(NEW YORK CITY) - St. John’s University President, the Reverend Brian Shanley, has informed St. John’s University Faculty - via e-mail - that the University will no longer recognize its two Unions that were formed in 1970: the St. John’s University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (SJU-AAUP) and the Faculty Association (FA). The Union-Busting "religious exemption" move was abruptly announced on the Faculty’s 234th day of working without a contract, following the Administration’s prolonged stalling of contract negotiations and hiring of the notorious Union-Busting firm, Proskauer Rose LLP. More than 200 Faculty and students rallied on campus this week to protest against the University’s decision, gathering outside the D’Angelo Center to argue the University’s refusal to recognize the two Unions based on would lead to program elimination and academic contraction. Protesters held placards blasting St. John’s over the decision, including slogans such as “Union Busting Is Unholy” and “Decision Makers Who Can’t Be Challenged Make Terrible Decisions.” Christopher Denny, a Theology and Religious Studies Professor who serves as President of the University's Faculty Association said the Unions' attorneys "are going to be fighting this, at whatever level of the judiciary." Denny added: "We are certified by the State of New York and St. John's is going to have to honor that legal relationship that it has consented to for over half a century. We are prepared for a long-term legal battle should that be necessary, but it would be far better for the Administration to realize that a productive forward-thinking University would be far better served by withdrawing its unilateral declaration.”

To Read More About This Labor News Story, Go To The In National Catholic Reporter And QNS.com. 

Click Here To Call On The University’s Board Of Trustees To Send President Shanley Back To The Bargaining Table With St. John’s Faculty Unions!

Rally Photo Courtesy Of the New York City AFL-CIO Central Labor Council.