I am an academic in the United Kingdom, and next week, my colleagues in the University and College Union and I — at 74 universities across the country — are striking for better working conditions. I am grateful every day that I have a union so that I don’t have to depend upon the whims and empty promises of colleges and universities to do right by their employees. And now, in a complete violation of everything that has ever made Oberlin unique and powerful as an institution, President Carmen Twillie Ambar is posed to deny that basic right to many employees currently on Oberlin’s campus.

This is not about fiscal responsibility. This is about breaking the union and about the imposition of unnecessary, Shock Doctrine policies. Coming on the heels of appalling cuts in faculty and staff benefits, the recently announced cuts suggest that the College has chosen a policy of outright hostility toward its employees.

Please know that the concerted alumni campaign will continue to oppose this decision until it is rectified.