Western faculty gathered outside the board of trustees meeting in response to disagreements of an employee contract at 8 a.m. April 4 in Old Main Room 340.

Western’s faculty union, the United Faculty of Western Washington (UFWW), has been negotiating the new faculty contract with the administration for almost 15 months and met with a mediator six times.

The administration and faculty union cannot agree on faculty salaries, workloads and whether non-permanent faculty are given hiring priority or can be re-appointed.

Faculty crowded nearly half of the hallway and chatted with one another.

Faculty was often told to quiet down a few times because the noise level was beginning to distract the meeting.

“We were not trying to disrupt the meeting,” said Kristi Lemm, Vice President of UFWW and psychology associate professor. “It was not our goal. But we did want to raise awareness to the board.”

Lemm noticed at least one student present at the meeting and said she was glad to see students supporting faculty.

Students stood in front of the building with signs that supported the faculty contract.

“Western is an intimate campus and offers so much individual attention,” said Western junior Carl Sholin. “We can lose that if we lose good faculty.”

Sholin held a picket sign, which read “For 3 R’s: Recruit, Renew, Retain.”

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