Dear colleagues:
The unexpected US Presidential election result has been difficult to digest for our country and for many of us personally. As educators and employees of the largest and most diverse institution of higher education in Oregon, it has left many of us stunned and saddened. I know that we are all feeling the anxiety of our students, many of them students of color, many of them LGBTQ, immigrants, non-Christians, and victims of sexual violence. I want to reaffirm the commitment of our Federation to ALL of our students and to each of you who serve them both inside and out of the classroom. We will continue to uphold their right to access and succeed in higher education, and we will continue to fight for the resources that are necessary to help them achieve their dreams.
But make no mistake. The next four years will challenge us in ways that few of us could have imagined even a year ago. The right to organize and collectively bargain has been under attack for years. Earlier this year, we narrowly escaped what could have been a devastating blow in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case. With the US Supreme Court vacancies now in the hands of a Republican president and Congress, anti-union forces are stronger now than they have been in generations.
On the local level, Oregon's budget resources for the 2017-2019 biennium will be much tighter due to the defeat of Measure 97. This defeat will create shortages in state funding for higher education. I will say more about that in coming weeks, especially after our Governor presents her 2017-2019 budget to the Oregon Legislature on December 1.
With this flood of bad news, I am writing to ask for your help.
In the coming months, we will need each and every member of our Federation to get involved. Please reply to me directly if you are interested in helping organize and mobilize our members against anti-union forces in Oregon and beyond. This goes beyond a fight for our own livelihoods; it is a fight for the resources we need to help our most vulnerable citizens succeed in education and in life. We need your energy and talent, now more than ever. None of us can afford to sit on the sidelines anymore.
In solidarity,
Frank Goulard, PCCFFAP President