AFT President to Green River College: Stop the Manufactured Crisis

WASHINGTON—Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the second day of the Green River United Faculty Coalition strike:

"Green River College has trumped up a manufactured budget crisis as an excuse to cut 11 academic programs. The college wants to cut popular programs so it can move ahead with its pet projects, like constructing and renovating buildings. Green River College leaders are ignoring students, faculty and political and community allies, who agree that there is no budget crisis and no need to eliminate programs that students want and to lay off faculty. The cuts will devastate the academic integrity of Green River College and the community it serves.

"By not consulting with the faculty, as the union's contract requires, the college is engaging in an unfair labor practice and is using the cuts, for which there is no legitimate justification, to retaliate against the union. Indeed, the college's activity shows the absolute need for academic freedom, which is embedded in the contract's consultation clause. And given students' overwhelming support for their instructors, Green River College leaders know that their actions are harming the very people who rely on the college's course offerings to eventually enter the job market or move on to a four-year institution."