Over the Labor Day weekend, the administration of Long Island University (LIU) announced an unprecedented lockout of all 400 members of its Brooklyn campus faculty union in the midst of ongoing contract negotiations. The AAUP deplores this action and supports the right of the LIU Brooklyn faculty to collectively bargain in good faith with its administration.

The National Labor Relations Board found today that student assistants working at private institutions are statutory employees with the right to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act. The  AAUP had filed an amicus brief in this case. "Graduate employees deserve a seat at the table and a voice in higher education. Collective bargaining can provide that," says Howard Bunsis, chair of the AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress.

The AAUP Foundation Board has approved funds to cover registration fees for up to six faculty members to attend the AAUP Shared Governance Conference and Workshops, with preference given to candidates who are likely to broaden the diversity of shared governance on their campuses. The conference will be held in Washington, DC, September 30-October 2, and applications for funding are due by September 15.