Latest news with #KimoAhYun
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marquette University should recognize our rights as workers. Stop union busting.
On April 29, some members of the Marquette University community will celebrate the inauguration of the Catholic, Jesuit university's newest president, Kimo Ah Yun. At the same time, others will protest the inauguration to ask the university to uphold its Catholic values and university leadership to stop union busting. We are writing as members of this second group, representatives of the steering committee of the United Campus Workers of Wisconsin (UCW-WI), a local wall-to-wall union of students, faculty and staff workers who are organizing for fair wages and contracts on campus at our university. The steering committee also includes additional non-tenure-track faculty, university staff, and graduate student workers on campus. The inauguration comes in the middle of a horrifying moment for American higher education as a whole. The federal government is canceling support for the humanities and sciences, and trying to destroy public and private initiatives to encourage inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility in our teaching and research. The Trump administration and its allies among some university donors are seeking to chill freedom of speech and the search for truth on our campuses. International students and teachers are victims of political persecution; some are political prisoners. Leaders in higher education are trying to protect their institutions. Ah Yun is one of many college and university presidents who have signed a public statement calling for constructive engagement to protect the defining freedoms of higher education. We are fortunate to have a president who is willing and able to defend the university's mission and values in this moment. Letters: Ron Johnson needs to read Constitution, do his job and support the rule of law At the same time, we believe if our institutions and values are going to survive this moment, then our institutions are going to need to not only publicly defend these values, but actively live these values both off and on campus. We believe our institutions are both places of learning and places of work. We are reminded of the words of Pope Francis that 'there are no free workers without a union.' Campus worker unionization is key to protecting the defining freedoms of higher education and the workers who embody these freedoms, teaching and supporting our students, and researching and creating new knowledge. Last fall, more than 65% of full-time, non-tenure-track faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences at Marquette signed union authorization cards indicating their desire to stand together to collectively bargain their contracts with the university. University leaders say they won't recognize the union 'to protect the direct relationship with our faculty that is critical to our Catholic, Jesuit intellectual life at Marquette.' However, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has said, 'The Church fully supports the right of workers to form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions. This is a specific application of the more general right to associate;' and, 'Catholic social teaching supports the right of workers to choose whether to organize, join a union, and bargain collectively.' Opinion: Changes to Social Security would cost average Wisconsin resident $7,000 a year We are protesting to ask university leadership once again for our God-given right as workers to choose for ourselves whether to unionize and collectively bargain. We ask university leadership to correct its course and honor the compassionate core of the religious, intellectual tradition we represent as a university community. Especially in this moment when our traditions are under relentless attack, we ask university leadership to proudly live our shared values. The university should follow in the footsteps of our Catholic, Jesuit university peers, including Saint Louis University, Fordham, Loyola Chicago, Georgetown and Santa Clara, who negotiate with similar faculty unions. We're asking the university to recognize the union and the desire of full-time, non-tenure-track faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences to collectively bargain their contracts. We continue to believe deeply in good-faith collaboration, and we look forward to collectively bargaining together with university leadership. Daniel Collette, Christopher Gooding, Grant Gosizk, Matt Greife, and Giordana Poggioli-Kaftan are members of the Steering Committee of the United Campus Workers of Wisconsin (UCW-WI), a local campus union composed of non-tenure-track faculty, university staff, and student workers at Marquette University. This letter was collaboratively written with other members of the Steering Committee, including other non-tenure-track faculty, university staff, and graduate student workers. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette union busting goes against Pope, Catholic values | Opinion
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marquette presidential inauguration, Kimo Ah Yun shares message ahead of ceremony
The Brief Kimo Ah Yun will soon be inaugurated as Marquette University's 25th president. He spoke with FOX6 ahead of the ceremony to talk about his passion for education, tuition and turbulent times in higher education. The inauguration ceremony will be held on April 29. MILWAUKEE - Later in April, Marquette University will hold a presidential inauguration ceremony for Kimo Ah Yun. He'll make history as the 25th president of the university. Ahead of his inauguration, Kimo Ah Yun sat down with FOX6's Aaron Maybin for one-on-one. They talked about higher education during the Trump administration. And he made it clear the focus is always on the student. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android After his April 29 inauguration comes commencement weeks later, and he was asked what his hope is for every Marquette graduate. They lead a fulfilled life. That they find ways to find happiness, not only happiness in their job, but happiness in all those things they do outside of their job," said Kimo Ah Yun. "We talk about men and women foreign with others, we talk about being the difference, being servant leaders, that's my hope. My hope is they go away, and whether or not they're a servant leader in their neighborhood, in their broader community, at their place of work, wherever it is. That they lead a fulfilled life serving other." The inauguration for Kimo Ah Yun will be Tuesday, April 29. He will be the first person of color to serve as president of the university. To learn more, click here. You can also watch the full one-on-one interview. The Source FOX6 sat down and interviewed Kimo Ah Yun. Additional information provided by Marquette University.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marquette presidential inauguration, Kimo Ah Yun teases message ahead of ceremony
The Brief Kimo Ah Yun will soon be inaugurated as Marquette University's 25th president. He spoke with FOX6 ahead of the ceremony to talk about his passion for education, tuition and turbulent times in higher education. The inauguration ceremony will be held on April 29. MILWAUKEE - On Tuesday, April 29, the university will hold a presidential inauguration for Kimo Ah Yun, who will become the 25th president of the university. Earlier this week, FOX6's Aaron Maybin sat down with Ah Yun for a conversation about his passion for education, tuition and turbulent times in higher education. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android "It's always about the students. I'm a first-generation college student. And I've seen how the trajectory of my life has changed," said Kimo Ah Yun. "I went back, and I looked at some statistics from the 80s when I was an undergraduate. First-generation students were graduating at a sub 20% rate. Those same first-generation students were going to go on to get PhDs by lower than 2%. So when I look at my life... I should not be where I'm at, right? Statistically, I should be where I'm not at today. But it's because there were a lot of people in my life, and I'll talk about some of those people who poured into me." Ah Yun says he's blessed and said God brought him to Marquette. He takes on this role after President Michael Lovell died in 2024. He joined the university in 2016. Marquette's presidential inauguration will be held on Tuesday, April 29 at 10 a.m. To learn more, click here. The Source FOX6 sat down and interviewed Kimo Ah Yun. Additional information provided by Marquette University.
