More than half of the classes scheduled for the first day of the school year at Ferris State University were canceled Monday because of a strike by faculty members.
The Ferris Faculty Association on Sunday rejected the latest contract offer from the school’s board of trustees and voted to strike.
The school’s 9,500 students were told to report to class, and administrators and non-union instructors taught before about 40 percent of them, said Margaret Avritt, director of university relations and marketing.
The two sides last met Thursday and no further discussions are scheduled, said Mike Ryan, president of the faculty association.
Some of the university’s 450 faculty members may have crossed the picket line, but the majority spent eight hours on the picket line around the campus perimeter, he said.
The two sides have been divided on salary, job security and whether to cut summer teaching pay to 33 percent of annual salaries or keep it at 45 percent. They also are split on how much say the faculty should have in issues of hiring, promotions and academics.
