(Note: Will the Bureau punish those who are standing up for the tribal college? Hopefully, Pierpoint and other reporters will monitor what happens to the employees who participated in this union-sanctioned activity. This article is reposted for educational and public service uses.)
Haskell University Employees Protest Working Conditions
Written by Mary Pierpoint
Native American Times, May 2009
http://bit.ly/oA7Yk
LAWRENCE, Kan. – As hundreds of thousands of workers across the country are being handed pink slips, one group of workers in Lawrence is picketing its workplace for better working conditions.
The workers aren’t asking for more hours, more money or even benefits. They are instead asking for more staff and faculty members to be hired to help guarantee the safety of workers and students at Haskell Indian Nations University.
Members of the Federation of Indian Service Employees were on the picket line this past week in an effort to be heard despite believing they will face retribution by university officials.
“Rules don’t seem to matter this past two years,” Mike Tosee, FISE member and university instructor, said. “There have been positions filled without being announced or advertised. We had an evaluator, a guy who was supposed to come in and evaluate the athletic program, and within a few months he is the athletic director and basketball coach.”
Tosee said the group is also looking at understaffing in the dormitories, which he said are understaffed by nearly half the full capacity.
“If anyone saw a local newspaper article, she (Haskell President Dr. Linda Warner) is saying that the students are grownups and they can take care of themselves,” he said. “She also says that she has an open door and is cooperating by meeting with FISE once a month.
“That should tell a story there, if we’re not getting these issues dealt with then she’s not cooperating. If we are meeting with her once a month, what is she doing? The only reason she is ‘dealing’ with them now is because of this,” Tosee said motioning toward the picket line.
In an April 23 memorandum from FISE to Warner regarding the faculty workload, FISE states that its union disagrees with Warner’s decision to increase faculty workload from 12 credit hours to 15 credit hours believing it would negatively impact the university’s mission.
The memo also states that the increase of hours would not promote service efficiency and would better suit a junior college than a university setting.
“The ability of faculty to spend quality time with students outside the classroom will significantly decrease and the needs of the Native Student and retention will be impacted,” the memo states.
FISE members said current faculty members teaching 12 credit hours have approximately 12 minutes per student each day to grade assignments, advise students on their academic career, meet with students outside of class, prepare course work, tutor students and any other work associated with classroom teaching.
Members said an increase in the number of classes each instructor must teach would limit instructors even more.
FISE member Sonya Bonga said she was concerned about the lack of dorm staff at Haskell.
With only 17 full-time residential assistants overseeing five dorms with 800 students, she said the shortage of RAs not only puts students at risk but staff member as well.
“They are trying to make up for this shortfall with student workers. We question their ability to manage the kind of serious issues you see on any college campus,” Bonga said. “The union has told Dr. Warner that the minimum dorm staff we need is 25 RAs.”
Having more dorm staff on duty at all times is not unique to Haskell. Larger universities in the Lawrence area have allocated larger presences of RAs in dorms. One university has an RA for each floor and an RA in each wing. So if a dorm is five stories high with four wings, then it would have at least 20 RAs on duty at all times.
In an article published last week by the Lawrence Journal World, Warner said she felt the staffing was adequate in the dormitories.
“People in the dorms are adults,” she said. “The staff is there for emergencies. We don’t need a 1 to 10 ratio over there.”
Bonga disagrees.
“On any college campus if you have 800 people in residence you have to have a way to monitor what is going on and what kind of activities they are involved with,” Bonga said. “You need to have some effective way to address that. This is a college town; there is going to be drinking. If you have 18- to 21-year-olds in a situation where they know there aren’t enough people to know what is going on there are going to be problems. If they know they can get away with it then they have no reason to be accountable.”
Bonga said, “If there is an incident involving a student we need to have trained federal workers there to help them.”
Picketing union members also said co-workers are being transferred into other positions after voicing concerns to Haskell administration.
“There are two faces of Haskell,” a FISE member said. “There is the ‘everything is wonderful’ group that is trotted out whenever visitors or inspectors come in and then there is the part that no one but us sees – the humiliation and retaliation employees face if they ask questions about what is going on. We are supposed to be obedient and not ask questions and do as we are told. Humiliation is the hardest part, constant humiliation. But we aren’t going to quit; we owe it to the students to keep trying.”
