Take the OU Workers United Pledge to Act for the Common Good

But we make a grave error if we try to separate

individual well-being from the health of the whole.

-Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

As the OU Community pleads with administration to make the life-saving and responsible decision to move all operations online, OU officials insist that such a move would necessarily result in furloughs and layoffs for staff whose work is “not necessary in an online environment.” University administration has been remarkably unforthcoming about sharing vital information about COVID-19 on campus, the decision-making process for moving online, and how decisions about furloughs and layoffs will be made. But as numbers of new COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma rise and the state has been designated a “Red Zone” by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, it appears inevitable that the University will be forced to move online within days of starting, as has been the case for several universities with similar reopening plans.

It is time to build the University we want and need: a University where all workers are respected and valued, and where a long-term vision is nurtured and sustained. In order to build that community, we must prepare to fight for one another. Student workers, staff (including full-time, temporary/PEAK, part-time, or contracted), graduate assistants, or faculty (including tenured, tenure-track, or contingent)--we are all workers. Though the administration would try to divide us into categories and hierarchies, we share the common bond of being workers, and in the spirit of that bond we pledge to protect and support one another.

1. Sign the pledge [INSERT LINK TO FORM], if you haven't already;

2. Personally ask someone else to sign the pledge; and

3. Consider using the information below to write to the Board of Regents directly and tell them that reductions in force are both unacceptable and unnecessary.

The OU Pledge to Act for the Common Good:

I commit myself to using the power of my position at OU, to the greatest possible extent that I am able, to challenge, impede, and disrupt any and all of the furloughs and layoffs with which the university administration threatens the well-being of OU and of my fellow workers.

President Harroz has indicated that the University expects budget reductions and has repeatedly stated that he and the Regents are considering furloughing employees to make up for these reductions. He has, however, also acknowledged that across-the-board furloughs are regressive and would hurt the lowest-paid workers the most. OU Media Relations claims that retaining all full-time employees would not be sustainable if OU were to move to online operations through the fall semester.

Workers at OU must be prepared to respond rationally and steadfastly to any declaration that OU employees will be fired from their jobs.

We believe that responding rationally and steadfastly includes refusing to participate in any work or decision-making that will turn our current colleagues into former ones.

Why is this pledge a rational and steadfast response?

As employees of OU, we are all invested in our University for the long term. The disproportionate number of hospitalizations and deaths in the US relative to the rest of the world, and the unprecedented economic downturn here shine a light on the dangers of decades of defunding public institutions and failing to plan for the long-term public good. The administration’s suggested response to the pandemic continues the pattern of short-sightedness that led us to the suffering we witness today. Firing workers in response to temporary conditions rather than meeting challenges with creativity and care for all members of the community is unimaginative and cruel. The administration’s insistence on resorting to reductions in force to deal with budgetary shortfalls can only be interpreted as an irrational and irresponsible neglect of the long-term health of OU. Those of us who carry out OU’s mission every day are responsible for defending the University against these reckless decisions that threaten its long-term well-being.

OU Workers United calls upon all OU workers to sign the OU Pledge to Act for the Common Good. Your signature represents a public commitment to use whatever power and influence you have to obstruct and resist these layoffs. Because administration refuses to be transparent with details about furloughs and layoffs, OU workers must start acting now to build the community we want to be a part of: a community of respect, value, and possibility.

We suggest the following ideas as starting points for enacting the Pledge, but consider what leverage you have at your disposal:

HARNESS THE POWER OF TENURE:

Tenured faculty are the least likely to be laid off. Now is the time to use your tenure for the good of all workers.

• Collaborate with your tenured colleagues to oppose layoffs as a departmental initiative.

• Make public all efforts you are taking to stop OU from firing employees.

• Refuse to fulfill your obligations until contracts are renewed/established.

These latter two initiatives apply especially to tenured faculty who currently hold administrative positions.

CLOSE RANKS:

Refuse any request to identify any workers as targets for layoffs and, by the same token, refuse to identify the “most essential” workers (this implies that those workers who are not identified are “disposable”).

JAM THE SYSTEM:

• “Forget” to do any and all paperwork that can be conceivably connected to layoffs or furloughs.

• Refuse to “volunteer” colleagues for additional committee work or pedagogical training until all contracts are renewed/established.

• Refuse requests to fill in for colleagues who fall ill as a result of being compelled to work in person under direct threat of COVID-19.

• “Work to rule”: follow all rules to the letter, take no shortcuts, and do only what your job requires -- no more.

CHANGE THE NARRATIVE

Explain to everyone you know (colleagues, reporters, Board of Regents members, donors, etc.) that the financial crisis at OU is a result of long-term neglect on the part of the State, and that these furloughs and layoffs are the insidious project of a short-term, short-sighted administration that shows no commitment to the wellbeing of OU. There are options for maintaining the employment (and therefore health insurance and other benefits) of all OU workers including:

• Applying for federal grants that can be utilized in a variety of ways, including resuming operations, supporting students, reducing disease transmission, and developing more agile instructional delivery models for students who cannot or choose not to attend classes in person;

• Renewing administration efforts to demand that the State fulfill its duty to the people of Oklahoma and fund its public educational institutions;

• Drawing on the University’s $2 billion endowment to cover the shortfall during the global pandemic emergency;

• Liquidating superfluous assets, like vacant properties and surplus equipment;

• Requiring regular donations from OU Athletics to fund University operations;

• Implementing a tiered, progressive furlough process in which the University’s top earners (including Athletics staff) bear the financial burden of this emergency;

• Reassigning workers whose duties change due to online operations during the global pandemic; and

• Many other possibilities!

Use whatever your position is within the university to impede unnecessary and destructive reductions in force. Together, we can pursue the most reasonable and responsible path before us, one that ensures OU remains one of the premier research and teaching Universities in the country long after this moment has passed.

Sign the pledge and pass it on!

And finally, let us know what you're doing to resist!

We're inspired by your creative ideas.

In Solidarity,
OU Workers United