Catherwood LibraryILR School

In an unprecedented move, Long Island University locked out 400 faculty members just days after their contract expired, and just as the school semester was to begin. The lockout, located on LIU's Brooklyn campus, came after the union and the university clashed over salaries. Representatives from LIU claim the lockout is a pre-emptive move to avoid the faculty strikes which have occurred in each of the last several contract negotiations, and hope to cut adjunct faculty pay as part of a broader effort to cut costs university-wide. In response to the lockout, faculty voted overwhelmingly to reject the university's latest contract offer, as well as for a vote of no-confidence in LIU's president, Kimberly Cline. Labor historians observe that employer lockouts are rarely effective tactically, and often prove to be damaging from a public relations standpoint.