The lives of the people at Riverland family changed, significantly, on Oct.

Monday, November 12, 2001

The lives of the people at Riverland family changed, significantly, on Oct. 1 with the beginning of a new experience for many – a strike. From Oct. 1 through 14, members of the Riverland family from the AFSCME and MAPE unions exercised their right to strike and express discontent with specific issues. It was an emotional experience for the entire Riverland family. All employees of the college were challenged to uphold and support some basic and fundamental principles:

Safety. A primary concern during the strike was safety, no matter what. The utmost attention was given to ensuring the safety of our striking employees, employees reporting for work, as they were obligated to do under law, and the safety of students.

Freedom of Speech. At Riverland, we believe that the right to speak freely is one of the greatest blessings about living in America and that the process of striking in an organized and respectful manner is a form of exercising that right to free speech.

Sense of Family. The 240-plus faculty and staff of Riverland Community College are one college family. We work hard together day after day to provide the best college education and services to students enrolled at our college. After part of our college family stepped outside to exercise their legal right to strike, we, again, joined together as one college family. A key priority was to minimize any negative long-term effects upon the college family as a whole so that we can continue to serve our students.

The following is just a few of the emotional moments I recall from the stressful two-week period. They illustrate the myriad emotions we experienced – experiences that will stay with us for a long time and further define the culture of our institution.

n Driving across the picket line with some anxiety and seeing the smiling face of a co-worker, calling &uot;Hello.&uot;

n Stopping by to visit the employees on the picket line in Albert Lea and feeling the harsh, cold winds.

n Meeting with supervisors left to work inside the college and listening to the emotional pain they were feeling while their colleagues were outside in the cold, yet keeping focused on holding the college together to meet student needs.

n Meeting with faculty leadership, not knowing what to expect, and receiving a spirit of collaboration and caring while maintaining respect for union values, as well.

n Handing out American flag pins to all faculty and staff and recognizing how lucky we really are to have a sense of order in our society to be able to express our discontent through a strike.

n Sitting alone for several hours writing 87 &uot;Welcome Back&uot; notes to my striking colleagues. Pausing to exercise my fingers, which were becoming sore, and remembering that I knew when my next paycheck would arrive, while some of my colleagues did not.

n Driving to and from the Albert Lea campus twice a day with the sole intent of carrying a message of concern and respect from all of our remaining colleagues. Reminding others not to lose hope.

n Receiving the first communication that a settlement had been reached and my colleagues would be back indoors.

n Having one of my returning striking colleagues relate that she had never thought of her coworkers as &uot;family&uot; before, but she does now and it seems so natural.

I would like to extend a special thank you to all of our employees on strike for their professional demeanor and commitment to stand up for what they believe. I would like to thank the faculty for continuing to provide the quality instruction to our students that serves as the foundation of our reputation – this is what our institution is all about. And, I would like to thank the other staff who volunteered to carry the extra burden of time and activity to keep the college operating.

Many Riverland family members made personal and professional sacrifices during the strike and I am proud of all of them.

Dr. Gary Rhodes is president of Riverland Community College, which has campuses in Albert Lea, Austin and Owatonna.