Three Western Michigan University unions issue historic joint No Confidence Resolution

In a dramatic expression of long-term dissatisfaction and concern, all three of Western Michigan University’s academic labor unions—WMU-TAU (teaching assistants), WMU-PIO (part-time instructors), and WMU-AAUP (Board-appointed faculty)—all members of the AFT—have voted No Confidence in WMU President Montgomery. The resolution cites numerous failures to responsibly steward the university, including “insufficient investment in teaching assistants, professors, and instructors,” “anti-union” tactics, and indifference to long standing employee concerns. “Western needs to turn things around quickly to become a great place to learn and work, and we’re trying to focus attention on that,” said PIO President Tim Bober. It’s a point echoed by TAU President Thomas Fisher: “The university is at a crossroads. It has to decide if it’s going to keep chasing away instructors and students or start investing in them again.” 

While the violations identified in the resolution are longstanding, the timing of this vote, amid protracted, controversial salary negotiations between WMU and the faculty is not an accident. “The University is going through the motions of negotiating raises right now, but it’s clear they’re trying to force us into accepting a low offer,” explained WMU-AAUP President Cathryn Bailey. Although the Administration is contractually obligated to continue to negotiate past the lapsed August 30 deadline, they are “stonewalling and foot dragging,” she said, adding that “the low compensation offer is symptomatic of the Administration’s ongoing, long term disinvestment in academics.” The No Confidence resolution comes amid numerous other WMU-AAUP labor actions, including various demonstrations and ongoing consideration of a faculty strike. That the Administration is “bending over backwards” to try to force the faculty to accept “the lowest raise it thinks it can get away with” at the same time it “crows about” enrollment increases shows the value it places on faculty, Bailey said. 

There is another interesting aspect of the timing surrounding the No Confidence resolution, according to WMU’s three academic labor presidents. When these three labor leaders agreed to ask their members to participate in a Vote of No Confidence in the university’s president, they did so, they said, fully expecting the Administration to try to minimize the action. So, when WMU President Montgomery announced last week— on the same morning the vote was to be sent to many members—his plan to retire next June, “we laughed,” says Fisher. He added that “they [the Administration] knew this vote was coming and, rather than just actually acknowledge and address the problems, once again they’re looking for a way to avoid them.” 

Bober agreed, explaining that “the Administration would love nothing more than to distract people from the really serious problems the resolution identifies by pretending that this is all about one guy [President Montgomery].” And while these three labor presidents agree that President Montgomery has been instrumental in developing and implementing the university’s failed practices and policies, he is merely a symbol of the leadership’s failure as a whole, according to Bailey, Bober, and Fisher. To underscore the point, Bailey noted that a number of her colleagues suggested that the No Confidence resolution focus on WMU’s Board of Trustees rather than President Montgomery since they are responsible for overseeing the WMU president. 

And, in fact, the role of the Board of Trustees is a sore spot for many of WMU’s academic employees, given that they have consistently continued to authorize compensation increases for Montgomery during the past seven years and also to publicly praise his performance. In fact, just one day after Western’s faculty overwhelmingly voted No Confidence in Montgomery in 2021, the Board approved a $75,000 bonus for him. “If the Board has been paying any attention at all to our concerns, we have no evidence for it,” says Bober. He added that “All we ever hear from them is what a great job the Administration is doing.” Fisher agreed, noting that [this No Confidence Resolution] should “serve as a road map” for any future WMU administrators the Board chooses to hire and empower. “Regardless of the fact that he’s retiring, we expect the Board to make sure Montgomery spends every single day of his nine remaining months fixing the problems identified in this resolution and to use it [No Confidence Resolution] as a standard for future presidents to uphold,” Fisher says. 

Below is the full text of the No Confidence Resolution, officially issued today, September 20, 2024

Be it resolved that Western Michigan University’s three academic unions stand united in expressing that our memberships—separately and combined—have No Confidence in President Edward Montgomery. The WMU-Professional Instructors Organization, the WMU-Teaching Assistants Union, and the WMU-American Association of University Professors issue this resolution for reasons including but not limited to the following:

• a failure to responsibly steward WMU’s core academic mission, as evidenced, in part, by chronically insufficient investment in teaching assistants, professors, and instructors 
• a failure to responsibly administer academic labor relations, as evidenced, in part, by the president’s use of an aggressively anti-union law firm, his failure to appoint an appropriate Director of Academic Labor Relations Director, and an unacceptable number of contractual and labor law violations by WMU which have lead to grievances, arbitrations and unfair labor practices complaints
• a chronic failure to be responsive to reasonable employee concerns that have long suggested a crisis of morale at WMU, resulting in premature resignations and retirements, job dissatisfaction, and an inability to attract and retain new employees

Action update: All WMU-AAUP members and allies are urged to attend next week’s Board of Trustees meeting (Thurs., Sept 26) scheduled to begin at noon in the Student Center. Please wear your WMU-AAUP t-shirt if you’ve got one or a black shirt if you don’t.