The Native American Times contacted Warner’s office for comment regarding all the allegations against her administration. Although the Haskell president gave a statement to the Lawrence Journal World, her office did not return the Native American Times’ request for comment.
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Readers Comments
This is a call to all those concerned or have a genuine love for dear old Haskell.
Haskell is being held under siege by the current administration, namely Dr. Linda Sue Warner. The Bureau of Indian Education (which is under the BIA) is fully aware of her tyranny and trechery and time after time cover for her! It makes you question what their motives are–are they (BIE)trying to shut the doors on Haskell, because Warner is doing a good job of running quality people off.
Instead she puts people of incompetence in place,(who, I might add, are all related to one another in some way!)to do her dirty work. Once the dirty work is completed, they are rewarded with the hiring of a relative (right DL-W and FG??)!
The BIE had the documentation where Haskell, a university, bought her fourth-grade book (she co-wrote) for $17,000 and where she paid her son $8,000 in “consulting” fees! What happened you ask? They (BIE) came in and did a “mock” investigation (may as well sent in Inspector Gadget) and surprise, surprise found nothing amiss! So really, the employees have no unbiased body to turn to! We’re literally getting homered at HOME!!
I am asking anyone with a genuine love and concern for Haskell to RISE up and ask ‘Why is nothing being done here??’
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Understaffing??? There is no excuse!!! There are so many people out there needing employment and they are much more capable and qualified than the criminals Warner is hiring! Sadly though, I was not surprised to read about the conditions and understaffing at Haskell. I have heard about many terrible things happening on the Haskell campus this last year that can all be attributed in some way to Warner. I don’t understand how her superiors can ignore the complaints and look past her incompetence and stupidity while Haskell is obviously in distress. Faculty are being overworked, underappreciated, and retaliated against for having pride in their school! Students are being run off campus for standing up for what they believe in! Academic integrity issues are being ignored and swept under the rug! Many of us can understand and have witnessed the importance and meaning of the education that is being provided at Haskell. Why is Warner being allowed to destroy that? Save Haskell!! Send the wicked witch out of Kansas!!
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I think one of the things, among many other things, that bugs people so much is Dr. Warner’s continuous use of the term ARCH which is suppose to stand for Accountability, Respect, Cooperation, and Honesty. The problem was she never lived by those standards, but expected everyone else to commit to behavior that exemplified those rather decent qualities. It got to the point that whenever Dr. Warner spoke about ARCH people would just cringe. Most people at Haskell have gotten to the point where they see no credibility in what she says or does anymore. She is no longer an effective leader and that is sad because people at Haskell wanted someone to believe in, someone innovative and creative and were willing to follow her lead. I think at one time, early in her tenure she had nearly everyone willing to take on any task she requested, but that trust was soon destroyed by the malicious, vindictive nature of her actions toward anyone who disagreed or questioned her. She has blown her chance to be the kind of leader so many people had hoped for. What a waste. I have to add that it may not be all her fault, Bureau of Indian Education officials in Albuquerque and Washington have covered up some actions that would get most other people canned. Their lack of desire or lack of effort to set standards might have helped keep some resemblance of agreeable interaction, but it is too late – please Dr. Warner no more commentary using ARCH as the appropriate behavior guideline for employees – people just don’t believe you anymore.
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Pierpoint’s article was very informative. Speaking out for workers’ rights through unions is the backbone of any workplace. Good leaders recognize the important role that unions play in harmonous labor/management relations. On a cold winter’s day John Kennedy sent hot chocolate out to college students marching on the White House lawn in protest of the Vietnam War because he understand that freedom of speech and passion for justice is vital to assuring equal rights for all. It is disturbing to see what is happening at this great and historic institution of higher learning for Native youth due to poor leadership. If the money isn’t going to fill needed staff positions at Haskell then where is it going? Why isn’t the BIA offering effective oversight or are they offering too much oversight? Is bureaucracy trumping academic needs? Reporter Pierpoint, please keep investigating and give us the rest of the story.
1 response so far ↓
Chooge // 2 June 2009 at 5:45 am
Warner is a bad hire