On this episode of Stateside: The director of the Natural Resources Department with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians talked about how the decline of whitefish in Lakes Michigan and Huron is impacting the tribe and their efforts to save the fish.
Then, a discussion with leadership at WNMU and WEMU about the unique challenges they could face if the Senate votes to cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
But first, we talked to Martin McDonough, president of Michigan State University’s largest union, about recent layoffs at the school. That included nine employees at WKAR, the university’s public media station.
Some of those layoffs are a violation of contract agreements, McDonough said.
WKAR Director of Communications Bill Richards released the following statement:
“WKAR, Michigan State University and the affected unions are currently engaged in a formal review of steps taken related to recent personnel changes at WKAR.
While the review is underway, and out of respect for all involved, WKAR is not commenting further on personnel changes.
As we work through the discussions, we look forward to sharing more information about our plans for serving our community as we have done for more than 100 years.”
And an MSU spokesperson issued the following statement:
“Over the past few years, MSU has faced increasing financial headwinds, in part due to rising health care and other operational costs, alongside a general fund budget deficit from unplanned personnel increases and generous financial aid increases. These challenges are compounded by changes at the federal and state level that impact revenue and resources — a situation that our peer institutions are also facing.
University leadership has identified a need to reduce general fund expenditures by 9% over the next two fiscal years; 6% in the first year and 3% in the following year. This reduction applies to all Major Administrative Units across the university, with a goal of achieving $85 million in total savings. The Office of the President will implement 9% savings in the first fiscal year (beginning July 1, 2025) with additional savings planned for the following year.
To your specific question regarding how many people have been laid off, the university’s budget savings plan was based on achieving $85 million in savings over two years, not on a specific goal around workforce reductions. Major Administrative Unit leaders created their respective savings plans and may choose to reduce personnel to achieve general fund savings. The university does not have a total number of position eliminations to share.
MSU remains fully committed to honoring all union contracts and upholding its obligations.”
McDonough is president of the Administrative Professional Association. It represents about 3,400 union positions at MSU.
[Get Stateside on your phone: subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify today.]
GUESTS ON TODAY’S SHOW:
- Martin McDonough, President/Chairperson of MSU’s Administrative Professional Association
- Doug Craven, Director of the Natural Resources Department of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
- Molly Motherwell, general manager at WEMU, president of Michigan Association of Public Broadcasters
- Patrick Lakenen, Director of Broadcast and Audio Visual at WNMU
