Judge denies Eastern Michigan request to halt faculty strike

By COREY WILLIAMS
Associated Press

A judge has scuttled an effort by Eastern Michigan University to force striking faculty back to their classrooms. In an order dated Thursday, Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Carol Kuhnke denied the school’s emergency request for a temporary restraining order. However, she did schedule a Sept. 16 hearing for the faculty union to show why a preliminary injunction should not be ordered. On Wednesday, several dozen faculty at the Ypsilanti school started picketing. The union represents more than 500 tenured and tenure-track faculty. The school is proposing wage increases, but a primary sticking point in the negotiations are proposed health care plans which the union says would saddle its members with thousands of dollars in additional costs.