in the classroom,” he added.
The rally was administered by St. John’s University English Professor Raj Chetty, who led an assortment of chants that called out the University administration in between speeches. The most prominent being “What’s disgusting? Union busting!”
Unlike the previous rally in front of the D’Angelo Center (DAC), speakers not directly associated with St. John’s were able to take center stage without interference from Public Safety.
One of these speakers included former New York City Comptroller and current candidate for New York’s 10th congressional district, Brad Lander, who expressed his disappointment with St. John’s University administration.
“This is a betrayal of the values of St. John’s.” Lander said, “It is a very dangerous canary in the coal mine at this moment of alarm fire for our democracy. This is a huge moment of authoritarian pressure, to undermine the values of your own institution for small-minded, narrow purposes, that will not serve the broader values of higher Catholic education,” he added.
The president of the Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York, James C. Davis, was also present in support of the University faculty unions.
“Our siblings at St. John’s had the great temerity to ask for raises that at least keep pace with inflation, they had the nerve to ask for predictable and modest healthcare costs, they had the nerve to ask for job security for full-time contract faculty. That’s not too much to ask for, yet this university administration, after 56 years, has the nerve to walk away,” Davis said.
“We should make sure that Father Shanley knows this is now a pariah administration. We’re gonna fight all the way, not just for recognition again, but to a great contract,” he concluded.
The faculty unions are prepared to continue the fight for a new collective bargaining agreement. They concluded the rally by campaigning for more support in person and digitally through social media pressure and signing the petition.
“Extend this rally digitally. We were here for an hour, but we can keep this going for days if they see us popping up online. In basketball terms, they call that taking up space in the paint. I need you to take up space in digital paint.” Equity Advocate for the SJU AAUP, Jeremy Cruz said.
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