There is a viable alternative to AFMSU: faculty governance

AFMSU has proven to be an ineffective and costly addition to MSU bureaucracy. Faculty members should consider replacing collective bargaining with faculty governance based on principles and standards defined by faculty consensus, not by an AFMSU bargaining team and executive committee that have little appreciation for the diverse needs and priorities of individual faculty members. Faculty governance works well at other universities, and it has and can continue to work well here. We suggest that faculty could bring about a cultural change at MSU by becoming more involved and proactive, perhaps by reforming Faculty Senate as a starting point, coupled with efforts to facilitate comity and collegiality to strengthen the faculty community.  Faculty are now demanding changes from Administration; the response of the administration shows that MSU’s faculty do have power if they choose to act. Most importantly, MSU’s TT faculty do not need a union to bring about change.  The faculty are the university. We urge you to join us in decertifying AFMSU so the faculty can move forward in our efforts to improve excellence in teaching, the production of knowledge, and an environment that fosters creativity.