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Judge orders striking Ferris State faculty back to work

Posted at 7:50 PM, Aug 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-27 19:50:22-04

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — A judge has granted a temporary restraining order requested by Ferris State University to stop a faculty strike.

Striking tenured teachers at the university chanted “No contract, no work” while lining a sidewalk Monday. The strike followed a Sunday negotiating session that didn’t result in a new contract agreement with the Ferris Faculty Association, which represents some 450 full-time faculty members.

Teachers FOX 17 spoke with say they are not fighting just for things like better pay and benefits for themselves but for things that apply to students, too.

“If I took you into my physics labs, many students are in my class the first time and say ‘we have better equipment in our high school,'” said Dr. Charles Bacon, president of the Ferris Faculty Association and professor of physics.

The injunction granted by the judge was filed by the Ferris State administration. It orders members to return to the classroom on Tuesday, according to school spokesperson Michelle Rasmussen. Contract negotiations are set to continue Wednesday, she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report