A Word from the APA President

 By Martin McDonough, MSU APA President  

It is Personal 

 Have you ever watched a group of birds and how they respond when a bird of prey is nearby? The flock pulls together and forms a larger flock appearing as a single body. The size of that joined unified body thwarts the intentions of that threat. They use their numbers to provide security.  

A union is created through a collection of faces, families, and lives. The office building is not the union. The voices of people are the union. When an administration invokes a negative image on a union, they are directly denigrating their own staff.  A common misperception is that a union and the workforce they represent are separate entities. The members of that workforce are the vital elements which create that unified body. Thus, they are one in the same. An administration may feel comfortable speaking negatively about a union but imagine how they would be perceived if we simply replace the words “the union” with “our staff”. It becomes very personal. And in turn reflects poorly on the character of the speaker.  When the conversation is allowed to continue unchallenged, the speaker is allowed to drive a wedge in the very body that keeps people protected.  

The work of the union is to bring members’ collective voices to the table, to equal the size and resources of the others in those conversations and negotiations. A single person has no real influence on practices at MSU but a group with resources and engaged members can bring a balance. The University has already exhibited how quickly they will take from those who cannot or will not stand together. As an example, we reference the recent wage and retirement cuts experienced by our fellow Spartan faculty members and staff. Those cuts were imposed before the situation was completely understood. A collective voice can thwart large-scale attacks on members’ work conditions and benefits.  

The members of the Administrative Professional Association (APA) have been true leaders during the COVID crisis. They were already highly skilled and capable of anything they set their mind to. These times only highlight the value each and every one brings to MSU. Many of our colleagues have been on the forefront through their sacrifices while on furlough and lay-offs.  Several of those union family members have been away from their jobs for nearly a year. To ask for further sacrifice without truly recognizing their current losses is disheartening. To say they have offered no sacrifice thus far is unconscionable. 

When any administration pushes a negative image of your union, they are talking about you and your family. You and your colleagues are the very foundation of that union. There are no positive outcomes when the two are separated. Without members, there is no union. Without the union, there is no security. Those opposed to unions truthfully fear the collective balance it can bring against their power.