News recently broke that over 500 Howard University faculty members and students rallied Wednesday in support of the school’s contingent staff as they announced an unfair labor practice strike set to take place March 23-25—if campus administrators don’t reach an agreement with them by Friday.
The faculty members are bringing attention to the poor working conditions associated with Howard, namely their pay.
BREAKING: Howard University faculty announces they will go on strike next week if an agreement is not reached by this Friday. pic.twitter.com/lPcNKkO93I
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) March 16, 2022
“Non-tenure-track faculty are trying to ensure that our basic needs are met,” one faculty member said at the protest. “We’re trying to make sure that we’re having adequate pay, that we have job stability, that we’re appreciated and valued as professors and not disposable. And we’re gonna make sure that our demands are met.”
“Howard non-tenure-track faculty is the lowest-paid HBCU faculty considering the cost of living,” he added. “Some non-tenure-track faculty are being paid $40,000 or less [to live in D.C.]. It’s difficult for faculty to stay here to continue to teach.”
Another faculty member at “the Harvard of HBCUs” also helped rile up the audience and spread word of the cause with a powerful speech.
“The university’s leadership has made clear that a better working environment and a better learning environment is unimportant to them. We were scheduled to meet with the leadership again on March 18, that’s this Friday, but they have gone silent,” the speaker said. “We have been left with little choice. If the leadership of this university does not reach an agreement with us on March 18, this Friday, then on [March 23, 24, and 25], we will be holding an unfair labor practice strike.”
“We ask you to stand with us in solidarity. We seek to stand with you in solidarity,” he continued. “These have been individual fights for far too long, and we have not seen the movement any of us need. So now we all need to come together and get the movement that we require.”
“Howard Teachers Matter”
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) March 16, 2022
“Black Students Matter”
Students from #BlackburnTakeover protest in fall 2021 join Howard faculty protest in solidarity as HU faculty once did for them. pic.twitter.com/ZPpM1kD1Vk
The faculty also received support from Howard students—who were engaged in a 33-day-long protest of their own dubbed the Blackburn Takeover just a few months ago, as Blavity previously reported.
