CFA on Pension Legislation and the Role of Unions

We appreciate President Easter’s message and the efforts of the university administration during this ongoing crisis. However, it is clear to anyone following the story that the pension cuts have been avoided over the past two years or more through the efforts of the public employee unions. If the proposed and devastating cuts do go through, it is also these organizations that will be carrying on the legal fight to ensure that we receive the benefits that the state is under an obligation to provide. Experience demonstrates the need for a stronger faculty voice and the ability to exert our own pressure (as President Easter suggests in his message). This is yet another argument for collective bargaining. Individuals should not have to face the shifting winds of state politics alone.