75-17-6
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Academic Freedom[edit]
Transcript[edit]Tyranny, like fog in the well known poem, often creeps in silently “on little cat feet.” I’ll be right back. Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor, was a true labor statesman & a patriot. He was also something of a martyr. When he began crusading for the workers, he was persecuted, beaten & vilified. In those earlier days, the word “goon” was coined as [a] title for “bully boys” employed by management to break up union organizing attempts. None of this halted Gompers in his crusade but neither did it make him bitter or anti-establishment. He always declared that workers must recognize they are partners of management with a responsibility to maintain the eco[nomic] health of their particular industry. He said a strike was a breakdown in communications and that a good labor leader would try to remain in negotiations without strikes even if he was to reduced to bargaining for ½ a cent. Sam Gompers also loved the U.S. of America with a deep passion. He was in Mexico when he suffered a fatal illness. He ordered that he be placed on a train and taken to the border so he could die in this country. In his last speech to a labor convention, he made evident his belief in individual freedom. He said, “There may be here and there a worker who does not join a union of labor. That is his right no matter how wrong we think he may be. It is his legal right and no one can dare question his legal exercise of that right.” Now wouldn’t you think that statement would have the whole-hearted endorsement of all those in Academia who hold “academic freedom” as the precious right of teachers to be preserved against inroads and encroachment by administrators, alumnae and even parents? If you do think that, you are a little out of step with the campus today. Mrs. Margaret Ellers, asst. Prof, of engineering graphics at a tax supported institution, Ferris St. College in Mich., has lost her position as a teacher with tenure and less than a year to go before being eligible for full pension. Now when a faculty member has tenure that means he or she can only be deprived of the job for some moral turpitude or some other terrible offense. Mrs. Ellers’ academic record & her private life are above reproach. Her crime (and [with] consequent dismissal) was refusal to pay a $160 fee to a faculty union she refused to join. In late 1973, a teachers union obtained exclusive bargaining rights at Ferris State. The Ferris Faculty Association, affiliated with the Michigan Educational Association and the National Education Association. They couldn’t make anyone join the union but the administrators of the college rolled over and played dead while a “service fee” was imposed on every faculty member who didn’t join. The College Board of Control also voted that any faculty member who refused to pay would be dismissed. A number of faculty members refused but only Mrs. Ellers held out to the bitter end. To my knowledge, this marks the 1st such dismissal in the educational world. Now, some will say that the service fee was fair because even non non-members would be getting the benefit of union representation. Some will say that, but it doesn’t hold up. Of the $160 fee only $22 covers servicing by the Ferris Association. The balance — $138 — goes to the Michigan and the National Education Association to pay for their lobbying & political activities. Samuel Gompers would have liked Mrs. Ellers. So do I. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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