The staff and faculty of Green River College were greatly disappointed by the op-ed from the administration that was published Dec. 11 in the Auburn Reporter.
If the students are truly their priority, the administration should be willing to work with us toward our common goal. Instead, they continue to blame the staff, faculty and their own students for their failure.
Unfortunately, the antagonism toward the hard-working staff and faculty comes as no surprise. President Eileen Ely and her board of trustees have destroyed the history of shared governance and demonstrated an absolute refusal to take responsibility for the campus. Their contempt for concerns raised by students, staff and faculty has lead them to make unnecessary and costly mistakes, such as the federal investigation and potential loss of funding due to not following the Clery Act.
Last spring, President Ely and the board cut the Auto Body Collision Repair Program, even though their new multi-million dollar building was nearly ready to be opened. When the decision to cut auto body caused campus-wide outrage, Ely and the board refused to listen and callously refused students the right to speak. Local business and community leaders have spoken in favor of keeping the program so they could hire graduates.
One might be inclined to accept tough losses in the face of budget shortfalls, but GRC has expanded its campus aggressively under Ely. Closure of the program allowed them to lay off Mark Millbauer, the United Faculty president and an outspoken critic of Ely. This is not a question of budget, but of priorities. If not the students, what are Ely’s priorities?
Budget shortfalls have been their reasoning behind the so-called layoffs that target the most vocal and outspoken employees. Three long-term, devoted maintenance workers were laid off without warning on a Friday – despite a union management meeting that Wednesday when layoffs could and should have been announced.
Worse, these loyal staff members were pulled away from their desks by campus safety and led off campus like criminals. After years of devoted public service, they deserved better. The remaining staff fears to speak out, afraid they will also be targeted for the crime of caring about this college.
Ely and her rubber-stamp board may see students as commodities and employees as pieces on a chess board, ready to be removed when inconvenient. But we, the staff and faculty of Green River College, know better.
Success comes from everyone working together, especially our front-line staff and faculty who work with students on a daily basis and often have the best solutions.
Before Ely came to Green River, this school was a family, working to serve our students and our community with dedication and heart. Now, the swamp at Green River College is toxic. The employees work in fear. The students know something is very wrong. The board is indifferent at best and incompetent at worst. And Ely remains deaf to all but her agenda.
Our students deserve better. Our staff deserves better. Our faculty deserves better.
President Ely, it’s time to go.
Ty Pethe is president of the Washington Federation of State Employees, Local 304. Jaeney Hoene is president of AFT Washington, Local 2195.
