A call to authentic unitas
We, the undersigned alumni of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), stand in unwavering solidarity with our alma mater’s faculty, administrative, and academic non-teaching employees as they exercise their legal right to strike.
Many of us supported UA&P Union of Allied Employees (UA&PUAE)’s efforts to be elected sole and exclusive bargaining agent (SEBA) last November, believing it would pave the way for meaningful dialogue and equitable working conditions.
Yet, we are deeply troubled by the Management’s refusal to engage in good-faith negotiations and its failure to address the legitimate grievances of those who uphold the University’s academic excellence every day.
We recognize that UA&P’s reputation and competitiveness as an institution does not merely rest with branding or image, but largely on the hard work and dedication of our teachers, administrative, and academic non-teaching personnel.
As alumni, we owe our success to their tireless efforts. It is therefore unconscionable that their professionalism has been undermined, whether through the Management’s inaction or the derogatory statements made on platforms like “Life at UA&P Law”.
Silence in the face of such disrespect betrays the very values UA&P claims to hold.
No less than our UA&P Credo states “that a university must be ever attentive and responsive to the real needs of the community that sustains it.” Today, that community, composed of its faculty and staff, is speaking.
We call on UA&P management to address the root cause of the strike and take advantage of the conciliation conferences to make a genuine counter offer that is responsive to the needs and demands of UA&P employees as enshrined in UA&PUFM and UA&PUAE’s proposed CBA.
This is their opportunity to live their commitment to inculcate “sound and time-tested human and social values and attitudes in people, beginning with those we work and live with.”
We likewise urge UA&P Management not to tolerate acts which belittle employees efforts regardless if it comes from University officials or students. We call on UA&P Management to disclaim, investigate, and to put into account those involved in past derogatory statements in the Facebook page “Life at UA&P Law” which caused pain to our hardworking employees.
We recognize that what makes UA&P great as an institution is not only the ideas it strives to uphold, but also the employees who embody these principles through their daily work.
We assert that avenues for authentic dialogue are essential so that rank-and-file employees can be empowered to contribute to the common good of the university.
Ultimately, this strike is not merely about salaries — it is about whether UA&P lives up to its ideals. The heart of this issue is whether we live UNITAS or not. UNITAS is not merely uniformity in ideas or principles.
It is unity between religion and life. It’s about striving to ensure that our belief in the fundamental dignity of the human person does not end in the realm of ideas, but actually reflects the decisions we make.
We call on our fellow alumni, students, and the broader UA&P community to stand with its employees. The true measure of our institution’s greatness lies not in its prestige, but in its sense of justice and concern for those who serve it.
Signed,
John Brylle L. Bae BS, Applied Mathematics, 2016
Sophia Gabrielle R. Ty, AB Integrated Marketing Communication, 2023
Drew Ashley Paige L. Rabadon, AB Humanities & MA Humanities, 2021
Eduardo Lorenzo dL Bartolome, AB Humanities, 2019
Leonard Isabelo P Dungca MS Management, 2015
et.al.
