LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State University faculty members are considering forming a union after President John Floros recently announced faculty cuts were possible amid the pandemic.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports university regents approved a budget reduction after the state took money to accommodate for its COVID-19 pandemic response.
The revised budget means a 10.5% budget cut to the main campus. Every unit at New Mexico State needs to submit plans to Floros by Sept. 15 for a 6%, 9%, and 12% budget cut.
But comments by Floros upset faculty even more.
“We will keep the best people, and the rest of the people that don’t get on the bus, they need to find another place,” Floros said Tuesday during a virtual town hall.
Government professor Christa Slaton told KVIA-TV the president’s remarks helped stir pro-union sentiments among faculty.
“It just shows some of the people in (the) administration are absolutely clueless to how hard we’re working and how dedicated we are,” Slaton said. “I can tell you it just plummeted morale.”
