Eastern Michigan University Strike With Matt Kirkpatrick

David and Laura talk about the fall 2022 faculty strike at Eastern Michigan University with Matt Kirkpatrick. Matt is an associate professor of English and held various leadership positions in EMU’s faculty union, which is AAUP. During the contract campaign and strike Matt was on the union’s negotiating team. In the interview we cover a range of topics, including the complexity of striking in a right-to-work state, how faculty pushed back against a proposed increase in their healthcare costs, as well as what it means to be “strike ready” even when you think you’re not.

Matt can be reached at @MattKirkpatrick on Twitter or at his personal website, www.mattkirkpatrick.com.

Update on Temple grad worker strike (referenced in the podcast): as of this podcast release, a tentative agreement has been reached between Temple and TUGSA. It has not yet been ratified by the members. 

https://billypenn.com/2023/02/18/temple-graduate-student-strike-agreement/