My name is Bill Mullen. I am a member of the Purdue University West Lafayette AAUP chapter. From 2018-2020 I served as Vice President of the Chapter. I am running for the position of Secretary-Treasurer as part of the United Faculty for the Common Good slate for several reasons.

My experience as a higher ed union member both at Purdue and at Youngstown State University (1990-2000) has demonstrated to me the urgency of rank-and-file organizing. Unions are moved by their membership. Faculty for the Common Good is committed to rebuilding higher ed labor from below. We seek to recruit new members to Local 6741; to mobilize and reward faculty self-activity; to partner with non-faculty and students on campus to lift all boats, and to use our union power to regain democratic control of institutions on our campuses.

We are inspired by the example of reform minded unionists like the Chicago Teachers Union which have used a model of social justice unionism to link bread and butter gains for members to the fight against racism, sexism, and class inequality. Now more than ever questions of social justice have been forced upon higher ed labor by racist, sexist, Islamophobic, homophobic and transphobic legislation attacking ‘wokeness’ and using social justice itself as an excuse and hammer to defund higher ed, increase precarity, and silence dissent of all forms. 

Our slate has the power to change this. We have built a powerful unity of commitment within our group that can be used as a model to build outward. We have a special interest in working with and partnering with part-time campus workers and graduate students who are experiencing precarity in even more profound and uneven ways than full-time faculty.

Our commitment to democratic decision-making within 6741 is also a commitment to resisting top-down university administrations, legislative interventions, and even top-heavy union leadership models that can stifle rank-and-file activity. 

Our unity of commitment is also demonstrated by a dedication to a model of diversity of leadership. 

Our slate For the Common Good includes new representation from eight states across the U.S., with members from all of the major geographical regions of the country.

Our slate includes representation from Ivy league schools, a small liberal arts school, two private colleges, and several public universities where all of us are extremely active in union organizing

Finally, our slate represents Diversity of Rank, from Assistant to Associate to Full to Emeritus. 

We believe we are at a historical moment of faculty mobilization. The coming together of this diverse slate across a range of campus workplaces promises a model for rebuilding higher ed labor at the local, regional and national levels. We welcome your support, and to join us in the struggle to build a more radically democratic future for higher ed from a renewed commitment to solidarity, organizing, and social justice.