Friday marks day two of the Faculty Association strike at SIU-C... and indications are it will extend into next week.
University spokesman Rod Sievers says no new talks are scheduled this weekend between the union and the administration bargaining teams.
Speech Communication associate professor Jonathan Gray is one of those on the picket line. He says the strikers understand the longer they're out, the more damage is done to the University. But he says they're prepared to stick it out as long as necessary.
Gray says at the heart of the standoff is a sense from some of the faculty of a paradigm shift away from academic freedom for tenured and tenure track faculty.
Gray says those on strike prefer a shared vision in which the administration and the faculty can maintain a dialogue about what's best for the future of SIU-C.
