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1 week ago | 
athensindependent.com | Dani Kington
ATHENS, Ohio — The State Employee Relations Board on Wednesday officially certified the Ohio University faculty union, dismissing OU’s objections to the recent decision of its faculty. OU has 15 days from the order to appeal the decision. Based upon an investigation by an administrative law judge, the SERB found “insufficient evidence” to justify setting aside the union election results.
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3 weeks ago | 
athensindependent.com | Dani Kington
NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Logging in the Wayne National Forest could increase substantially under a presidential executive order to boost federal timber production. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, March 1 expanding domestic timber production by 25%. In accordance with the order, the United States Secretary of Agriculture moved this month to make new timber projects easier on nearly 113,000,000 acres — about 60% of all land managed by the National Forest Service.
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1 month ago | 
athensindependent.com | Dani Kington
ATHENS, Ohio — United Academics of Ohio University argued in an April 14 filing that the university’s objections to the recent faculty union election, if upheld, would unfairly delay faculty unionization and drastically curtail labor organizing throughout the state. The State Employee Relations Board released unofficial election results in March that showed that more than 70% of participating OU faculty members voted to unionize, with UAOU as the employee representative.
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1 month ago | 
athensindependent.com | Dani Kington
ATHENS, Ohio — Last Thursday, April 3, Ohio University filed an objection with the State Employee Relations Board seeking to overturn the results of a recent faculty union election. Over 70% of participating faculty voted in favor of unionization in the election held earlier this year. In its objection, the university said that the union held members-only meetings during the campaign and that the election process was compromised by issues with faculty receiving mail-in ballots.
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1 month ago | 
athensindependent.com | Dani Kington |Keri Johnson |Keri worked
ATHENS, Ohio — After Ohio University abruptly cancelled its triennial Black Alumni Reunion amid state and policy changes, community organizations banded together through the leadership of the Racial Equity Coalition of Appalachia to make the event happen anyway.
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1 month ago | 
athensindependent.com | Dani Kington
ATHENS, Ohio — Nearly 800 Ohio University faculty will soon be part of a union, following a years-long organizing campaign and an election that saw more than 70% of participating faculty vote to unionize, according to unofficial results. “We worked really hard for this, and we actually had a very good sense that we had strong support,” faculty organizer Julie White told the Independent.
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1 month ago | 
ohiocapitaljournal.com | Dani Kington
However, students and the public have staged multiple demonstrations opposing the bill in recent weeks, including several in Athens. “I just can’t stop thinking about the students … that are in high school right now and are going to be a part of the new norm that is a university without Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the state of Ohio,” OU undergraduate student Mia Walsh told the Independent after a protest Wednesday, March 12.
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1 month ago | 
yahoo.com | Dani Kington
Athens County Independent photo from an Ohio University walkout on Feb. 27 to protest Ohio Senate Bill 1. This article was originally published by the Athens County Independent. ATHENS, Ohio — As an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill moves through the Ohio legislature, the Ohio University community is bracing for major changes to the institution, including the possible loss of its Women’s Center, Multicultural Center, and Pride Center.
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2 months ago | 
athensindependent.com | Dani Kington |Shiloh Antonuccio
ATHENS, Ohio — As an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill moves through the Ohio legislature, the community is bracing for major changes to the institution, including the possible loss of Ohio University’s Women’s Center, Multicultural Center and Pride Center. Senate Bill 1 passed in the Ohio Senate and is currently up for consideration by the House.
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2 months ago | 
athensindependent.com | Shiloh Antonuccio |Dani Kington
ATHENS, Ohio — Around 70 community members gathered in front of Cutler Hall on Ohio University’s College Green Wednesday afternoon to protest Ohio Senate Bill 1. The bill would transform the way Ohio’s 14 public universities and 23 community colleges operate by abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion programs and prohibiting full-time faculty from striking, among other strictures. The bill recently passed in the Ohio Senate and is currently awaiting review in the Ohio House.
